Madagascar and Mali off to good start at 2015 FIBA Africa U16 Women's Championship

ANTANANARIVO (2015 FIBA Africa Women's U16 Championship) - Hosts Madagascar and reigning champions Mali have shown their intentions right from the start of the fourth edition of the FIBA Africa U16 Women's Championship, with the two teams on Saturday posting resounding 62-29 and 77-50 wins respectively.

In their tournament opener against Morocco, the home side got off to a quick start and led 17-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Madagascar extended their advantage by pouring in 14 points making the most of turnovers by their opponents for a 31-12 lead at halftime.

Minaoharisoa Jaofera played a crucial role and had a game-high 14 points to lead Madagascar, with Lalaina Emilie Rasoanomenjanahary adding a dozen. Morocco's Rkia Mouharrar had 10 points but could not change things for her team.

Meanwhile, defending champion Mali got off to a successful start in their title defence, beating Mozambique by 77- 50.

Both teams showed a balanced game in the first half with a slight advantage for Mali, who led 21-18 at the end of the first quarter and 38-29 at halftime.

In the second half, Mali put tremendous pressure on Mozambique, forcing them to turn the bal over. The tactic worked to great effect as the Malians extend their advantage and outscored their opponents 39-21 over the last two quarters.

Rokia Doumbia and Djeneba Sangare had 18 points each in the winning cause.

Angola beat Tunisia 68-57 in the first game of Group B.

The Angolans dominated inside, scoring 32 points in the paint. Tunisia got 16 points off of fastbreaks, but their lack of accuracy from three-point range - 5 of 38 -  cost them dearly

Angola's Regina Maria Pequenio poured in a game-high 21 points while Tunisia's captain Shili Marwa had 19 points and 9 rebounds in their losing effort.

Debutants Nigeria had a surprise result as they manage to fend off three-times runners-up Egypt.

Rita James had 19 points in leading the Nigerians to a 54 -52 win.

Egypt got off to great start to lead 20-6 at the end of the first quarter. However, Nigeria battled back in a low scoring second period to get within 26-20 at halftime. 

The carried that momentum into the second half, outscoring the Egyptians 23-16 and 11-10 over the final two quarters.

Go to http://u16madagascar2015.fibaafrica.com/index.php/en for full coverage of the 2015 FIBA Africa Women's U16 Championship.

FIBA