Elizabeth Balogun (born 9 September 2000) is a Nigerian basketball player. She played college basketball for the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

and the Nigerian national team. She plays for the Spanish

Liga Femenina de Baloncesto The Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, also known as Liga Femenina Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of sports league, league competition for women's basketball in Spain. It is the women's equivalent of the men's Liga ACB and is run by ...

side CB Bembire.

High school career

Balogun transferred to Hamilton Heights Christian Academy,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, in the eighth grade from

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. She averaged 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, and 2.1 assists. She made the ALL-USA Girls Basketball First Team at the end of high school.

College career

Balogun started as a freshman at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

in 2018. She left the team for

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

after being named the 2018–19 Freshman of the Year, having averaged 14.64 points per game in her freshman season. In her sophomore year at Louisville, she was named preseason All-ACC by Coaches and Blue Ribbon Panel and also made the Citizen Naismith Watch List. Balogun later transferred to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

in 2021.

International career

Balogun was called up to represent the D'Tigress and participate in the 2019 pre-

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

qualifying tournament in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, but she was not released by Louisville. She was also called up to participate in the

Tokyo 2020 The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Olympic qualifiers in

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. She also participated in the

2024 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments The 2024 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments were the four women's basketball tournaments that were contested by 16 national teams, where the top teams earned a place in the 2024 Summer Olympics basketball tournament. It was held from 8 ...

where she averaged 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Personal life

Balogun is the second of 3 children. Her older brother, Ezekiel, played at

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Her younger sister, Ruth, played at Hamilton Heights and currently plays at the

University of Central Arkansas The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1907 as the Arkansas State Normal School, the university is one of the oldest in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As the state's only n ...

. Her mom, Justina, died of breast cancer before Balogun moved to America, while her dad, Mark, resides in Nigeria, where he is a basketball coach and policeman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balogun, Elizabeth 2000 births Living people Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Louisville Cardinals women's basketball players Nigerian expatriate basketball people in the United States Nigerian women's basketball players Olympic basketball players for Nigeria Nigeria women's national basketball team players Basketball players from Lagos Basketball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics