Malu Powers Equity Bank to first AWBL win over ASPAC 

ALEXANDRIA (Egypt) - A fourth quarter 27-8 blowout for Kenyan side Equity Bank Hawks saw them pick their first Africa Women's Basketball League (AWBL) win, defeating Benin's ASPAC 87-69.

The bankers came from behind, having trailed 39-35 at halftime, to outscore ASPAC 25-22 and 27-8 in the final two stanzas to help themselves get back to winning ways after losing their opener to Inter Clube of Angola on Monday.

Hawks center Grace Malu was the star of the show as she finally found her footing in the final period, scoring 13 to take her final tally to 25 with 17 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Grace Malu

Skipper Melissa Otieno who endured a slow start as well scoring 8 in the opening half, added 10 in the third quarter and three in the final period to complete the comeback win with 21 and 5 assists. 

Betty Kananu and Maryann Nyagaki also managed double digits with 16 and 11 points respectively, the former completing her double-double with 12 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal. 

Hawks coach Benson Oluoch said in his post-match interview: "We pushed the ball more and our shots were falling in the final period which wasn't the case in the opening three quarters so we will look to build on this momentum going forward.

Benson Oluoch

"We reduced our turnovers in this match from 37 in the opening match to 21 but that number is still high as we allowed them to score 26 points from our turnovers. We still need to take care of the ball better and improve our conversion percentage. We missed a lot of open layups as well and it took time for us to adjust so we will need to work on that," Oluoch added.

His sentiments were echoed by Nyagaki who said after Monday's loss, something she attributed to a jittery start,  the team had to regroup and shake that defeat off while correcting their mistakes and it paid off in today's win. 

Meanwhile, Aishatou Kondoh, who emerged as the game's top scorer with 26, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal for ASPAC, blamed their final quarter slump on turnovers arguing that the team had an opportunity to bounce back in upcoming matches, having proved they can be competitive and only need to find the character to finish their matches strong. 

Godgift Benson who was ASPAC's second-best scorer with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals echoed her teammate's sentiments adding: "It was a good fight but being our first game we made some mistakes that we will work ok ahead of the second game. It will also be crucial to follow the coach's instructions and I am sure we will bounce back," Godgift said. 

FIBA