ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - Cote d'Ivoire are looking to become the first host nation to win the Women's AfroBasket in front of their home fans, since Nigeria in 2005, in their first time hosting.
That's arguably a lofty target for the Elephants who, despite having shown impressive levels of competitiveness in recent years, their best result in tournament history remains fourth-place at the 2009 showpiece in Madagascar.
To achieve the feat, they will have to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges posed by teams ranked higher. A podium finish would, equally, be a remarkable result for the Stéphane Leite-coached side.
However, if their opening win over Egypt (75-63), to protect home court, is anything to go by, the hosts have a gem, a secret weapon even, in France-based forward Laetitia Sahie.
Making a comeback after her debut in the 2021 competition where she averaged 15 points and 6.5 rebounds in six games to lead the Ivorians to seventh, the Le Harvey (Pro B Division) talent erupted for a 10-for-12 from the field, including 1-for-2 from deep, and finished with a game-high 23 points.
She also grabbed eight rebounds, two assists and as many steals to finish with 28 in efficiency rating, the highest for her side, despite turning the ball over 5 times.
"Playing as a team was key for us," the 25-year-old maintains. "We took valuable lessons from our warm-up game loss against Mali. It's a privilege for me to be in this position of helping Côte d'Ivoire win our first game at home. All that in front of our friends and family, it was special."
She comes to the African competition off a remarkable run at club level this season where she averaged 13.5 points, 10.4 rebounds,in2.6 assists, 2.4 steals and 2.3 blocks.
Her efforts in Cote d'Ivoire's quest, will be complimented by other talents led by EuroLeague Women Kariata Diaby who was, this week, released by her American side Connecticut Sun after participating in 13 games.
Diaby brings extensive experience to the Elephants after more than a decade of professional basketball. She has had stints with Charnay Basket Bourgogne Sud, Landerneau Bretagne Basket, ESB Villeneueve-d'Ascq and Tango Bourges Basket before her WNBA move.
Adding to the squad depth is American-Ivorian duo of Molly Kaiser and Ameryst Alston.
FIBA