DAKAR (Senegal) - Senegal women's national team, The Lionesses, have lost three Finals in the last four editions of the Women's AfroBasket, all to Nigeria.
When the 29th edition of Africa's premier competition for national teams, the 2025 Women's AfroBasket, kicks off from July 25 to August 3, the eleven-time African champions and record continental champions will be looking to reclaim their title.
The Lionesses are expected to go for a mix of youth and experience as they look to end a 10-year wait for a title, the last one having come in 2015.
The side missed the title in 2017, 2019 and 2023 , falling yet again to Nigeria in the 2021 Semis to finish fourth.
One such young talent expected to take the game to Nigeria in quest for a maiden African title is Women's Basketball League Africa (WBLA) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Ndioma Kane, who already made her debut for the senior team in two competitions last year.
Kane says the team is putting in the work to be ready for action come July, promising a heavily prepared and difficult-to-beat Senegal side.
"We have a relatively young squad, and are preparing both mentally and physically for the competition. Believe me, Senegal is coming in full force to reclaim our African title," she told FIBA.basketball.
Ndioma, and the current crop of Senegal players, are looking to get their side back to the success of the 20th century where they won nine titles between 1974 and 2000.
At the turn of the century, this dominance has constantly been challenged, largely by Nigeria, who won their six championships in that period to hold the second highest titles' tally on the continent, with Angola and Mali bagging two and one title respectively.
It would mean a lot for Ndioma to be part of the squad that breaks that cycle and as a player who says they never give up, the Al Ahly Sporting forward boldly believes her team will settle for nothing less.
"That a player is young doesn't mean they don't have goals and one of mine is to lift this title," she went one.
Having already played on the big stage, featuring for Lionesses at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Rwanda where she made the team of the tournament, and the Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgium, Ndioma says the experience gained will go a long way.
"I learned a lot from these tournaments, especially about maturity. It was here that I learned how to pursue my ambitions and work towards my goals," she offered.
In Rwanda, she led Lionesses' statistics, finishing as the best scorer with a 16.6 average per game and 6.8 on rebounds, finishing as her the side's most efficient player with a 21.4 rating. Cierra Dillard led the assist charts with a 5.6 average.
In 2023, Lionesses went to battle with veteran coach Moustapha Gaye at the helm. The side has changed coaches twice since then, the Federation appointing Otis Hughley Jr, in July 2024. He took over from Alberto Carlos Antuna who was at the helm in Belgium and would have a contract extension had the West Africans qualified for the Summer Games.
The Spanish coach had been appointed to take over from Gaye after the 2023 Women's AfroBasket.
Hughley Jr, meanwhile, led Senegal to the final of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Rwanda, losing to Hungary to miss out on the only ticket on offer for the next FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Qualifiers scheduled to take place in March 2026.
Should the former Alabama A&M University men's basketball head coach be at the helm of Lionesses in Abidjan, expectations will be high. Two weeks ago the 60-year-old resigned from his position at the varsity team.
The much-travelled American won two Women's AfroBasket titles with Nigeria in 2019 and 2021, giving Senegalese enthusiasts high hopes of turning the tables on their nemesis in the continental competition.
FIBA