Senegal clinched the last ticket to the 2023 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket finals after a hard-fought 75-65 win over Mali on Thursday in Kigali.
The result meant Senegal booked a date with Nigeria in a remake of the 2017 and 2019 finals on Saturday.
The win completes the Teranga Lionesses’ bounce back from a very slow start to their campaign.
The Senegalese are headed to the Championship Game on the back of a three-game winning streak after dropping their first two games to Uganda and Mali.
The Senegalese had an early take-off in the game, though Mali gave them a scare by half-time.
After Senegal’s poor start to the Championship, fans recalled a similar event when they ended up winning the Championship in 2015.
When Senegal handed out a 24-11 run to Mali in the third quarter, the case was sealed.
Mali’s 16 points in the final quarter didn’t amount too much as Senegal had already built up enough advantage to see them off.
Cierra Dillard turned out once again to be the heroin Senegal needed.
With 33 points to her credit, she once again proved she is a valuable addition to the Teranga Lionesses’ roster.
Senegal engaged in a very physical defense. Although they were out-rebounded, they were still more active at their end with 33 boards.
They also exploited Mali’s turnovers, scoring 17 points, while the 13 bench points were worth their weight in this game.
It’s not how one starts that matters, it’s how one finishes it off. This is the main takeaway from Senegal’s win over Mali.
During the Group Phase, Mali outclassed Senegal 72-49, but on Thursday it was Senegal who had the last laugh as they stopped Mali’s unbeaten run with a campaign-changing 75-65 semi-finals triumph.
While Mali dropped to 3-1, Senegal improved their mark to 3-2.
Senegal’s win over Mali means Nigeria remain as the only undefeated team (4-0) in the Championship.
Dillard, Senegal’s point guard expressed confidence in the ability of the team to replicate their 2015 success in the championship, adding that anything was possible.
“It’s not the same scenario as in 2015, but our captain was there and she kept repeating that anything is possible.
“Not that 2015 is going to repeat itself, but that anything is possible and that we had to keep fighting.
“It’s not how you start, but how you finish. I’m gunning for a title here,” she said.
She said her main focus was to continue to help the team in any way she can, adding that their key to victory over the Malians was staying focused.
“So I’ll do my part by keeping the mentality that I have.
“To overcome Mali, we just focused on the inside.
“They have a great inside team, so we focused on blocking them and that did the job,” she said.
The 2023 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket championship which dunked off on July 28 in Kigali, Rwanda is expected to end on Saturday.
