Former Lady Indian concludes historic run in Paris Olympics
Blessing Ejiofor ('19) helped Nigeria's D'Tigress become the first African team, male or female, to reach the Olympic Quarterfinals
PARIS, France – Blessing Ejiofor, a member of the Lady Indians in 2018-2019, and Nigeria's D'Tigress basketball team concluded a historical run in the 2024 Olympics Games in Paris, France on Wednesday.
Nigeria made its first appearance in the Summer Olympic event in the 2004 games in Athens where they finished 0-5 in the preliminary round before defeating Korea to finish 11th out of 12 teams. They would wait 20 years before making it back to the Summer Games.
In Paris, D'Tigress won their opening game against Australia, 75-62, but fell to France, 75-54, in the second game. Needing a win to advance to the next round, Nigeria defeated Canada, 79-70, becoming the first team from Africa, male or female, to qualify for the Olympics' quarterfinals.
In the round of eight, Nigeria matched up with the team expected to take the gold, the United States. The USA dominated the game from start to finish and led by as many as 28 before cruising to an 88-74 victory and a berth in the semifinals.
Ejiofor's road to Paris
Ejiofor transferred to Chipola in 2018 after playing one season at Vanderbilt University where she averaged 1.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. For the Lady Indians, she averaged 6.9 PPG and 7.8 RPG.
On back-to-back nights, Ejiofor scored a season-high while also registering double-doubles. On December 7, she scored 21 and hauled in a season-high 26 rebounds in an 81-44 home win over Central Georgia Tech. The next day, she once again scored 21 while collecting 12 boards in a 67-32 victory over Florida State College at Jacksonville.
After Chipola, Blessing played her final two collegiate seasons at the University of West Virginia. In her junior year she averaged 2.1 points and 5.0 Rebounds. As a senior, she was named to the All-Big 12 Academic First Team and averaged 2.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks per game.
Blessing has played three seasons professionally in Europe. In 2022, she began her pro career with CD Talent of the Liga Femenina 2 de Baloncesto in Spain. She spent the next two seasons in France, playing with COB Calais in 2022-2023 and Cavigal Nice Basket in 2023-2024.