Basketball in Africa

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) ladies basketball team lost its unbeaten run in the Kenya Basketball Federation league after going down 53-54 to Equity Bank on Saturday at the Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium.
Before the loss which ended their 14-0 run for the season, KPA was the only unbeaten team across women premier league, men premier league and division one. Head coach Sammy Kiki partly blamed the loss on fatigue.
“We left Mombasa on Thursday and reached Nairobi on Friday at 11pm due to heavy rains that rendered the road impassable. We had no time to rest or train which contributed to our loss,” he told sportsnewsarena.com.
“On the court, we lost the game in the last two minutes due to lack of concentration. We had three turnovers and allowed Hilda Indasi to score two three-pointers as we trailed by five points.”
He is not concerned that they have lost their unbeaten record but stays focused on playoffs.
“We wanted to end the season unbeaten but since that is now gone, the focus turns to ensuring this team is ready for the playoffs.”
On Sunday, the dockers won their second game of the weekend beating Kenya College of Accountancy- University (KCA-U) 76-10 with quarterly scores of 19-0, 19-5, 14-4 and 24-1.
KPA went on a 23-0 scoring run up to early second quarter when Christine Wanja made a basket for KCA-U to the delight of fans in the gymnasium.
Wanja finished with five points, Immaculate Njeri had two free shots, Joyce Awour had a basket plus a free shot from Edwina Jadima to complete KCA-U scores for the day. Yvonne Akinyi and Irene Akinyi top scored for KPA with 14 points each, Magnifique Magnifique added 12 while Evelyn Itabo scored 10.
USIU stop Strath 
United States International University- Africa (USIU-A) beat Strathmore University 51-38 after dominating in second half. Both teams sized up each other well in first half with USIU-A walking away with a slim 15-13 win in first quarter. Strathmore took a 2-0 lead before tying 2-2. They shot ahead 4-2 but USIU-A took the lead at 5-4.
Melissa Akinyi scored five points for USIU-A as they extended their lead to 10-4 with four minutes played. Rachel Opinya led the offensive as Strathmore fought back to reduce the deficit to just two points.
Within seconds of second quarter, Susan Manya made a basket to tie at 15-15 but Cynthia Irankunda shot USIU-A ahead with a basket.
Mollete Achieng then tied 17-17 with a basket for Strathmore before Opinya assured the lead with a three-pointer. Sarah Chan propelled USIU-A to a 23-20 lead with a basket and two free shots plus a shot from Maureen Andalia.
Strathmore came level with a three-point shot from Joyce Masiga but Chan broke the deadlock with a basket and free shot. USIU-A won the quarter 14-10 to lead 29-23 at halftime.
Melissa Akinyi gave USIU-A good foothold in third quarter with crucial steals and six free shots as they won 10-5 to stretch their lead to 11 points. USIU-A won fourth quarter 12-10 as Chan top scored with 20 points and Akinyi finished with 11.
Wins for Co-op 
Mollete Achieng scored 11 points for Strathmore and Opinya added 9.
Co-operative Bank beat Ulinzi Blades 66-63, Celina Okumu top scoring with 14 points and Reldine Akinyi adding 13. Bridgit Nanzala scored highest for Ulinzi with 20 points. Masaku Sparks beat Western Delight 87-39 in Kakamega.
Co-op Bank beat Ulinzi Warriors 62-54 in men premier league’s interconference tie. The bankers took a brief 4-1 lead in first quarter before Ulinzi overturned at 6-4 and dominated to win the quarter 18-14.
Co-op Bank won second quarter 15-12 but Ulinzi enjoyed a one point advantage at the breather leading 30-29. In third quarter, Co-op Bank took a 31-30 before Ulinzi led 32-31. The bankers were on the lead again 33-32 and had opened up a big gap after six minutes of play at 42-34. They won the quarter 20-14 to lead 49-43.
With 5:40 into second quarter, Co-op Bank was leading 56-46. It was a delicate balancing act for Ulinzi who had Victor Odendo fouled out on five fouls while William Ochieng, Byron Mabonga and Eric Mutoro were all on four fouls each. The bankers ended up winning the quarter 13-10.
On Saturday, Ulinzi beat Nakuru Club 61-36. Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) had a plus in their fight against relegation when they beat Nairobi Aviation College 78-40. KAA dominated in all quarters winning 17-8, 21-10, 20-9 and 20-13.
Steve McOdongo hit four three-pointers to top score for KAA with 23 points while Evans Ng’eno had 20. Brian Aboge scored 11 points for Aviation with Sammy Ocholla and Deng Mayen scoring 9 each.
KBF Weekend Results: KCA-U 60 Trailblazers 61, Upper Hill 62 Baraka Xtreme 53, Masaku Sparks 87 Western Delight 39, KCA-U 60 Barclays Bank 55, Ulinzi Warriors 61 Nakuru Club 36, Co-op Bank 66 Ulinzi Blades 63, MKU Thika 69 Parklands Baptist 40, USIU Flames 51 Strathmore Swords 38, KCA-U 10 KPA 76, KAA 78 Nairobi Aviation College 40, Ulinzi Warriors 54 Co-op Bank 62.