Sunday, December 15
Third place
APR 96-94 ASC Ville de Dakar
APR women Basketball club concluded their 2024 Women's Basketball League Africa (WBLA) campaign with a third-place finish following Sunday’s hard-fought 96-94 win over home side ASC Ville de Dakar at the Marius Ndiaye Arena in Dakar.
APR, powered by the trio of Italee Lucas, Kierstan Bell and Shaina Pellington, gave away a 16-point lead to put themselves under pressure, but, against the odds, they went on to win the match in over-time.
Former African champion Italee proved crucial for the army side, dropping 30 points with an 80 per cent shooting performance on the paint, uncharacteristic of the lethal three-point shooter who finished with five from range.
APR led 23-11 in the opening quarter but the hosts went on a run to tie the game at 37 heading to the locker room. The second half was a game of runs, this time Charles Mushumba's APR chasing the lead.
Pellington, a Canadian Olympian, and Diakite made sure to pull their side through in over-time, as the side's stars were shut out, for the victory.
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Lucas, who played the better part of the second half with four fouls managed to stay out of trouble, knocking down three of her five treys in the last stanza to pull APR back from ruins and give them a fighting chance. She assisted Pellington&039;s last basket with 12 seconds on the clock helping Mushumba's charges to hold on for over-time.
Pellington and Diakite made all the difference for APR, scoring 6 and 5 each in the five additional minutes while helping make crucial stops for victory.
ASCVD bench dominated 45-3 with the side also better on the paint (64-30) but allowing APR to shoot 11-of-27 from behind the arc was the home side's major undoing.
The Rwandans also made use of their opportunities on the line, converting 23 of 30 while the hosts missed 10 (9/19).
APR finished 0-6 on their debut appearance on the African stage in 2022, then missed out last year, only to return a better side for the 2024 edition to settle for bronze.
ASCVD, meanwhile, have missed out on what would have been their history-extending title, losing the semis by one and a place on the podium by two.
"This is a proud moment for us as the first Rwandan women's side to reach the podium of an African competition,” APR coach Charles Mushumba said after the match.
"Credit to my players for their composure under pressure and for fighting to the last whistle for this bronze. We are grateful to have the opportunity to play here and prove ourselves. We all learned a lot from this tournament and had to play together for this.”
Reflecting on APR's performance in Dakar, Pellington admitted the third-place match wasn’t easy at all but she was excited that her side managed to at least finish the campaign on the podium.
"Towards the end we had momentum that pulled us through as they are a good and tough side to play. Overall it was a great experience being in Dakar and winning this medal," she said.