• Against Mozambique, Vilma Achieng shot 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Captain Hilda Indasi shot 14 while Mercy Wanyama bagged 10.
• Kenya will now play classification games (9-12) as Mozambique and Cape Verde move to the tournament quarterfinals.
Image: FILE
KENYA Lionesses bowed out of the Fiba Afro-basket Women’s 2019 Championship in Dakar, Senegal after losing their two opening games.
Kenya lost 57-64 to Cape Verde yesterday—a day after going down 55-39 to Mozambique in their Group D opener. Owino decried missed chances in both matches.
Against Mozambique, Vilma Achieng shot 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Captain Hilda Indasi shot 14 while Mercy Wanyama bagged 10.
Kenya will now play classification games (9-12) as Mozambique and Cape Verde move to the tournament quarterfinals.
“We missed easy shots. We had no three-pointers and must improve our defence,” Owino said about the Group D opener. He went on: “We attempted eleven three-pointers and scored zero. In the first five minutes, we were down 13-0.”
“Having 10 players in a tournament of this magnitude is tough. Having 12 players on the roster would have been better,” he noted. Kenya went to West Africa with fewer players due to lack of funds. The team also left assistant coach Evelyne Kedogo at home.
They shot miserably from both the line and the perimeter making 16 of 60 while sinking only 7 of their 14 foul shots. But they won the rebounding battle 56-43.
Mozambique took an 18-11 and 14-9 lead in the opening two quarters. After the break, Lionesses closed in 9-8 but let go again as they sunk 14-11 in the last.
Kenya had no one scoring in double figures. Mercy Wanyama led the tally with nine while captain Hilda Indasi and Shilalei Shani each made 6.
Leading the Mozambican tally was Tamara Seda who buried 15. Elveteria Lharanguane hit 10 and Lela Dongue added 9.
In the other matches, champions Nigeria humiliated Tunisia 75-26, Mali upset Angola 71- 63 and host Senegal whipped Cote D’Ivoire 77-36. Locally, Thunder recovered to strike Umoja 70-41 in the Premier League at the Nyayo Stadium gymnasium.
Coach Collins Gaya said his boys responded well after the 67-57 loss at Eldonets last weekend. “We were ruthless from the start. They could not match us even when I introduced my reserves in the last quarter,” he said.
Kevin Chogo provided 17 points while Jack Agunda managed 14. Umoja missed Alan Ouma and Gilbert Obiero. In the women’s match, Tangit Sparks took a 23-13 first-half lead and easily beat Kenyatta University Oryx 47-39.
Coach Justus Akhwesa attributed the win to the team’s response to serious training during the week. “The girls have been training well the last few days and this has started producing good results early,” said Akhwesa. He went on: “What we need to work on now is to have the substitutes pull up and keep the tempo when called upon.”
Sparks led 23-13 at half-time and had 14 points from Celia Okumu. Kenyatta University took the third quarter 13-9 and had Happy Makosewe hit 13 points.
In the lower division matches, David Ochieng scored the last three points to guide Riara University to a 68-6 win over NIBS. Suleiman Gakure hit 15 and Bramwell Michama 14 as Kenyatta University Pirates walloped Strathmore University 68-57. Lions beat Nakuru Club 48-42 while Zetech University had it too easy, clobbering Trailblazers 70-29 in another tie.