The UCU Lady Canons secured a 75-68 victory in their opening game of the season against a resilient Miracle Ravens side on Sunday 23rd March.

The Ravens, who had won their first game of the season the day before, came into the game with hopes of making it 2-0 but it was always going to be a tough task.

On the other hand, the UCU Lady Canons were playing their first game and there were multiple new faces in the team.

The Lady Canons started strong, scoring on each of  their first 3 possessions but the offense soon slowed down.

They took the first quarter 15-10 but all the 10 Miracle Ravens points were scored by Brenda Alyano.

The Lady Canons was just ahead in the second quarter but the Ravens soon caught up and took the lead with 3 minutes left in the quarter.

However, the Ravens did not score in the final 3 minutes of the quarter and UCU took a 4-point lead into the halftime break.

UCU had some trouble taking care of the ball in the second quarter. They had 8 turnovers and despite Miracle not capitalizing a lot on this, it was still a huge concern.

The UCU Lady Canons started the fourth third quarter with an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 12 points.

With 6 minutes left in the game, they led by 15 points, and Miracle had scored just 1 field goal in the first 4 minutes of the quarter.

However, they scored some points in the final minutes to make it a 10-point game with the final 10 minutes to play.

In their previous game, Miracle Ravens trailed in the fourth quarter but came back and won by 19 points.

They had that same confidence and knew that they could make a comeback.

In the first 3 minutes of the final quarter, they outscored UCU 11-2 to make it a 1-point game and the momentum was in their favor.

The turnover syndrome once again struck the Lady Canons. They had 5 turnovers in less than 3 minutes but they still got away with one because Miracle did not punish them severely for this.

The teams back and forth and with less than 5  minutes, the game was tied 62 a piece.

Despite the efforts, Miracle Ravens couldn’t complete the comeback and UCU Lady Canons went on to win the game 75-68.

Shillah Lamunu scored 7 crucial points in clutch time to help the Lady Canons secure the win.

Match Stats

UCU Lady Canons

Sylivia Nakituuka 14 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl

Shillah Lamunu 12 pts, 9 reb, 6 ast

Hajara Najjuko 13 pts, 10 reb

Millicent Otieno 11 pts

Miracle Ravens

Brenda Alyano 32 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl

Miriam Namukwaya 19 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl

Facts

Brenda Alyano is the first player to score 30+ points in a game this season.

She also became to first player to score all the team’s points in a quarter (10 in the first).

UCU Lady Canons had 4 debutants for them, Sarah Namale, Asacha Mariam, Zoe Atek and Saima Christine.

The UCU Lady Canons take on KIU Rangers in a rematch of the 2024 semifinals on Friday, the 28th, at Lugogo Indoor Arena.

Miracle Ravens face the KCCA Leopards in their next game on Wednesday 26th at the Lugogo Indoor Arena.