STONY BROOK, N.Y. - This past weekend in Belgium and China, three Stony Brook Seawolves earned their ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics after their team's performance in the FIBA Women's 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Stony Brook's assistant coach Rena Wakama guided the Nigeria National Team to their third appearance in the Olympics, while alumnae India Pagan '22 and Nairimar Vargas-Reyes '23 led Puerto Rico to their second trip to the Olympics with their performances in China. 

Wakama led the Nigeria National Team in her first season at the helm to a victory over Sengel and with the victory by Belgium over Senegal, the team clinched their ticket into the 2024 Paris Olympics. In the three games for Nigeria in the tournament, the squad finished 1-2 with the victory over Senegal and defeated by the United States and the host, Belgium. 

This will be the team's third appearance in the Olympics (2020 Tokyo and 2004 Athens) and will be looking to avenge their 11th place finish in both trips to the Olympics. 

Forward India Pagan and guard/forward Vargas-Reyes continue to make their presence felt on the national stage by leading Puerto Rico to their second-ever Olympics with their nail-biting 69-67 victory over New Zealand on Saturday. The squad was defeated by France and China, ending their weekend 1-2. 

For the tournament, Pagan contributed 7.4 minutes per game throughout her three games and accumulated four points with two rebounds. In the two games that Vargas-Reyes appeared in, she tallied 10.5 minutes per game with 10 points, six rebounds, and two assists total. 

The 12-team field for the 2024 Paris Olympics is composed of 11 teams with previous Olympic appearance, as Germany will appear at the Games for the very first time in Olympic history. FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022 champions USA and the hosts of the Olympic Games, France, had guaranteed spots in the Olympics ahead of the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. The Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024 will take place from July 29 to August 11. 

The full list of the 2024 Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament teams is as follows:
Australia
Belgium
Canada
China
France
Germany
Japan
Nigeria
Puerto Rico
Serbia
Spain
USA

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