A sellout crowd at Yaounde Multipurpose Sport Complex saw hosts Cameroon beating Egypt 76-54 to reach the AfroBasket Women 2015 Semi-Finals on Thursday.
Once again Ramses Lonlack came up with crucial plays leading Cameroon with a game-high 20 points as they set up a Semi-Final against Nigeria on Friday.
Turning Point: Unlike their Group Phase games, Cameroon started off aggressive at both ends of the floor leading from start to finish. Alain Zedong’s team never really gave Egypt a chance to stay in contention, leading by as many as 27 points.
Stats Don’t Lie: Egypt’s leading scorer Menatalla Awad has not scored a single point. And, as hard as the North Africans tried to stay in the game, it was simply too much for Egypt to come back from a 24-point deficit at half-time
Game Hero: Lonlack’s numbers spoke for themselves. The 1.75m small forward made 8 of her 14 field-goal shooting, and home fans thanked her with a loud standing ovation as she left the court.
Bottom Line: It was a convincing win from Cameroon, who remain the only undefeated side in the tournament with a 6-0 mark whereas Egypt dropped to 3-3 and will resume their campaign in the battle for the fifth-place.
“We played a poor defense game tonight,” Awad told FIBA.com. “To make matters worse our shots weren’t going in. No doubt that full crowd played a part in our performance. It was difficult for us, but credit to Cameroon, they play good basketball. Now we have to refocus and try to beat Mozambique.