African Nazarene University (ANU) Panthers yesterday thrashed hapless Storms 61-27 to enhance their chances of outlasting the demotion threat and retaining their spot in the Kenya Basketball Federation Women’s Premier League.
Panthers and Storms have had it rough and have been courting relegation at the bottom of the standings.
However, unlike Storms who are yet to win a match, Panthers have won two and are fighting to get themselves out of the danger zone. Desiree Henrie continues to be an integral part of Panthers fight for survival. She led them with 15 points, while Jeniffer Odiwa was Storms’ top scorer with 10.
Despite having a promising start and taking the first quarter 11-6, Storms who were hoping to finally get it right and register their first win this season, faltered, allowing the students to run them down.
The remaining three quarters were dreadful for the once stronger Storms, who fizzled out, scoring a dismal seven points against Panthers’ 19. The Panthers would go into the break with a 25-18 lead.
Having gained confidence from their second-period show, Panthers tormented Storms in the third quarter, scoring at will and also ensuring that they had full control of both the offence and defence. They totally outplayed the Storms, sinking 22 points in the third quarter without a reply.
With an unattainable 29-point advantage and victory within reach, Panthers slowed down to enjoy the game in the final quarter but still dominated to score 14 points against Storms nine and chalk the crucial win.
In the Men’s Division One title chase, Snipers laboured to a 75-66 win against Zetech University Titans. Snipers, who missed out on a Premier League promotion last season, recovered from a slow start that saw them trail Titans 14-27 to win the second quarter 23-14 and reduce the deficit to three points with the halftime score at 40-37 in favour of the students.
On resumption, Snipers dropped guard to let Titans win the third quarter 19-14 and stretch their lead to eight points. Even so, a fourth-quarter impressive display from Wesley Waswa, Issack Kitongo and Joshua Okumu would see them score 24 points against the students’ seven and carry the day.
