The UCU Lady Canons secured a 79-71 victory against the KCCA Leopards in game one of the semifinals of the 2026 NBL at the Lugogo Indoor Arena on Wednesday 22nd July.

Despite the absence of head coach Nicholas Natuhereza, who is currently in Glasgow for the Commonwealth games, the university side managed to hold off the Leopards to secure the win.

Coming into this game, both teams had advanced from the quarterfinals courtesy of sweeps but during the regular season, the Lady Canons had bossed the Leopards.

In round one, KCCA was limited to just 34 points while in round 2, there scores increased to 37, which was also very shameful. Those 2 performances were an indictment on the Leopards but ahead of this game, they had to brush all that aside.

The KCCA Leopards opened the contest with an explosive 7-0 scoring run, making their intentions clear right from tip-off. However, UCU quickly steadied the ship. On 4 possessions, KCCA made 4 turnovers and the Lady canons scored 10 quick points to level the game.

Tracy Namugosa went to work, scoring the next 10 points for the Leopards but UCU had the edge. Sylvia Nantongo and Sylvia Nakituuka scored a couple of baskets to give the Lady Canons a 23-20 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the UCU Lady Canons peeled away slightly and the climax of the half was the Igiraneza Christa buzzer beater triple to give the university side a 45-35 lead. In the third quarter, UCU kept their feet firmly on the gas pedal. They made an early 10-2 run to extend their lead to 18 points and from there onwards, KCCA was chasing the game.

Despite trailing 66-50 after the third quarter, the KCCA leopards refused to back down quietly. They kept chipping away on the deficit and with under 5 minutes to play, the deficit had been cut to 9 points. Before long, the deficit had reduced to 6 with under 2 minute to play.

Eventually, UCU weathered the storm and secured a 79-71 win to take game one and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Player Stats

Sylvia Nakituuka score 21 points plus 6 rebounds and 4 steals while Sylvia Nantongofinished with 20 points, 5 rebound and 5 assists. Zoe Atek and Igiraneza Christa each scored double digits with 11 and 10 points respectively.

Tracy Namugosa scored a game high 23 points while Zainah Lokwameri was commanding the floor and finished with 9 assists, 13 points and 5 rebounds.

Game Two

The 2 teams shall meet again on Sunday 26th for Game 2 at the Lugogo Indoor Arena. The KCCA Leopards have to adjust their defense if they are to cause UCU problems.