The Kenya lionesses flourished against Egypt 99-83 to win the Zone V and book a ticket to the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket in a six-day tournament played at Kigali Arena in Rwanda.
Kenya started the tournament losing against hosts Rwanda, won the second encounter against South Sudan before suffering a heartbreak against Egypt in a game that ended 107-106, which made them finish in third place.
In the semi-finals, The Kenya Lionesses came back stronger and revenge against Rwanda to advance to the final in hopes of participation in the AfroBasket scheduled in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
On Saturday, July 18, 2021, the very motivated and energetic side, Kenya, came away victorious in a well-deserving victory 99-83 against Egypt.
The Kenyans led the Egyptians 29-24 in the first quarter and held a 50-42 advantage at the break. Kenya was still ahead 77-69 after the third quarter with the same momentum in the fourth to finish off the game in style, 99-83
Victoria Reynolds, debuting for Kenya in this tournament, recorded a game-high 25 points on 10 for 13 shooting, including 2 of 2 from beyond the arc. She finished the game with 76 FG%
The USA-based player who was aiming to qualify for her native country and followed in the footsteps of her father “Ben Wanjara” who represented Kenya in the 1993 AfroBasket, was also awarded as the tournament’s best small forward as well as the tournament’s most valuable player.
The Kenya Lionesses join the hosts Cameroon, 2019 champions Nigeria, finalists Senegal, third-place Mali as well as the fourth semi-finalists, Mozambique who automatically qualified for the event.
Cape Verde will represent Zone 2 while other zones are to complete their qualification games before the end of the month. 2 wild cards are expected to be given.
