KIGALI (Rwanda) - Cote d'Ivoire' continued their fairytale run in this year's FIBA U16 Women's AfroBasket after easily seeing off hosts Rwanda 69-41 for a place in the Semifinals. Making a return for the first time since their debut in 2013 when they finished sixth, the Ivorians left nothing to chance in their quest to improve on that placing from 12 years ago. After opening their campaign with a win over Guinea (74-34) in Group B, they lost to 8-time champions Mali (65-38) but regrouped for a 54-51 show against Angola to qualify for the Last Eight where they faced the hosts, top in Group A.
With the win, the Ivorians book a place in the Last Four, where they take on perennial winners Mali, who are chasing a record-extending ninth title in as many championships. TURNING POINT: Rwanda held their own in the opening 7 minutes of the game, before Emmanuela Adeola Adjoa William scoring 7 in the remaining 3 minutes to pull the West Africans away for 19-10 in the opening quarter. Chavla Kaylia Gaju scored first for Rwanda in the second, a preemption of the quarter that would be as the East Africans played a better defence restricting Cote d'Ivoire to just 9 points while scoring 10 to carry an 8-point deficit to the second half. Jane Mary Diomande's layup on the three-minute mark of the third period gave the Ivorians a double digits advantage at 34-23. They went a 10-4 run in the second half of the quarter to take a 47-29 lead heading to the final stanza. A 22-12 final quarter sealed the 28-point victory. HERO: Emmanuela Adjoa William, that's the name!.
The 15-year-old was on the floor for just over 32 minutes, playing a huge role in the victory with a 26-point, 19-rebound double-double, shooting 12-of-18 inside the arc, with zero attempts from range. With two assists and as many steals, remaining blameless with no personal fouls, she played for a competition high 42 in efficiency rating.
She had not hit double digits on points since her 10 in the opening game against Guinea. STATS DON'T LIE: Cote d'Ivoire's ball handling and sharing was superior to the hosts' as they made 28 steals (against 11) while registering a 20-10 ratio on assists. The opposite was true for Rwanda who had more turnovers (45) than points, conceding a whooping 42 off those while scoring 10 off the Ivorians' 25 turnovers. Rwanda were also dominated 58-22 on the paint with the opponent's bench equally proving more capable with a 24-point contribution against 6. The West Africans also dominated the second chance points 24-12 and 24-11 off fast breaks. BOTTOM LINE: Cote d'Ivoire have already improved from sixth in 2013 when they last appeared, with the semis berth. As for the hosts, they now are relegated to the classification matches where they will seek a fifth-place finish against tough opposition. WHAT THEY SAID: "I’m very satisfied with my performance. I generally do not score this many points. But today, I finished at 26, and it’s even more motivating for the next game. During the first quarter, I was not feeling confident. But when I started scoring, I kept going. We’re happy that we qualified for the semis. But we’re playing against Mali, and it’s going to be very, very tough. But we’re going to train and to hope" - Cote d'Ivoire power forward Emmanuela Adjoa William.
"Despite the loss we have picked valuable lessons that we will use in the remaining matches. We played against a much taller side and that affected our defense and the adjustments we made did not work. I a, however, confident they will do better in the remaining classification matches," Rwanda head coach Joseline Munyaneza.
FIBA