Pearl Queens started their second round with a 74-56 victory over the JT Junior lady Jaguars but the story of the day was their new signing.

Lavin Auma, who was signed from Kenya’s Equity started her Division One campaign with a bang, scoring 21 points and picking 20 rebounds in 25 minutes.

The other new signing is Elsy Khaboshe who helped the YMCA Lady Hamstars get promoted to the NBL in 2023. She then transferred to the UPDF Lady Tomahawks but did not play much and thus returned to Kenya where she played for Swiss Women Basketball.

In her debut for the Pearl Queens, she scored 11 points and picked 8 rebounds.

The 18-point victory may not tell the whole story but Pearl Queens struggled in the first half.

They scored just 26 points in the first half while the Junior Jaguars had 28.

Pearl Queens made 7 turnovers in the first quarter and the Jaguars punished them with 14 points from turnovers. That was the main reason as to why they led the game at halftime but all that changed in the second half.

The Pearl Queens scored 48 points in the second half to JT’s 28 and won the game 74-56.

Almost all their points in the second quarter came from the paint and they managed to utilize their size advantage.

Auma scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half but she had one downside to her performance. The free throws. She missed 7 of her 8 attempts and that is an area that she will have to address.

Match stats

Pearl Queens

Lavin Auma Owino 21pts, 20 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk

Khaboshe Elsy 11 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl

Cinderella Charity 9 pts, 11 reb, 4 stl

JT Junior Lady Jaguars

Patricia Namugambe 15 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 6 stl

Joan Baigulanira 8 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl

The Junior Lady Jaguars are a much improved side after a few additions to their team.

They take on Lady Jills next on Saturday 16th and Victoria She crocs on Sunday 17th.

Pearl Queens have added some top signings as they look to book their place in the 2026 NBL.

They take on the YMCA Lady Hamstars on Saturday 16th and Kampala Univeristy,a side that took them to overtime in round one, on Sunday 17th.

Since YMCA still has some pending issues, it is uncertain if the game shall be played.