D'Tigress toughest World Cup ends with unwanted record

Nigeria's D'Tigress endured one of the darkest days in the team's history as France produced a record-breaking shooting masterclass to inflict the heaviest defeat ever suffered by the African champions at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.

D’Tigress ended their 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup campaign on a disappointing note after suffering a heavy 111–56 defeat to France in their final Group B fixture in Berlin.

Nigeria had already been eliminated from the competition following successive defeats to South Korea and Hungary.

D’Tigress opened their campaign with a 99–81 loss to South Korea before falling 71–67 to Hungary, leaving Monday’s clash with France as their final opportunity to finish the tournament on a positive note.

The loss became the largest defeat in D'Tigress history, eclipsing the previous 54-point loss to the United States during the 2024 Olympic qualifying Tournament.

It also surpassed the team's previous worst World Cup defeat, a 34-point loss to Russia at the 2006 tournament, making it Nigeria's heaviest defeat in Women's World Cup history.

While Nigeria struggled defensively, France delivered one of the greatest offensive performances ever seen at the Women's World Cup.

The European giants knocked down 22 shots from beyond the three-point line, setting a new tournament record.

In doing so, they first surpassed France's own previous national best of 15 three-pointers, set earlier in the tournament against Hungary, before eclipsing Japan's World Cup record of 20 triples, established on the opening day of the competition.