Second quarter dominance as UCU defeat JKL to force a decisive game 5.

basketball, Women

Second quarter dominance as UCU defeat JKL to force a decisive game 5.

The UCU Lady Canons limited JKL to just 5 points in the second quarter and held on to win game 4 65-50 force game 5.

October 11, 2025

5–7 minutes

Jkl Lady Dolphins, National Basketball League, NBL 25, UCU Lady Canons

For a second game in this series, the JKL Lady Dolphins have had long spells were they have been smothered defensively.

In the third quarter of game 2, JKL was scoreless for over 8 minutes and UCU made a 14-0 run to tie the game.

Game 4 was a bit different but similar. The Lady Dolphins completely fell apart in the second quarter, going for over 5 minutes without scoring.

What was surprising was the fact that they had dominated the first quarter and they led the game 20-10.

To have a meltdown like that in the next quarter was very unprecedented.

They scored just 2 field goals, the first a second chance opportunity while the second was a steal and an easy layup.

After taking the lead in the second quarter, the UCU Lady Canons did not relinquish it and they went on to win the game 65-50.

The JKL Lady Dolphins came into this game with a 2-1 lead and had a chance to end the series and advance to the finals.

They were hot from the 3-point line as they buried 4 of their 9 attempts in the first quarter, Hope Akello with 2.

Once again, Ruth Letaru was tasked with the job of putting pressure on Shillah Lamunu.

This worked in bits because the other UCU players were not comfortable handling the ball and made mistakes.

However, that did not work for long because UCU found a solution and when Ruth was taken off, Flavia Oketcho did not apply the same energy on Shillah which was an advantage to UCU.

In the second quarter, the Lady Canons changed to a zone defense and were very alert and active, cutting off all driving lanes.

JKL tried to find spaces to exploit but there was none and they opted for the 3-point shots.

In the first 5 minutes of the quarter, all the attempts that JKL made were from the 3-point line but none of them were made.

This UCU defense was turned into attack as soon as the rebound was secured.

Zoe Atek made herself a scoring option on offense, going to the rim to score to 2 layups and a 3-point shot.

Sylivia Nakituuka added the other triple and before long the game was tied.

The Lady Canons made a 15-0 run before Ritah Imanishimwe scored JKL’s first points in the quarter after over 5 minutes.

Hajara Najjuko also joined the 3-point party and she scored the final 2 points to make it 30-25 at the halftime break.

In third quarter, UCU led by as many as 10 points but JKL was not done fighting.

They managed to apply pressure and once again it paid off.

The Lady Canons started making unnecessary mistakes and had 6 turnovers, 3 of which resulted into 7 points for JKL.

For a stretch, Evelyne Nakiyingi scored 7 points for JKL to bring them to within 2 points but UCU responded.

They scored the final 2 baskets for the quarter to make it 43-36.

Between the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth, both teams did not score in more 4 minutes.

In clutch time, the Lady Canons led by 9 points and it seemed all hope was lost for the Lady Dolphins.

However, Hope Akello breathed life into the team. She scored a ridiculously difficult layup and followed it up with a 3-point shot to make it a 4-point game.

Shillah Lamunu responded with 2 big baskets and all of a sudden, their was no life left in the Lady Dolphins and the silence from the bench said it all.

The University side closed the game with an 11-0 run to make it 65-50.

Coaches Remarks

UCU Lady Canons Head Coach Nicholas Natuhereza shared his thoughts on the game.

“Coming into this game, the idea was to play every minute as though it was the last and rise above the pressure of possible elimination.”

Coach Nick commented on the press that JKL applied.

“Even in the regular season in the games when we played against them (JKL), they had stretches where they pressed us and we struggled to get across the court, turned over the ball which gave them many easy points. We came into this series expecting that.”

He added “I can say that we have gotten better at handling the pressure as the series grows.”

On Hope Akello 3-point shooting and limiting her damage in the paint, he said;

“Akello is a much better player in the paint. Coming into the series, we knew that we had to control her from the inside and that means that sometimes you have to live with her hitting shots from the outside”

“For us the job is to make sure that we can do enough to trouble her and make life difficult for her and limit the damage that she can do.”

In this game, UCU had 20 more rebounds than JKL and Coach Nick also talked about that.

“For us, the points we want to take away are the easy ones. The points from turnovers and second chances. One of the ways you control the game is by rebounding and hopefully we can do that on Sunday [in game 5].”

JKL Lady Dolphins Head Coach Henry Malinga in what went wrong in the game.

“We got punished for our terrible second quarter. We were inconsistent and by the time we thought about stepping up our defense, we had already dug a huge hole for ourselves and made it difficult for ourselves to recover.”

On the disparity in rebounding, he said;

“They are a good rebounding team. This is a young and athletic team and their presence in the paint is massive. I think we need to find a way to stop the second chances and points in the paint for us to play and that is my area of focus.”

Coach Malinga highlighted on Hope Akello’s shots from the perimeter.

“It is what she was being given and we believe that whatever you are given, you should capitalize on. We are happy with the decision (to take the shots) that she took.”

About the keys to victory in game 5, he said;

“We have to stick to what has been working for us, encouraging each other and staying locked in.”