This archive report was first published on 30 June 2019.
On Sunday, June 30, 2019, Kenya's women's basketball team made a stunning comeback to defeat hosts Uganda 67-62 in the semi-finals of the Fiba Africa Zone five qualifiers at the Lugogo Indoor courts.
This victory sets the stage for a thrilling final match against Egypt, which will take place on Monday, July 1, 2019, at 5pm. The winner of this match will secure the sole ticket to the African games to be held in Morocco in August.
Earlier in the day, Egypt had eliminated Rwanda in the semi-finals with a 78-73 win. In the opening match, Egypt had beaten Kenya 86-82, and went on to win all their matches, finishing at the top of the log ahead of the playoffs.
Uganda had finished second, Kenya third, and Rwanda fourth in the matches, which were played in a round-robin format, with the top four teams qualifying for the semi-finals.
Uganda had beaten Kenya 66-46 in the last preliminary stage on Saturday, June 29, 2019, and came into the match full of confidence, but Kenya's Felmas Koranga-led team had other plans.
The Kenyan team took the first quarter 17-15 and continued to press their hosts, leading by 10 points at the break with the scores at 35-25.
However, the third quarter was balanced, with Uganda's Jamila Zama coming to life, but her trademark penetration shots and three-point shots were met with instant replies from Hilda Indasi, who was also on fire for Kenya, with the scores 55-45 in favour of the visitors.
Kenya's US-based Koranga scored a game-high 18 points to lead the scoring for Kenya, while Indasi contributed 12 points and Betty Kananu eight.
Finland-based professional Clare Lamunu top-scored for Uganda with 21 points, while Martha Soigi and Zama contributed 10 points each.
