KPA shut down Customs, improve to 2-0
Victoria Reynolds was for the second day the star of the show as she knocked down 21 points as Antoinette Bannister added 12 to the tally for the win that gives KPA a 2-0 advantage in group A.
ALEXANDRIA (Egypt) - Coach Antony Ojukwu's charges, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) recovered from a poor first-quarter start to pick a 73-53 win against Nigeria's Customs in the side's second match of the Africa Women's Basketball League (AWBL) in its third day.
Victoria Reynolds was for the second day the star of the show as she knocked down 21 points as Antoinette Bannister added 12 to the tally for the win that gives the Kenyan side a 2-0 advantage in Group A with two more matches to play.
"We played good basketball today and I am happy. There was good execution, defense and transition," Ojukwu said after the game.
Nkem Akaraiwe led the scoring for Customs in the first quarter with 7 as the Nigerian champions went ahead 18-17 despite KPA dominating the paint with 14 points against 6.
The Kenyan champions' conversion rate proved their Achilles' heel in the first quarter as they had made 23 attempts on field goals, 10 more than Customs but were still trailing at the end of the quarter despite taking a 9-3 lead early in the period.
As if reading from their first match script against CNSS where they went 24-4 in the second period, KPA shut down Customs, who had gone ahead 22-17 courtesy of back-to-back baskets from Maranne Johnson in the opening two minutes, with a 19-0 run for a 36-22 lead.
With 2.28 to play, Johnson made a steal and went coast-to-coast for a pull-up jumper that broke KPA's run while Nofisat Jimoh added another with just over a minute to play as Customs trailed 28-8 in the quarter to head to the halftime break on a 45-26 scoreline.
"We have had shaky starts and that's a point of concern. I am happy with the way they are coming back but we will have to address this. We will also emphasise the importance of taking care of the ball, making good judgement calls and regions so we can reduce our turnovers," the tactician added.
Whether it was confidence or the urge to get their shots right at the exchange, KPA were out of the locker room after five minutes while their peers only had three minutes to spare before the start of the second half.
KPA's hot hands, however, took a sabbatical as the side gave away the ball 5 times in the opening half of the third quarter, managing to score 7, adding 10 in the last part for 62-41 heading to the last stanza.
No amount of strategising for coach Abdulrahman Mohammed and his technical bench could stop KPA who maintained a 20-point lead in the final period for the 73-53 win.
"We had an unfocused performance, especially in the second quarter and that blew things out of proportion and that is something we have to work on," Olaoluwatomi Taiwo who put up 12 points in the game said.
Her sentiments were echoed by her coach who admitted that it was difficult to find a matchup for Madina Okot who finished with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks, and that gave KPA an advantage.
FIBA