AfroBasket Women - Hosts beat Senegal, reigning champs survive thriller and Egypt reach Quarters

MAPUTO (AfroBasket Women/FIBA World Championship for Women) - Mozambique could not be clearer about their intentions of competing in the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women.

The hosts of AfroBasket Women 2013 on Wednesday night upset Africa's most successful team Senegal 77-61 in the highly-anticipated last game of Group A to finish first in the pool.

This was Mozambique’s first win over Senegal in AfroBasket Women competition since 2003.

Deolinda Ngulela and Clarisse Machanguana spent more than 37 minutes on floor, leading a team that trailed 33-32 at the break.

Ngulela had a game-high 21 points and five assists, while Machanguana provided a crucial 16 points and nine rebounds.

Astou Traore led the Senegalese with 17 points but the night belonged to Ngulela and her home fans who overcrowded the Maxaquene Gymnasium, suggesting the need of a safety review.

Mozambique topped Group A with Senegal second.

In Group A's battle for the final spot in the Quarter-Finals, Egypt beat Algeria 72-62 with a staggering performance by Reem Osama who had a team-high 21 points.

Algeria's Nesrine Taibi also had 21 points to go with 10 rebounds, but her contribution was not enough to take Algeria to the next round.

In the first game of the day, Cote d'Ivoire advanced to the Last Eight following a 66-50 victory against Zimbabwe.

Group B action on Wednesday opened with Angola, Cameroon and Mali all having the chance to top the group.

Eventually the defending champions showed a strong mindset by beating Mali in a 67-66 overtime thriller.

Angola's Luisa Tomas had team-high 16 points, while Meiya Tirera erupted for a game-high 29 points in the losing cause.

Cameroon confirmed a great moment of form with a 71-65 win over Nigeria.

Despite Ndidi Madu’s game-high 15 points, Nigeria could not cope with a very aggressive Cameroonian team that trailed 36-35 at the break.

The Nigerians secured fourth placein Group B and will take on Group A winners Mozambique in Friday's Quarter-Finals.

Cape Verde and Kenya took to the court knowing they were playing for the best classification as both were eliminated from the race to reach the Quarter-Finals.

Kenya needed overtime to beat the islanders 64-63 thanks to an astonishing performance by Hilda Hindasi who had a game-high 27 points.

Vandel Andrade led the islanders with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Thursday is a rest day.

The competitions resumes on Friday with the Quarter-Finals that will see Angola taking on Egypt, Cameroon facing Cote d'Ivoire, Mali squaring off against Senegal and Nigeria going up against hosts Mozambique.

Algeria, Zimbabwe, Cape Verde and Kenya will compete in the Classification Round at Desportivo de Maputo Gymnasium to determine places 9-12.

For full and in-depth coverage of AfroBasket Women 2013, go to the official website http://maputo2013.fibaafrica.com.

FIBA