The JKL Lady Dolphins lived to die another day after surviving the JT lady jaguars scare in game one of the semi-finals.
The JT Lady Jaguars shocked many after sweeping “title contenders” KCCA Leopards in the quarter-finals and they came out strong in game one of semi-finals against the defending champions.
The Lady Jaguars led the game 17:14 after the first quarter courtesy of a buzzer beater by Ayikoru Sandra Wangeshi but the most outstanding thing was their defense.
In the second quarter, both teams missed plenty of opportunities and in the last 5 minutes of the quarter, a total of 3 field goals were made by both teams but the lady Dolphins were trailing by a single point going into halftime.
TheJaguars started the third quarter with a 7:0 run but the Lady Dolphins put a stop to it as they scored 5 points of their own. Annet Among then took over with 3 consecutive baskets of the Lady jaugars but the Lady Dolphins soon got solutions.
They upped their defense, closed out the quarter with a 9:0 run to take the lead 40:39 and the momentum was now in their favor.
The offense from both teams in the fourth quarter was similar to what had happened in the second. JKL Lady Dolphins scored just 1 field goal in the final 5 minutes while the Lady Jaguars scored 2 and eventually, JKL won the game 51:48.
Talking Points
JT Lady Jaguars defense vis-à-vis offense
The Lady jaguars have had the best defense in the league throughout the season. They concede 48.8 points and are the only team limiting teams to below 50 points. However, their offense has not been the most pleasing and in the games were they lost, this was their biggest challenge.
“There is a point where offense got stagnant. We weren’t scoring yet we were playing very good defense; we needed to reward ourselves” Lady Jaguars’ Rhoda Nagitta after the game.
The limited number of good scorers has been the biggest problem. Brenda Kayaga and Sarah Ageno have to carry a lot of the team’s weight offensively and that is not sustainable.
For a stretch in the game, Annet Among turned up and the Lady jaguars need more players to rise up to the occasion if they are to have a chance.
Mercy Batamuliza who had the most efficiency and 14 rebounds scored 3 of her 7 attempts. She needs to have more and with her height, she will cause problems for the opponents.
Rebounding battle
In the series against KCCA Leopards, Mercy Batamuliza collected 20 and 22 rebounds respectively but coming up against Becky Longom and Hope Akello was not going to be an easy day for her. She picked 14 while the other 2 collected a total 21 and JKL won that one 58:51.
Match Stats
JKL Lady Dolphins
Brenda Ekone 15 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl
Jane Asinde 12 pts, 7 reb, 1 stl
Becky Longom 6 pts, 10 reb, 1 stl
JT Lady Jaguars
Mercy Batamuliza 14 reb, 6 reb, 1 ast
Brenda Kayaga 9 pts, 2 reb
Sarah Ageno 8 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl
The teams meet again on Sunday 18th August at the Lugogo indoor Arena.
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