The 2024 Women NBL Finals started on very opposite ends compared to the 2022 Finals and it was the UCU Lady Canons who took game one after a 71:66 win against the defending Champions, JKL Lady Dolphins.

It was a very good start to the game for the Lady Canons after going 7:0 in the first 2 minutes.

By the end of the quarter, the Lady Canons led the game 15:7 and things were working in their favor.

The Lady Dolphins’ offense was poor in the opening quarter with just 2 Field Goals and 7 Turnovers.

The second quarter was when everything fell apart for the Lady Dolphins.

The game became more opened up and the Lady Canons scored 4 3-point shots in the quarter, won it 25:16 and took a 17-point lead into the halftime break.

Shakirah Nanvubya also became a problem and she was pulling all the right strings for UCU. She had 9 points and 4 assists to her name in the second quarter.

The UCU Lady Canons’ offense slowed down in the third quarter and the Lady Dolphins were able to cut the deficit to 8 points, heading into the fourth quarter.

With 3 minutes played in the third quarter, the Lady Canons’ big men, Bridget Aber and Sylivia Nantongo both had 4 fouls each and Coach Nick Natuhereza had to make a couple of tactical adjustments.

The Lady Dolphins applied the Full full-court press with trap defense, and it yielded results.

They managed to force 10 turnovers, got fouled 9 times and had 14 Free throw attempts scoring 10 of them in the third quarter.

The JKL Lady Dolphins started the fourth quarter with a 7:0 run and came to within 1 point.

The tension in the game peaked and both Bridget Aber and Jane Asinde fouled out leaving a huge gap for both teams, offensively for JKL and defensively for UCU.

With 2:53 left in the game, Ritah Imanishimwe tied the game with a huge 3-point shot but the Lady Canons managed to maintain their composure.

Tracy Namugosa had the best defensive plays in the next minute as she forced a jump ball and made 2 steals. She added 2 points and an assist in the final 2 minutes and the UCU Lady Canons went on to win 71-66.

Talking points

1. Turnovers

There was a total 52 turnovers in this game, 31 for UCU and 21 for JKL.

The Lady Dolphins capitalized a lot with 27 points from turnovers while UCU scored just 15.

However, it is important to note that most of the turnovers JKL made were unforced. On the other hand, UCU was pressed, more so in the second half, and they made so many mistakes as a result, bringing JKL back in the game.

That carelessness with the ball for JKL cost them a lot more so in the first half and it’s one of the reasons why they trailed by 17 points at halftime.

2. Foul Trouble

With a whopping 49 fouls, this was one of the games with the highest number of fouls in the playoffs.  As a result, there were 56 total Free throws attempted in this game.

Jane Asinde, who was the most productive for the JKL Lady Dolphins, played just 22 minutes, and that was because of the early fouls she got during the game.

She was the biggest offensive threat for JKL and her being off helped the UCU Lady Canons a lot.

The UCU Lady Canons also had trouble of their own as both their big men, Bridget Aber and Sylivia Nantongo each had 4 fouls early in the third quarter.

Despite playing just 18 minutes, Aber had the most defense Rebounds with 7 and +/- 11, the second-highest in the game.

The numbers stress how important she is for UCU and her prolonged absence affected them a lot more so in the second half when the Lady Dolphins were launching a comeback.

3. Who Steps Up?

UCU had 22 bench points while JKL had 10 and the bench was very instrumental in determining the overall winner.

With Nantongo and Aber in foul trouble, Rookie Matrina Anyango got an extended period on the court and she performed well given the circumstances.

She played 25 minutes, got 7 big points, 3/5, 60% FG, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block.

The biggest contributor was Shillah Lamunu who collected a team-high 9 rebounds and 11 points. She added 2 steals and 1 block, but her ability to clean up the boards helped a big deal for UCU.

For JKL, Flavia Oketcho scored 7 points while Miriam Senade added the other 3.

Becky Longom, who made a big impact with collecting rebounds, missed attempts when she had just come on and her confidence disappeared.

She had just 3 attempts in 26 minutes and with Hope Akello not as expected and Jane Asinde out, there were very few points in the paint (14) for JKL.

Match Stats

JKL Lady Dolphins

Jane Asinde 17 pts, 8 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl

Hope Akello 12 pts, 9 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl

Brenda Ekone 13 pts, 1 ast, 2 stl

Ritah Imanishimwe 12 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl

UCU Lady Canons

Shakirah Nanvubya 21 pts, 2 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl

Tracy Namugosa 17 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl

Shillah Lamunu 11 pts, 9 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk

Despite JKL having 18 more attempts than UCU, their efficiency was very low and that is an area they will look to improve in game 2.

Evelyne, who has been one of their top performers, scored 1 of 8 attempts and had just 1 assist.

The fast breaks for Brenda Ekone were cut off, and the defense made it very difficult for her. She scored 3/14 and 7 of her 13 points came from the free throw line.

That overreliance on Jane Asinde was a big factor and with her out, not many stepped up to the expectations.

The UCU Lady Canons scored just 6 3-point shots in 26 attempts but half of their attempts were from Shakirah Nanvubya who had been working too much.

Trying to create for open shooters is an aspect that the Lady Canons are expected to address. The threat that the Lady Canons pose from 3-point shots is so much that if they can get going, it very difficult to stop them.

The teams will face each other on Friday 30th for Game 2 at the Lugogo Indoor Arena.