The Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) women’s basketball team on Saturday posted their first victory of the season with a 32-19 win over Daystar University. The Zuku University Basketball League (ZUBL) Nairobi Conference match, played at the University of Nairobi grounds, had seen Daystar win the first quarter with a low score of 5-4, but looked pale and fatigued in the subsequent quarters, losing all.
Though slow in execution of chances, CUEA remained steady to win the last three quarters 1-7, 3-8 and 10-13, to bag their first win after three matches. Catholic’s Ndiga Aketch proved inspirational for her side, contributing more than half the overall scores with 19 points, with Claire Mathusi being the best scorer for Daystar with 8 points.
Despite the hard fought win, CUEA’s coach Sadat Gaye expressed dismay on the low level of play exhibited by his team.
“It is good that we picked our first win but I am yet to be impressed by the performance of my team. The morale is back now that the girls have found their winning touch. However, we need to work harder in improving our technical approach to the match, especially in executing our chances, because the scoring rate is too low,” Gaye said.
In another match also played at the same grounds on Saturday, Daystar Falcons, the varsity’s men’s side, deployed a very solid defensive formation in the final 45 seconds, to protect their one point advantage over Moi University Nairobi and win with the narrowest of margins.
In the closely contested fixture, the Falcons walked home heads high with a
35-34 win. Top scorers were Daystar’s Davidson Oluoch with 11 points and Moi’s Lawrence Wandera who hit 16 points.
In the final match of the day, Mount Kenya University –Thika Campus had an easy ride past CUEA men’s team with a 47-37 (8-11, 8-8, 6-14, 15-14) victory. CUEA’s Brian Simiyu managed 13 points, while MKU’s Derrick Juma scored 11.
