DAKAR (Senegal) - Women's Basketball League Africa (WBLA) outgoing champions Alexandria Sporting Club (ASC) and Cameroon's FAP won their respective classification matches as the competition entered day seven at the Marius Ndiaye Arena in Dakar.
Here's how the action unfolded;
FAP get better of ASB Makomeno
Cameroon's FAP defeated ASB Makomeno 65-50.
In a match that Ange Majolie's charges led for just under 35 minutes, the Congolese opponents kept them close with a third quarter rally, the match heading to the final stanza with the teams separated by a basket ( 46-44).
A 10-2 rally in the opening half of the final stanza for Majolie's charges made all the difference as they played for a 19-6 quarter to carry the day and keep hopes of a ninth-place finish. They dominated the paint 44-26 for the victory.
"We corrected our mistakes coming into this game and executed better. The players wanted to prove themselves throughout the competition and they played hard for this win," coach Majolie says.
Breanna Campbell led the scoring charts with 15, coming an assist shy of a double-double as Ionna McKenzie bossed the boards for 16 rebounds, adding eight points and three steals for a game-high 21 in efficiency rating.
"We had targeted the knockouts but it didn't work as expected. It was difficult to focus and the level of competition was tough. We hope to come back better for the next one," Cynthia Amayaba who featured for University of Douala in last year's showpiece says.
ASB Makomeno's Aichata Traoré, meanwhile, led the comeback attempt for her side, dropping a double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds.
"The game started well, they had a run but we made a comeback. We were, however, nervous and couldn't handle the last quarter pressure. We made a lot of mistakes that led to costly turnovers hence the loss," Bembeleza Musoga said.
Sporting Alexandria back to winning ways against MFM Queens
American imports Lianna Monet Tillman and Kristen Spolyar starred as holders ASC played for a 61-48 victory against MFM Queens from Nigeria, subjecting the latter to their fourth loss of the competition while registering their second victory in four matches.
Tillman scored 17, adding five rebounds and three assists as Spolyar, the only other player to hit double digits on points, dropping 13 while adding four rebounds and three steals in the victory. MFM's charge was led by Wandoo Marvis Hembam and Abigail Isaac who dropped 15 and 11 points respectively. Sporting Alexandria head coach Amr Elmaraghy said: "We are very disappointed. This was unprecedented from our team as we came in as defending champions. We missed the services of two key players Hagar Amer and Habiba Elgizawy who have been key for us in previous editions and in the league.
"We also had little time to prepare. We are not making excuses but taking the lessons from this run to regroup and come back better. We had a relatively young squad and we are confident this experience will go a long way in preparing us for the next championship."
FIBA