In the arena, the pulsating energy stirred the hearts of the fans, officials, and players in the final minute of the game.

The heart of Mercy Batamuliza must have been pounding the most as she went to the Free-throw line with a chance to win the game for the Lady Jaguars with 1.6 seconds left.

After making the first free throw, a high-pitched scream of excitement erupted from the Lady Jaguars bench, signaling their inching closer to victory.

She made the second and the after a timeout, Becky Longom made an airball and the JT Lady Jaguars sealed the victory 70:68.

One could wonder, how did the JKL Lady Dolphins lose this one?

At halftime, Rhoda Nagitta delivered a powerful inspiring speech that galvanized the Lady Jaguars, leading to a complete turnaround.

The Lady Jaguars had started the game on a high, leading 13:3 after 4 minutes but the 3-time champions adjusted and played better.

3 minutes after the second quarter, the game was tied after JKL made a 9:3 run, and shortly after that, they took the lead through Agatha Kamwada, who drilled the 3-point shot.

At the halfway point, the JKL Lady Dolphins led 35-31 and all signs pointed to getting the win and completing the sweep but the Lady Jaguars had other ideas.

They came out fired up, played very good defense and they took a 5-point lead at the end of the third quarter.

Sarah Ageno scored a very important 3-point shot with 2:10 to give JT a 6 point but the JKL still had life in them.

They pushed the Lady Jaguars, forced them to foul and Evelyne Nakiyinji scored a huge 3 pointer and 3 Free throws in less than a minute.

The Lady Dolphins had one final gasp in them when Flavia Oketcho made  the steal and that missed attempt but the Jaguars got redemption won the game from the line.

Talking points

Fight to the death mentality

During halftime, Rhoda Nagitta and Sarah Ageno were the ones trying to encourage the team to stay on course, and one of the statements that was used was, “You guys, we have nothing else to do. We have to fight” and the encouragement worked because the situation turned around.

The Lady Jaguars played better defensively in the third quarter and they were rewarded. They closed out the quarter with a 6:0 run but most importantly, JKL was limited to just 1 point in the final 3 minutes of the quarter.

Sarah Ageno late Charge

The JT Lady Jaguars had a 6-point lead with 95 seconds left in the game and Sarah Ageno appeared to have a made a basket and the foul.

To the surprise of the Lady Jaguars camp, it was called an offensive foul and given that it was her fifth, she had to sit out the remainder of the game.

This call comes a day after the Game 3 between the  Namuwongo Blazers and KIU Titans were a foul that was called on Chuma sparked a lot of chaos.

Some of the arguments put forward state that the fouls are too soft and in such moments, a no-call would be the best call.

Flavia Oketcho big miss

The game was tied at 68 and the JKL Lady Dolphins had a chance to score.

The Captain, Flavia Oketcho got a a steal and had a chance to attack the basket. Instead, she decided to take a 3-point shot and she missed.

The Lady Jaguars collected th rebound and had enough time to shoot, pick the rebound and ultimately that foul on Mercy Batamuliza.

This miss by Flirsh is very significant because she did not make the ‘best’ decision. The Lady Jaguars were in foul trouble and at that point, they were in panic mode.

Flavia attacking the basket seemed like the wisest option but she chose the latter.

Secondly, she left a lot of time on the clock and that lack of awareness cost her team dearly.

The fact that the JT Lady Jaguars still had enough time to advance the ball, take shot, and get the rebound is telling about how much careless the Lady Dolphins were in the final seconds and it all started with that missed shot.

Batamuliza effect

Mercy Batamuliza has had good performances but the biggest problem has been scoring. In the first 2 games, she collected 32 rebounds but only scored 13 points.

With the kind of threat she pauses with her height, that number is very small and in game 3 she upped her performance.

Despite scoring just 2 Field Goals, Mercy scored a team-high 14 points and was fouled 8 times, the highest in the game. She also scored 10 of her 12  free throws including the game winners.

Match Stats

JKL Lady Dolphins

Evelyne Nakiyinji 19 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast

Hope Akello 10 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl

Brenda Ekone 10 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast

JT Lady Jaguars

Rhoda Nagitta 14 ptsz 1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl

Mercy Batamuliza 14 pts, 19 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl

Sarah Ageno 13 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk

Facts

This is the second loss that the JKL Lady Dolphins have gotten throughout the season. Their first came against the KIU Rangers, 50-55 in Round One.

The two teams will meet again on Friday 23rd and the JT Lady Jaguars will be looking to build on this victory and force a game 5.

The JKL Lady Dolphins will be hoping for the return of Jane Asinde and also closing out to the game and advancing to the final.