African Champions Nigeria made history on the continent by qualifying to the quarters following a 57-56 win over Greece earlier this week.
Despite taking a shock 17-9 first quarter lead, D’Tigress couldn’t hold on to its lead as USA settled in the game and pulled away from the West African nation.
Evelyn Akhator and Josephine Kalu led Nigeria in scoring as both registered eight points with Cecilia Okoye and Sarah Imovbioh scoring five points apiece.
The US was led by Breanna Stewart who paced the game’s scorers list by draining 19 points as the five time champions’ progress to the final four.
Eligible to represent Nigeria due to her parents heritage, USA Forward Nneka Ogwumike registered six points and three rebounds in 11 minutes.
Australia joins USA in the semis after beating China 83-42. France plays Belgium and Spain host Canada in the remaining quarterfinal games.
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
@YawMintYM on Twitter
