Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has booked its place in the semifinals of the ongoing Women’s Basketball League Africa (WBLA) Zone Five Qualifiers in Kibaha, Tanzania, after registering a convincing 79–58 victory over fellow Kenyan side Equity Hawks in the quarterfinals.
The Dockers will now face Rwandan heavyweights APR in the semifinals tomorrow as they seek to maintain their winning momentum and move a step closer to regional glory.
Equity Hawks, meanwhile, will play Burundi’s Dynamo in a classification match, also scheduled for tomorrow.
In the other semifinal, Rwanda’s REG will face Tanzania’s Fox Divas. Hosts Vijana Queens will meet Burundi’s Les Hippos in another classification match.
KPA laid the foundation for their emphatic victory with a dominant first-half performance, winning the opening quarter 25–16 before extending their advantage with a 25–14 run in the second period to take a commanding 50–30 lead into the break.
The Kenyan side maintained their dominance after the restart, edging the third quarter 17–14 to stretch their overall advantage. Although Equity Hawks responded with a narrow 14–12 win in the final quarter, the comeback came too late to prevent KPA from sealing a 21-point victory.
Small forward Victoria Reynolds led the Dockers with an outstanding 24-point performance, while point guard Alima Doumbia and Tonie Morgan combined for 25 points to bolster KPA’s scoring effort.
For Equity Hawks, Vallary Zakayo and Lavin Auma combined for 24 points, but their contributions were not enough to prevent the bankers from bowing out of the race for a place in the final.
KPA will now turn their attention to APR, knowing that another strong performance will take them within one victory of the tournament’s final and a chance to claim Zone Five honours.