Lionesses beat Egypt to be crowned FIBA Zone Five champions

They have done it! Kenya Lionesses have beaten Egypt! History has been written! The Lionesses have risen from their ruins, a somewhat disastrous first match and an unimpressive crumble against the same side in the preliminary stages did not matter, they stepped up when it mattered. 

A 83-99 win ensured Kenya book the single ticket from the zone to the Afrobasket due in September. 

"We are really excited for this win. Egypt have been a thorn in our flesh and we couldn't ask for a better time to pick a win against them. We kept pushing the players even when we were not doing well in previous matches and their response has been positive through and through,"

"Now that we have the ticket to Cameroon in September, there is no time to rest. We celebrate here and now but when we get home (Nairobi) it is back to work. There is alot we need to work on ahead of the Afrobasket," said assistant coach Mike Opel.

Victoria Reynolds was named the competition's Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the best small forward as Felmas Koranga picked the power forward accolade.

Coach George Mayienga trusted the same starting lineup he had against Rwanda in the semis and the led 0-5 through a Koranga mid-range opener and a three pointer from Natalie Akinyi. Egypt pulled one back for 2-5. Kenya continued their onslaught, scoring 16 points against the Pharaohs 12. 

Both teams traded unsuccessful attacks for the about two minutes but Reynolds nocked down a trey with 3.57 minutes to play in the first period to take Lionesses' advantage to seven points. 

Egypt pulled one back on the paint for 14-19 but Koranga responded immediately with her signature mid-range jumper for 14-21. A trey for Egypt cut the deficit to just two baskets. Reynolds, Natalie and Koranga ensured Kenya's advantage remained at 19-27 forcing Egypt into a timeout with 1.22 minutes to play. 

Egypt converted from the line immediately off the timeout. Egypt made a basket, drawing a foul while at it which led to a four-point play as Lionesses failed to get to the end of the missed free throws rebound, Egypt making it count. Reynolds scored the final basket for Kenya before the whistle for the first period to end 24-29. 

The second quarter was a Mercy Wanyama show, she instigated a Lionesses onslaught as the home girls extended their lead to 12 points at 31-43, a difference they maintained for the better part of the period as the score read 36-48 with a minute on the clock.

Egypt called for a timeout, after reducing the deficit to 38-48 and it paid off as they forced Lionesses into two turnovers to reduce the gap to eight points at 42-50 heading to the half time break.

The second half was tightly contested with Egypt cutting Kenya's lead to just two points at 69-71 and looked like they were engineering another comeback. Having learned the hard way in the group stage matches, Mayienga's charges clawed their advantage back to head to the final period at 69-77.

The closest the Pharaohs came to equaling Lionesses score was at 75-80 but the technical bench called for a time out that helped the Kenyans get back to the game and dominate for the win.