Nigeria’s D’Tigress surrendered a solid half-time advantage as they were edged 77–76 by Turkey in an international friendly on Friday at the Turkcell Basketball Development Center in Istanbul.
Despite missing several key players including Ezinne Kalu, Promise Amukamara, Murjanatu Musa and Amy Okonkwo, head coach Rena Wakama named a starting five of Sarah Ogoke, Grace Efosa, Nicole Enabosi, Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah and Rita Igbokwe.
Nigeria opened brightly, taking a 15–14 lead after the first quarter and extending it with a strong second period to go into the break 45–39 ahead.
But Turkey hit back after halftime, dominating the third quarter 22–12 to flip the momentum in their favour.
Both sides battled deep into the fourth, with D’Tigress pushing to reclaim control, but the hosts held on in the final seconds to seal a narrow victory.
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Kunaiyi-Akpanah led Nigeria’s scoring with 18 points, while Efosa added 16, Enabosi 15 and Lucy Ibeh contributed 11 off the bench.
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For Turkey, Sevgi Uzun finished with a game-high 20 points, supported by Manolya Kurtulmuş with 13, Selin Gül with 12 and Sinem Ataş with 11.
