US women’s basketball saw Nigeria hang tough in first half at Olympics. Why that matters

PARIS — The world is coming for the U.S. women's basketball team.

We’ve spent so much time focusing on the growth of the game in the United States — the blockbuster ratings, the skyrocketing attendance, the increased awareness from casual fans — that we’ve overlooked the rest of the world.

Which is a mistake. Because the game is growing at warp speed elsewhere, too, and those teams have the Americans and their global reign in their sights.

Look at what Nigeria did in the first half Wednesday night. The first African team to reach the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament, male or female, the Nigerians gave the U.S. women all they could handle for the first 15 minutes of the game.

Nigeria was within single digits until the very end of the first quarter, then whittled the U.S. lead down to four with 6:28 to play in the half. After consecutive field goals by A'ja Wilson, Amy Okonkwo made a pair of free throws to cut the lead back to six.

The Americans closed the half with a 14-4 run, and the game was effectively over. They ended up winning 88-74 to advance to the semifinals Friday. But another U.S. win isn’t the point. The point is that the game is improving around the globe, and the days of the U.S. women cakewalking their way to another Olympic gold medal are numbered.

“You see just commitment from these (programs) to economically support (their teams), and I think Nigeria is the perfect example of that,” Diana Taurasi said.

When the Americans played Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup, Taurasi recalled, they won by 29. Of the eight teams that made the knockout rounds, Nigeria wound up last. That was only six years ago. Now look where Nigeria is.

“They just keep investing in them,” Taurasi said. “They come second in their group. They have a great showing tonight. And I just expect them to keep getting better.”

And it’s not only Nigeria. This was Germany’s first time in the Olympic tournament, and they, too, reached the quarterfinals. Had they not been playing France, with its raucous fans, or had they played Les Bleues on a neutral court, the Germans might be moving on.

Belgium nearly knocked off the U.S. women in February, needing a last-second bucket by Breanna Stewart to escape with the win. Serbia, which didn’t qualify for the Olympics until 2016, has now established a consistent foothold in the global game.  

“There’s so many countries that are really, really good. So the playing field is starting to get level,” said Nigeria coach Rena Wakama, who is also an assistant at Tulane.

“Before (the gap) used to be super, super big. But now we’re seeing that the playing field is starting to get leveled a little bit,” Wakama added. “These young ones that are coming up, they need more time to play at this level. And we need to continue to invest in the game. Continue to invest not only in America, not only in Europe but also in Africa, as well.”

If this sounds familiar, it should. It’s exactly what has happened in women’s soccer.

For years, the game was dominated by the Americans, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Brazil. But as countries began investing in their programs, the gap shrunk.

Spain didn’t even qualify for the World Cup until 2015. Now it’s the reigning World Cup champion and has a development system that is the envy of the world. England actually banned women from playing soccer for a half-century. Now you can argue that its professional league is the best in the world.

At last year’s World Cup, newcomer Morocco got to the knockout rounds. Fellow debutantes Zambia and the Philippines both won games.

And in the surest sign of parity, the U.S. women were knocked out in the round of 16, their earliest exit ever at a major international tournament. This after they’d lost in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics.

To think the same thing won’t happen in basketball is naïve.

“The development is there,” said Ezinne Kalu, Nigeria’s leading scorer. “You have coaches that are putting the time and effort in to improve the younger generation to get where we are now. And it just shows that the growth will continue.

“If we just put our resources where they need to go, use the money to fund these young organizations and the girls that are working hard, I’m pretty sure basketball will continue to grow in Africa.”

And beyond. The Americans should consider themselves warned.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.