KIBAHA (Tanzania) - Kenya made history by qualifying for their maiden FIBA U16 Women's AfroBasket to be held in Rwanda (September 2-14) after finishing the FIBA Zone 5 AfroBasket tournament with a 3-0 record on Saturday.
Led by Nairobi City Thunder assistant coach Rose Mshilla, the Kenyans beat fellow East African nations Uganda (63-40), Rwanda (61-53) and the host nation Tanzania (79-51).
In an interview after the win over Rwanda, Mshilla was impressed with the type of basketball her team had played in the first two games.
"So far, we have stayed true to the identity of basketball we want to play. We came here wanting to play a fast-paced brand of basketball. The girls have committed to running the floor, which we have done well. Defensively, the intensity is where we want it to be, and it is allowing us to generate multiple offensive looks," said Mshilla. "Our focus is on how we want to play as a nation. So, our girls are working on building that brand of basketball."
Trixy Ochieng (16.5 points and eight assists) and team captain Chelsea Onamu (14 points, 9.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists) were the stars for Kenya during the qualifiers.
Onamu had double-doubles in Kenya's opening game against Uganda (11 points and 10 rebounds) and their last against Tanzania (16 points and 12 rebounds).
This year's U16 AfroBasket hosts, Rwanda, ended their campaign with a 2-1 record after beating Tanzania (74-69) and Uganda (64-51).
Atete Laissa Ndaruhutse was a standout player in coach Joselyne Munyaneza's team. Ndaruhutse, who averaged 22 points and seven rebounds, was a consistent performer for her country in the qualifying tournament.
Rwanda's run in Tanzania has indicated areas of their game that need improvement. After finishing in seventh place in the 2023 edition of the tournament in Tunisia, Rwanda will want to do far better than that on home soil.
FIBA