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Kenya defeated Rwanda 69-58 to hand them a second straight loss at the ongoing FIBA Women’s Zone V Afrobasket Qualifiers.
The defending champions simply had a lot more tools compared to their opponents and dominated the game.
Cheikh Starr’s charges are in the tournament to prepare for Afrobasket which will be hosted in Kigali, Rwanda between July 28th and August 6th.
Mercy Wanyama and Victoria Reynolds led Kenya with 16 and 15 points respectively.
Melissa Otieno added 12 points for the defending champions to record their second win in Kampala.
The Lionesses got out of the blocks early, starting the game with a 13-0 run, with Melissa Otieno and Mercy Wanyama providing early offense.
Rwanda’s first points of the game came from former Rosine Micomyiza, who made two free throws with 4.48 left on the clock
Marie Imanizabayo connected from three-point range triple of the day to cut the lead to eight points but Kenya further stretched it to 12 points (17-05) by the end of the first ten minutes.
Two threes from Diamond Richardson had Rwanda back to within seven points, forcing Kenya into a timeout.
Tetero Odile made free throws to cut the deficit to just five points (29-24) with 38.3 seconds of the first half left.
The Lionesses led by just four points (29-25) at the end of the second quarter as Rwanda recovered well to make it a contest. Rwanda led 32-30 when Odile got another triple early in the third quarter.
But George Mayienga’s side got back in it to lead 48-46 going into the last quarter and went on to win by 11 points.
Odile led Rwanda with 18 points while Richardson and Martine Umuhoza added 10 and nine respectively.
Up next for Kenya is a clash with South Sudan on Friday, Rwanda will play Egypt on the same day.
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