Lady Bucks finally register first victory of the season

Sharon Atieno Of Lady Bucks (left) blocks Emily Wanjiru from Kenyatta University during the KBF Premier League match played in Kisumu yesterday. [Michael Mute, Standard]

Sharon Atieno put up a player of the match performance to guide Lady Bucks to their first victory in the 2022 Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) Women's Premier League after seeing off Kenyatta University Oryx 56-41 yesterday at Magadi Primary School in Kisumu.

Atieno, who is still a secondary school student, dropped 16 points and eight assists to lead the Kisumu-based outfit to glory in the match they dominated from the start in the scorching sun of the Lake City.

Lady Bucks got off to a 15-10 first quarter lead where they dominated the paint with layups and jump shots as Atieno who was hot from the three-point line commanded the game with perfect ball handling skills.

The university students tried to respond in the second quarter, but they could not build on a sustainable gap and despite taking a 16-15 lead, Lady Bucks led 30-26 at the breather.

In the final half, Lady Bucks won the game in the third quarter as Juliet Omollo, Stephanie Tongoi and Jackline Atieno joined in on the scoring for a big 14-4 win and thus opened a 14-point gap with one quarter left.

In the final quarter, Lady Bucks won 12-11 to seal their first win of the season.

Lady Bucks head coach Dave Michael said they can play even better if the County Government of Kisumu reopens the renovated Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Sports ground which has been dormant for almost two years now.

"I am happy for the girls for putting in much work. We played our best basketball for the first time this season and we can only get better," said Michael.

"However, to do that, we need the county to open up the Jaramogi Sports ground for us to have a training ground. We can't play well without training and as a self-sponsored club it is costly even to host league matches."

Elsewhere, Lakeside lost their eighth consecutive match of the 2022 season after going down by a basket 60-58 to Kenyatta University Pirates.

Gabriel Achola scored a game high 19 points in the defeat as Dolph Otieno dropped 18 points for Pirates.