PARIS, France — Ezinne Kalu, the first and only Savannah State University women's basketball player to score 2,000 career points, is playing for the Nigerian women's basketball team in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This is Kalu's second appearance at the Olympic Games, having played with the Nigerian women's basketball squad at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The 32-year-old point guard, who stands 5-foot-8, has earned many accolades, which include being named the 2016 Guard of the Year in Portugal 1st Division; 2017 Defensive Player of the Year in Budapest 1st Division; 2019 MVP of the AfroBasket Tournament; 2020 Top 12 Best Player of Africa; 2020 1st Team All-French Player; 2020 1st Team All-Imports France League; and the 2020 Guard of the Year in France 1st Division.
Kalu was also named Captain of the Nigerian National Team in 2016-17 and was the 2018 Co-Captain of the Nigerian Team. She has also been a member of AfroBasket Tournament championship teams in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
During her senior season, Kalu led the Lady Tigers to a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I National Tournament in 2015. She was also named to the 2015 All-MEAC First Team as well as the MEAC All-Tournament Team. Kalu also earned All-MEAC honors in 2012.
Kalu played in 131 games while averaging 16.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.9 steals per game during her time at Savannah State.
Team Nigeria is playing the group stage of the Olympic tournament in Group B. Kalu led the team in scoring in the 75-62 victory over Australia on July 29, Nigeria's first win since 2004. Nigeria will face France on August 1 and Canada on August 4. Should Kalu and her teammates advance, the quarter-finals will be held August 7 and the semi-finals on August 9. The bronze and gold medal games will be held on August 11.
FOLLOW THE SIAC
Stay connected by following the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on Facebook, Instagram and X @TheSIAC.
SIAC NEWS
Sign up for SIAC News to be among the first to receive media releases, updates and more!
ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of historically black colleges and universities with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors seven men's and six women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit www.thesiac.com.