First-time Olympian Kahleah Copper grabbed the rebound and helped the U.S. run down the clock in the final seconds, with no need to score more points as they already had a big lead at the Paris Games.
Nigeria saw an opportunity to score before the buzzer. Ezinne Kalu drove to the basket and scored, or so it seemed.
The buzzer sounded with what appeared to be an 88-73 win for the U.S. over Nigeria on Wednesday night in the Olympic women’s basketball quarterfinals. However, officials gave Copper a technical foul for reacting to Nigeria’s late basket after the U.S. had intentionally let the ball go.
Nigeria captain Amy Okonkwo took the free throw and made it, changing the final score to 88-74.
U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve described the situation as an unfortunate misunderstanding, explaining that the U.S. had turned the ball over instead of shooting because point differential doesn’t matter in this knockout round. It’s just about winning or losing based on the final score.
“We expected them to just dribble out the clock,” Reeve said. “Apparently their coach (Rena Wakama) told Kalu to go ahead and score. We just explained that this wasn’t the most respectful move at the end.”
U.S. stars like Diana Taurasi were seen chatting with Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps, who was cheering from the sidelines.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian team celebrated with family and friends, marking their historic achievement as the first male or female team from Africa to reach the Olympic basketball quarterfinals.
