U16 AfroBasket Women: Egypt Overpower Cameroon 72-50 to Reach 2025 Finals

Egypt won the jump ball and immediately got a jump shot courtesy of Joudi Elsayed. However, it was their full-court defence thereafter that surprised Cameroon and forced them into a five-second inbound violation. Egypt then got a three-pointer by none other than Joudi Elsayed. Cameroon’s strategy was to use their size and attack the paint. This earned them several trips to the free-throw line.

Shanice Mbaha scored four quick points after two trips to the free-throw line. They tied the game with Diona Bienvenue’s fastbreak lay-up. After a two-minute deadlock, Habiba Soliman caught fire and made a three-point jump shot, which she followed up with a fastbreak lay-up to give Egypt a five-point lead. Leila Eissa later scored a three-pointer to extend Egypt’s lead to six. Cameroon stayed in the game by scoring 11 points from the stripe. Egypt took a 19-15 lead into the second quarter.

Jodi Abdalla started the quarter by completing a three-point play. Leila Eissa continued to drop shots from beyond the arc. Jodi Adballa then scored back-to-back fastbreak lay-ups before Leila Eissa lined up another three-pointer. Cameroon was still struggling to get anything going and settled for free throws.

Habiba Soliman scored another three-pointer to extend the lead to 35-17. Cameroon then found an opening as Egypt let complacency creep in when Marie Messina scored on the fastbreak. Then Anouchka Malengue scored the first three-pointer for Cameroon in the encounter. Cameroon continued to score in drips and drabs. By the end of the quarter, Egypt was only up 38-29.

Joudi Elsayed broke the deadlock when she sank a three-pointer to start the quarter and then followed this up with a lay-up. Anouchka Malengue kept Cameroon afloat when she converted a fastbreak lay-up. Leila Eissa then dropped back-to-back three-pointers to force a Cameroonian timeout as Egypt was now up 50-31.

Cameroon struggled to get shots up and even retain possession as they could not stop turning the ball over. This allowed Egypt to keep them at bay even when they were not at their best. Zeina Amin kept contributing with free throws now and then to keep Egypt comfortably up. Egypt ended the quarter up 54-37.

Cameroon continued going to the free-throw line but struggled to keep a clean slate there. It was then that Leila Eissa struck again with another three-pointer and then a free-throw. The two teams then upped the ante when they continued to trade baskets. This theme recurred for a few minutes. Anouchka Malengue dropped a three-pointer to inspire a Cameroonian comeback, but Egypt went on a 10-2 run to close off the game with a 72-50. They not only booked their ticket to the Czech Republic but also earned their spot in the final.

Cameroon had four players in double digits for scoring, notably: Shanice Mbaha with 12points and seven rebounds, Marie Messina with 10 points and 12 rebounds. However, it was the Egyptian star, Leila Eissa, who led all scorers with 19 points, 18of which were behind the arc. She also had some assistance from Jodi Abdalla, who filled the stats sheet with 12 points, a whopping 15 rebounds and three blocks. Egypt sail to the finals, where they will look to change the result from 2023.

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[Photography Courtesy of FIBA]