PRETORIA (South Africa) - Despite having a strong presence in the senior level, Cameroon made their debut in the U18 Women's AfroBasket and are proving to be a force despite losing their opening match.
Landing in Group A that had former champions Tunisia, returning Rwanda and hosts South Africa, Ange Majolie Lonteu's charges held their own to qualify for the Last Eight.
Back-to-back wins against hosts South Africa (107-23) and Rwanda (79-46) got the Central Africans through to the Quarter Finals as the second best team in Group A, falling only to Tunisia (73-59) in the opener.
Seventeen-year-old Damaris Emedie has been at the centre of this run, maintaining a consistent double-double show even in the side's loss to the 2004 champions.
Offense
Emedie announced herself to the basketball world with an 18-point, 11-rebounds double-double against Tunisia, leading her side in efficiency at 21. She was the only Cameroonian to hit double digits on points against Wissem Chrayet-coached Tunisia.
As the Central Africans regrouped for a massive victory against the hosts, the center dropped 19 points, the second highest score for her side, behind Kelya Kipo's tournament-leading 33.
Her conversion percentage had, however, dropped in the second match from 50% to 34.6% and, in what appears to be her signature style on play, no attempts behind the arc as the 17-year-old maintains the traditional center duties.
In the final group match against Rwanda, with both sides chasing qualification, she led her side again with 35 in efficiency after a 21 points, 17 rebounds double-double, with four assists to boot.
Standing at 1,92mm (6ft 4in), Emedie's height advantage over most of her peers in the tournament has been a weapon she has used, coupled with spectacular footwork and ability to jump above her markers to score.
She has also made five assists across the 3 matches played, one in each of the opening two matches and four against Rwanda. Emedie has averaged 3 steals per game.
Defense
Averaging 16.3 rebounds, she has pulled more boards defensively, 8, 12 and 13 against Tunisia, South Africa and Rwanda. Offensively she has accumulated 16.
She is leading the rebounding charts and has made some game-changing blocks, especially against Rwanda where she made five.
Outlook
Coach Majolie Lonteu has a scoring machine in this center who has averaged 27.6 minutes on the floor. Emedie will be crucial for Cameroon against Angola, who qualified for the Quarters as the second best side in Group B.
FIBA