Northwestern University Athletics
Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah to Play for Nigeria in Women's AfroBasket
7/27/2023 4:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern women's basketball alum Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah will compete for the defending champion Nigerian national team in the 2023 Women's AfroBasket, which is set to begin on Friday, July 28 in Kigali, Rwanda.
The biannual competition begins with 12 teams and consists of five rounds, with the championship game scheduled for August 5. The Nigerian team will compete for its fourth consecutive title and its sixth since AfroBasket's inception in 1966. The two final teams in the competition will earn the chance to compete at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which takes place next February.
Although Kunaiyi-Akpanah will compete in her first AfroBasket, she's no stranger to the international stage after joining Nigeria in the 2020 Olympic games. After concluding her college career in 2019, the forward also played professionally in both Italy and Belgium.
A Wildcat great, Kunaiyi-Akpanah appeared in 121 games for Northwestern over four seasons, including the team's run to the 2019 WNIT championship game. She owns both of the top rebounding seasons in 'Cats history, with 404 rebounds in 2018-19 and 381 the season prior. The effort puts her second in program history in career rebounds, with 1,112 total. A two-time All-Big Ten honoree (2018, '19), Kunaiyi-Akpanah got it done on both ends of the court, posting 37 double-doubles between her final two seasons in Evanston.
The biannual competition begins with 12 teams and consists of five rounds, with the championship game scheduled for August 5. The Nigerian team will compete for its fourth consecutive title and its sixth since AfroBasket's inception in 1966. The two final teams in the competition will earn the chance to compete at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which takes place next February.
Although Kunaiyi-Akpanah will compete in her first AfroBasket, she's no stranger to the international stage after joining Nigeria in the 2020 Olympic games. After concluding her college career in 2019, the forward also played professionally in both Italy and Belgium.
A Wildcat great, Kunaiyi-Akpanah appeared in 121 games for Northwestern over four seasons, including the team's run to the 2019 WNIT championship game. She owns both of the top rebounding seasons in 'Cats history, with 404 rebounds in 2018-19 and 381 the season prior. The effort puts her second in program history in career rebounds, with 1,112 total. A two-time All-Big Ten honoree (2018, '19), Kunaiyi-Akpanah got it done on both ends of the court, posting 37 double-doubles between her final two seasons in Evanston.
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