Musa: D’Tigress Olympics unsung hero

Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, were hailed by all and sundry following their impressive performance at the recently concluded Paris 2024 Olympics, with the coach Rena Wakama and some of the players being singled out for praise.

While Wakama was named the best coach of the Women’s Basketball Tournament, New Jersey-born point guard and three-time AfroBasket champion Ezinne Kalu made the star-studded All-Second Team of the tournament.

Players like Amy Okonkwo, Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpannah, Elizabeth Balogun, and Promise Amukamara hugged the headlines during and after the tournament for their remarkable displays, but little was said about Murjanatu Musa’s contributions to their epoch-making outing.

It’s not just about the MVPs and All-Star Five contenders; Musa provided some impressive interior play for the record-breaking Nigerian team.

The 24-year-old was at the centre of D’Tigress’ historic exploits that saw them celebrate a first-ever place in the last eight and indeed the first time any African side, men or women, made the quarterfinals.

Nigeria’s historic run was inspired by their rugged defending and a knack for contesting shots, putting their bodies on the line, and generally delivering on D’Tigress’ mantra of being warriors. Those were aspects in which Musa’s appetite and adeptness were mostly evident.

However, it would be unwise to think that Celta Zorka Recalvi’s player is only about the muscle and the hustle, as she got a game and put numbers up too. While those numbers might not be spectacular, they are digits that supported Nigeria’s meteoric accomplishments.

According to FIBA, Musa was the second-highest scorer on the team with 10.7 points per game, as well as being the leading rebounder with an average of 6.7 boards.

Third in efficiency too, there has been a lot to admire about her work so far, and she deserves to have her name put up in lights.

D’Tigress performance in Paris was in contrast to their last Olympic outing in Tokyo, where they failed to secure a win, losing all three group games, but reverse was the case this term, thanks to the ruggedness of the combative Musa.

Nigeria’s defence, which was well marshalled by Musa, was the group’s identity as they put up several clinics on that end of the floor. In their upset win over Australia, they forced 26 turnovers, including 15 steals. Despite losing to France 75-54, D’Tigress forced another 17 turnovers and had nine steals. Overall, through three games of group play, Nigeria forced 69 turnovers by their opponents, including 40 steals.

Even in their defeat against the United States, the African champions won the adoration of their fans and the respect of the world, including their opponents, taking pride in their accomplishments.

Their 74 points scored against the U.S. saw them post 73 points or more in consecutive games for the first time at the Olympics, and their 26 points in the fourth quarter is the most the U.S. have conceded in the last quarter in this competition. They also held the U.S. to their lowest winning margin in an Olympic quarterfinal; their previous wins were by 15 points or more.