Equity Hawks ege Stanbic Aces to reach women’s basketball final

Equity Hawks have booked a place in the final of the National Women’s Basketball Premier League after defeating Stanbic Aces 82-64 in Game Five of their semifinal playoff series at Nyayo Gymnasium, Nairobi, on Thursday.

The Hawks won the best-of-five series 3-2 to set up a final showdown against defending champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), who secured their place after sweeping TH3 Swish 3-0 in their semifinal series.

Experienced Betty Kananu was the star of the show for Equity, leading the scoring with a game-high 27 points. Taudenciah Peter and Melissa Otieno provided further firepower with 17 and 14 points respectively.

For Stanbic, Beryl Otieno, Daisy Ayodi and Yvette Nyawira combined for 36 points, but their efforts were not enough to prevent Equity from claiming victory in the decisive encounter.

Equity started strongly, taking the opening quarter 29-22 before extending their advantage with a 21-13 win in the second quarter to head into halftime with a commanding 50-35 lead.

Stanbic returned from the break with renewed determination, edging the third quarter 19-18 in an attempt to mount a comeback. 

However, Equity remained composed in the final quarter, outscoring their opponents 14-10 to seal the 82-64 victory and secure their place in the final.

The Hawks had earlier won Game Two and Game Four, while Stanbic claimed victories in Game One and Game Three to force the decisive fifth encounter.

Equity will now face KPA in the final, with Game One scheduled for Saturday and Game Two on Sunday, both at Nyayo Gymnasium in Nairobi. 

The series will then shift to Makande Gymnasium in Mombasa for Game Three, with Games Four and Five to follow if necessary.