Cierra Dillard on her role with the Senegal basketball team: "It felt amazing just to see all the different talents that the world has"

In just two years, Dakar, Senegal will host the Youth Olympic Games, hoping to serve as a catalyst for growth in sport in Africa. One American-born Senegalese basketball player has found her own way to support the growth of Senegal’s women’s basketball team.

Sitting with her Senegalese teammates, Cierra Dillard doesn’t understand every word they say. The Rochester, New York-born basketball player is still working on learning French. But she and her teammates speak the universal language of basketball as they played for Senegal at the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Antwerp, Rochester, in early February. Playing against the United States and Belgium, the top two teams in the world, as well as Nigeria, the AfroBasket Champions, Senegal went 0-3 in the tournament. But they showed glimpses of what they are building, and now are even hungrier to get back.

“This is the Olympic level. Now we know what we need to do to get back here. To get back to the world qualifiers. We know that the competition is higher up. And not saying that we don't belong here, but we need to put in more work to compete better. We took a punch to the mouth during this tournament. Now we're going to come back and maybe punch back,” Dillard said.

"This is different when you come into an atmosphere and they allow you to play or be who you are" - Cierra Dillard

This is Dillard’s first year with the Senegalese team. She was playing for a club in Alexandria, Egypt, and was at a tournament in Mozambique when her play caught the eye of Babacar N’Diaye, the Senegalese basketball federation president. He asked if she would be interested in playing for Senegal, and Dillard couldn’t pass on the opportunity.

“I didn't even think it was something I could do, but then they opened my eyes. So I said, of course I'm in, without a doubt. I started with Senegal last summer,” she said.

Dillard spent three months in the summer of 2023 in Senegal, visiting Dakar and Thies. While spending time in her new country, and playing in Egypt, Dillard learned just how much basketball is adored in Africa.

“The love there was unbelievable in the way they welcomed me. It just felt so, so at home and it felt amazing just to see all the different talents that the world has. It kind of opened up, a new realm of basketball appreciation as a fan, too. Because I'm a basketball player, but I love the game of basketball as a fan, you know what I mean?” Dillard said.

In Antwerp, Dillard averaged 10.3 points, five rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. While she’s played basketball at the collegiate level for the University of Buffalo and is now playing for Bogazici in the Turkish Basketball League, Dillard said she’s learning so much about the game from her Senegalese teammates.

“I’m taking this moment to learn from my teammates, learn from the competition we play, learn from the different style of coaches. I'm just so grateful and so blessed to be learning from them. My American-style basketball is definitely shown on the different parts of the games, but anything I can add to my game, whether it's mentally, physically, is is a blessing for me. I can't thank my Senegal and these teammates, the Senegalese organization, enough for allowing me to play who I am. This is different when you come into an atmosphere and they allow you to play or be who you are,” Dillard said.

Cierra Dillard: "You have to believe that you can be on this platform"

Senegal has played in two Olympics, and in eight world championships. Though they’ve been in the top four of every AfroBasket since 1990, they are working to move beyond that on their continent. Senegalese coach Juan Altuna said throughout the tournament in Antwerp that the idea was to start building with an eye for winning AfroBasket in 2025, and playing at the FIBA World Cup in 2023. As a part of that building process, Dillard wants to be part of that. 

“I want to talk to the Senegal younger generation, I want them to see It's a seed that we’re playing against teams like USA, Belgium, Nigeria. You’re playing against a lot of great powerhouses of the world. Include yourself in that. You have to believe that you can be on this platform and you can play with these talents. You've got to include yourself in that. And it all starts with belief. So I just want to continue to show that in the journey that Senegal is becoming again. They have a great history of strength in Senegal with basketball. And I want to continue that.”