D'Agosto off to hot start at African Champions Cup for Women

SFAX (African Champions Cup for Women) - In the absence of Nacissela Mauricio, who is yet to make her debut in the ongoing 2014 African Champions Cup for Women (ACCW) in Sfax, Tunisia, Latia Williams has taken the lead role and lifted Primeiro D'Agosto to their second consecutive win over the weekend.

Williams poured in a game-high 19 points on Sunday as the Angolan champions edged out hosts Club Sportif Sfaxien, 66-50, in Group A.

American-born Brittany Denson and Tunisian international Thouraya Adsi had 13 points apiece for the local club, but D'Agosto extended their winning run following a nail-biting 87-77 triumph over Nigerian side First Bank on Saturday.

In that game, which saw Mozambican Leia Dongue face off against the Nigerian quintet of Sarah Ogoke, Ndidi Madu, Joyce Ekworomadu, Grace Okonkwo and Priscilla Udeaja for the first time since their memorable AfroBasket Women 2013 Quarter-final encounter, the D'Agosto ace dominated the floor with 23 points and six rebounds.

Fist Bank, the winners of the 2003 and 2009 editions of the ACCW tournament, are 0-1 in Group A, ahead of facing off against Club Sportif Sfaxien (1-1), in Monday's highly-anticipated fixture at Ale Olympique Raed Bejaoui.

The hosts opened the tournament with a comprehensive 75-58 win over Kenyan Ports Authority on Friday.

In Group B, ACCW reigning champions InterClube de Luanda from Angola improved to 2-0 thanks to a 101-66 victory - the largest winning margin so far in this tournament - over United States International University (USIU) of Kenya on Sunday.

Kenyan international Hilda Hindasi led all scorers with 23 points and the poor contributiion by USIU's bench proved costly.

Meanwhile, Dolphins guard Juliet Currency received high praise for inspiring her team to a 78-76 win over Democratic Republic of Congo side INSS. 

Currency's 22 points made the difference as Dolphins kept INSS without a win through their first two games.

Mireille Nyota came off the bench to contribute 16 points and 15 rebounds for INSS, while Hortis Ahongi and Cecile Nyoka added 20 and 19 points respectively. But they will need to wait until Tuesday to try for their first win, when they go up against against USIU.

Tunisian rising star Houda Hamrouni helped Club Sportif Police de Circulation beat Kenya's USIU 78-59 ion Saturday with a tournament-high of 32 points, and she will be the centre of attention when they face InterClube on Monday.

The 10-team tournament - two teams withdrew - tipped off on Friday 28 November and finishes on Sunday 7 December.

FIBA