The UCU Lady Canons defeated the JT Lady Jaguars 50-35 in game one of the 2026 NBL Finals to take advantage in the series. This game hasn’t been talked about much because it was very low scoring. For context, the ladies’ game had a total of 85 points which is 3 points more than what the Namuwongo Blazers scored in game 6.

Despite there not being many exciting that happened in the game to talk about, there are some talking points. In this article, we shall delve into why the scoring was low and potential adjustments in game 2.

Why the low scores?

The JT Lady Jaguars scored 35 points which is their lowest scored in a game this season. It is very hard to remember the last time they scored below 40 points. This was a shock. On the other side, the UCU Lady Canons scored just 50. Throughout the season, there have been games where they scored around this mark but better was expected from them.

Having a very low scoring game one of the ladies’ finals was a bummer and it could affect how people view the women’s finals. However, there are reasons as to why the game was like this and we shall delve into it.

What happened?

Poor 3-point shooting

The 3-point shooting in this game was very poor for both teams. The 2 teams made a combined 8 3-point shots from 60 attempts. UCU did better as they made 6 triples compared to 2 for the Lady Jaguars.

JT’s shooters all never showed up. Brenda Kayaga made none of her 8 3-point attempts. Mary Priscillar Nambogo made 1 of 7, Maimuna Nabbosa made 0 of 4 while Sandra Ayikoru Wangeshi was 0 for 6.

Sylivia Nakituuka managed to sink 3 of her 8 attempts. The other player that attempted the most was Martina Anyango who made 7 attempts and netted 1 of the shots. Despite not making the shots from distance, Martina made a couple of 2-point shots which the Lady jaguars’ stars never did.

When you look at how the men’s finals have been. When the 3-point shots have failed, they made sure to go to the baskets many times. But if you see how they ladies approached the game, they kept attempting from 3 even though the shots never dropped. 48% of the JT Lady Jaguars field goal attempts were from the 3-point line, if you compare with their 6% conversion, it is very clear that they weren’t going to score much.

The UCU Lady Canons had 44% of their attempts coming from the 3-point line. The difference is that they managed to convert 22% which is not a lot but way better than what the Lady Jaguars had.

Lack of ingenuity

Once again, I will refer to the men’s finals. What we have seen is that there have been players who have stepped up to the occasion. Tonny Drileba commanding the floor, Franck Nyembo doing his thing, Patrick Rembert takingnover the game and so on.

In this game one, we never saw anyone owning the moment. Perhaps the one player who tried to be crafty was Sandra Ayikoru Wangeshi but she only managed to make 4 of 15 field goal attempts.

Nakituuka and Anyango finished with 15 and 13 points respectively but when you look at the overall performance, you can’t say they owned the moment. The game needed some sort of creative spark and we never quite saw it.

Rusty?

The JT Lady Jaguars had not played a competitive game in about 3 weeks. That could sound like an excuse but it could be a legitimate reason. Players usually get out of rhythm and that can impact their performance. Take an example, Mercy Batamuliza hadn’t played a competitive basketball game in a while. She made none of her 8 field goal attempts and missed both of her free throws. If she had been playing, it is highly unlikely that she would have missed all those attempts.

On the other hand, the UCU Lady Canons had played a game after that 2 weeks. They faced the KCCA Leopards in game 4 and that sort of tried to bring them into rhythm.

Both teams did not play well and the offense were bad. For a game such magnitude, you could expect better. However, game one might have been the lowest we can see from both teams. From game two onwards, a lot is expected to change.

What differences could we see in game 2

The 3-point shooting in game one was very poor. The only from there is upward. Players like Brenda Kayaga, Mary Priscillar Nambogo and Aziida Nabyunga will knock down a couple of shots. We expect to see the same from Shillah Lamunu, Hajara Najjuko, Martina Anyango and perhaps Sylivia Nantongo.

More Points: The conversion of both teams was very low. After the first quarter, the JT Lady Jaguars only had 4 points. That is a thing that we may not see again in the series. Combined 30 field goals scored from 131 attempts may not happen again. The offense in game 2 and onwards will be much better.

Game 2 will take place at the Lugogo Indoor Arena on Friday 21st at 7:00pm.