With just two players, hostess Lady Bucks defeats ANU Panthers

Lady Bucks survived a second-half scare to defeat the African Nazarene University (ANU) Panthers in overtime 70-68 in overtime in a tight Women’s Premier League match yesterday at Magadi Primary School in Manyatta, Kisumu by the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF).

Lady Bucks, with only seven players available on game day, played with two players in overtime after five of their players were ejected after more than five fouls.

Stephanie Tongoi, Cindy Phylis, Jecinta Adhiambo, Caster Nasiyo, Mary Omala and Florence Juma were all ejected after accumulating five fouls.

Under the KBF Rules of the Game, a player will be banned for the entire game if he or she commits five personal fouls.

Forward Stephanie Tongoi, who was kicked out in the second overtime, lost a double-double with 29 points and 12 rebounds as he led the Kisumu team out of the relegation zone.

Shooting guard Elsa Ndong followed with 15 points and seven assists, while point guard Juliet Omollo lost 11 points and 10 assists in the win that put Lady Bucks in eighth place overall with 13 points.

Tongoi helped the hosts get off to a strong start after scoring eight points as Cindy Phylis added three points to lead 11-7 in the first quarter.

Another great performance from Tongoi (9 points) and Omollo (6 points) saw Lady Bucks lead by 11 points at half-time and the visitors trailed 25-14 after the second quarter.

In the final half, Stella Nekesa, who scored 20 points for ANU, started the visitors’ struggle back into the game as the Panthers defeated the Bucks 19-14 and cut the deficit to six points.

ANU, fourth on 16 points despite the loss, sent the game into overtime with a 20-14 win in the fourth quarter after using their numerical advantage against Bucks, who had four players on the court, rather than three players kicked out after five fouls.

Things got worse in overtime when Tongoi also racked up five fouls, leaving Omollo, Nasiyo and Ndong on the court with the scores still 53-53.

Both teams scored 10 points each to go 63-63 by the end of overtime before Lady Bucks was reduced to two players with 10 seconds remaining (Nasiyo suspended).

Against all odds, Lady Bucks would beat the Panthers 17-15 in overtime to win the game 70-68 with only two active players (Omollo and Ndong) left on the court.

In Mombasa, teams from Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) moved to the top of the table after beating teams from Kenyatta University (KU) at Makande Gymnasium.

KPA men, who are the defending champions, announced their return from Basketball Africa League appearances with a 72-61 win over KU Pirates to reclaim their top spot with 21 points.

KPA had fallen to third in the table with 19 points, while former champions Ulinzi Warriors and Equity Dumas previously topped the table with 20 points

In the women’s, champions KPA KU beat Oryx 93-20 to maintain their 100 percent start to the season with 11 straight wins.