Alexandria Sporting obliterate CNSS in spectacular AWBL start
The 2022 winners of the last edition of the Africa Champions Cup for Women, Alexandria Sporting of Egypt started their campaign for the inaugural AWBL title with a dominant 98-41 win over CNSS.
ALEXANDRIA (Egypt) - The 2022 winners of the last edition of the Africa Champions Cup for Women, Alexandria Sporting Club (ASC) of Egypt started their campaign for the inaugural Africa Women Basketball League (AWBL) title with a dominant 98-41 win over CNSS.
ASC, who are keen to repeat last year's feat, winning what would be their second African title left nothing to chance, going all out with all 12 players on the match-day squad scoring at least four points in the win.
Destiny Pitts, who finished with a game-high 21 ranking in efficiency, led the scoring for the home side who were playing on their turf with a fully-packed fan zone singing their praises. She sunk 20 points.
Destiny Pitts was 6-for-9 from beyond the three-point line, leading all players with 20 points
After leading 9-8 in the first five minutes of the clash, CNSS scrambled under pressure as Destiny orchestrated a 13-point run, with 3 treys, you see the hosts lead 21-9 in the opening quarter.
"We gave away 41 points on turnovers and that is something we will have to take care of going into the next match. We faced a similar problem during the qualifiers but we were able to readjust and compete; I believe the same is possible here," CNSS's Koko Ade said after the game.
Alexandria Sporting Club fans flocked into the arena to support their heroes. The largest winning margin in the AWBL so far was preceded by the Opening Ceremony
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) side drew first blood in the second quarter for 21-11 before going on another long drought. Noemie Ayenga made a jump shot with 3.28 to play for 42-13 with Tania Longomo adding one more for the side's 6 points in the second stanza that ended 30-06 with the Egyptian's prowess showing.
Carrying a 36-point advantage into the second half did not stop the Mohamed Abdelrahman-coached side from running the scores in a 26-14 third-quarter outcome as the DRC side played their best quarter but still struggled to move the ball.
Cierra Dillard
The final quarter was no different as the hosts went 21-13 up for the massive victory that sent warning shots to the rest of the competitors.
"We started slowly, under a lot of pressure given that we are playing at home. We were allowing in easy layups but after settling down we were able to run the scores for the win which was important for our opening match. The plan is to take one game at a time and hope to win all as we look to lift this title at home," coach Abdelrahman offered.
FIBA