TURNOVERS and missed free throws were the story of the night for the Australian Opals at the 2024 Olympic Games on Monday night, as they fell to the lower-ranked Nigeria by 13 points in a massive boilover.

Despite being ranked third in the world for women’s basketball, the Opals allowed Nigeria to claim its first Olympic win in the format since 2004 in what was a disaster from Australia’s perspective.

The Opals came into the game as overwhelming favourites, likely to take home a medal and a solid chance at snagging gold, but have gotten off to the worst start possible and will need to bounce back if they are to advance past the group stage.

Australian Opals (62) def. by Nigeria (75)

There were warning signs early for the Aussies, as they were made to work for the lead by a Nigeria side that was certainly up for the fight. The defining period of the game proved to be late in the second term, with Nigeria going on an 11-0 run to close out the first half and lead by 13 points at the main change, sending alarm bells through the Aussie camp.

Australia tidied things up to open the second half, taking better care of the basketball and its method of living and dying by the three began to pay off. The Opals made it a one-basket game in the fourth quarter, but again Nigeria had the answer, with Amy Okonkwo knocking down a triple to settle the nerves. From there, the Aussies saw the match slip away from their grasp, falling in one of the most surprising losses in Opals history.

There were several areas in which things went wrong for the Opals, with the standout being the high amount of turnovers. Australia turned the ball over a whopping 26 times compared to Nigeria’s 15, allowing the opposition far too many more scoring opportunities. The Aussies could not hold onto possession when bringing the ball up court, and Nigeria made them pay in transition.

Another area the Aussies will need to improve moving forward is efficiency at the free throw line, which cost the team any chance of staying in the hunt in the fourth. The Opals nailed just eight of their 18 attempts from the charity stripe, not making the most of hitting the bonus early in the fourth and leaving plenty of points at the line.

Nigeria would not have got over the line if not for the first half heroics of Ezinne Kalu, who posted 17 of her 19 points in the first half in an electric performance, including hitting her first four attempts from behind the arc.

For the Aussies, Alanna Smith (15 points, 6/9 FG, seven rebounds) and Stephanie Talbot (12 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals) fought hard all game and gave the Opals a fighting chance, but too much was left to too little.

With Australia’s remaining games for the group stage set to be against Canada and France, not much more can go wrong for the Opals if they wish to keep their medal hopes alive.