Equity Bank Hawks dismissed ASPAC of Benin 87-69 in their Africa Women’s Basketball League (AWBL) Group ‘B’ match played in Alexandria, Egypt.
The bankers took a 20-18 first-quarter lead but trailed their opponents 21-15 in the second. The Kenyans were down 39-35 at the breather.
However, they were at their best in the last quarter, flying away from a 65-65 deadlock with 7:36 left on the clock as Betty Kanau and Melisa Otieno sunk vital threes at will.
Grace Irabu tormented the Benin side in the paint as Otieno and Kananu sunk long-range daggers to give Equity Bank a commanding 85-69 cushion.
Irabu led the scoring tally with 25 points, Kananu bagged 16 while Maryann Nyagaki made another 11 before fouling out later in the game. For the losers, Ashato Sabalo tallied a game-high 26 points while Godgift Johnson managed to score 14.
Hawks, who are featuring in their third championships since the last one in 2018, went down 80-55 to Interclube of Angola in their opener on Monday.
Other matches saw Rwanda Energy Group deflate Overdose Up Station of Cameroon 86-45 in Group ‘A’ match while the University of Douala of Cameroon lost 57- 46 to Customs of Nigeria. Today, Overdose Up Station face ASPAC, KPA tackle Customs, CNSS face Universiade de Douala and Equity Bank will be up against REG.
