The JT Lady Jaguars took a 1-0 advantage after defeating the KCCA Leopards in game 1 of the quarter-finals and the game delivered excitement and tension for both the players and fans.

The KCCA Leopards started the game with so much fire, being very proactive of defense and with Perus Nyamwenge scoring 10 first quarter points, everything pointed towards success for them.

The scoring reduced significantly in the second quarter as a total 17 points were scored yet the first had a total 39 points, but nevertheless, the Leopards led the game 32:24 at the halftime break.

The game turned on it’s the third quarter as the Lady Jaguars scored huge 3-point shots, took the lead after 4 minutes and the KCCA Leopards went into panic mode.

The KCCA Leopards didn’t score for the first 7:30 minutes in the fourth quarter and in that time, the Lady Jaguars took the lead.

Despite a few attempts to make moves, it was a little too late foe the Leopards and the Lady Jaguars closed the game with a 7:0 run to win it 55:65

Talking points

The way KCCA Leopards played was like buying a fake phone, it works for a while then it goes back to default.

During the first quarter, everything worked more so defensively. Everyone was hands on, the offense was firing, defense was very active but that was the last we saw of it.

In the next 3 quarters, they went back to the way theh have been playing in the second round against the top 5 teams.

Their fourth quarter performance was pathetic ro say the least and it’s clear as day light that they are the masterminds of their failures.

“We played the best basketball we’ve played. I think the last time we played like this was in first round. We stepped up and played our best but it couldn’t get us to where we want to get” KCCA’s Leanne Nalunkuma reacted to her team’s performance.

“We got tired and i think we needed more breaks. We got so reluctant because we had the lead, that’s where the problem was” she continued.

The Captain Rebecca Susan Aanyu also gave her thoughts about what the biggest problem was foe the team.

“In the first quarter and second quarter, we played team basketball. We decided to leave what was working for us and we started doing other things that’s what made us lose the game”

When asked about what the Leopards need to do in a must win game 2, both Nalunkuma and Rebecca Aanyu pointed out to consistency.

“Consistency from first quarter to fourth quarter because that is what we failed to do today, we only have one thing, to be consistent” Nalunkuma concluded.

“We need to keep doing what is working for us. We were playing some good defense but third and fourth quarter, we relaxed and some players went down”

“We just need to play team basketball on our offense. The Lady Jaguars capitalized on our bad offense to run us down” the Captain Rebecca Susan Aanyu concluded.

Just like Leanne Nalunkuma and Rebecca Susan Aanyu pointed out, the Leopards relaxed when they had the lead and they became reluctant.

All over a sudden, they were allover the place, what had worked for them in the first quarter ceased to exist in the remainder of the game and it is no surprise that they faltered.

For a team that has a plethora of shooters, they did not create for them. All the attempts they made were courtesy of individual basketball, just making an attempt hoping it would go in but none dropped in the final 3 quarters.

The Leopards also shot themselves in the foot as they converted just 9 of 28 attempts from the free throw line. This was the case for the entirety of the game and surely, there’s no one to blame for this but rather the player.

For the Lady Jaguars, it was more about being disciplined more so defensively. When the scores started to reduce for the Leopards, they got frustrated, lost the energy and enthusiasm which opened their defense up.

The Lady Jaguars then began making their moves on offense and they managed to get over the hump.

In the preview of this game, we discussed the threat that Mercy Batamuliza poses. She will not offer much in terms of scoring but she picks rebounds. In this game, she picked 20 rebounds and the Jaguars outrebounded KCCA by 19

Match Stats

KCCA Leopards

Perus Nyamwenge 19 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl

Margaret Bagaala 10 pts, 13 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl

JT Lady Jaguars

Brenda Kayaga 18 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast

Sarah Ageno 11 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 3 blk

Mercy Batamuliza 20 reb, 3 ast, 2 pts

Match Facts

Between the third and fourth quarter, the KCCA Leopards did not score a single field goal in over 10 minutes.