Rivers women basketball team fought back to beat their Plateau counterparts 53-38 points on Saturday at the 19th National Sports Festival in Abuja.
The Rivers side, parading an array of stars, were put to a tough test by a determined Plateau side before the former utilised their superior experience to win the game.
Plateau had drawn the first blood, ending the first quarter 16-11 points better than the team from the South-South.
The second quarter promised much more from the angle of the North-Central team, but they delivered very little and could only manage three points against Rivers’ 10.
The third quarter was much more keenly contested, with Plateau who were inspired by team captain Gloria Ukpe showing more intent and purpose.
However, the team from Rivers gradually got into the game, in spite of only arriving in Abuja on Friday for the NSF.
The third quarter ended nine points apiece, no thanks though to Plateau’s inability to take advantage of their rebounds.
Those missed chances soon became a point of regret as Rivers settled into the game in the final quarter to demolish an exhausted Plateau team 23-10.
In a post-match interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, Josette Anachor, said even though they were a bit rusty due to fatigue, they were at the NSF to win gold.
She said: “This is our first match and I am happy that we won. We travelled a very long distance and didn’t rest much before the game.
“But to have recorded a win in our first match is a statement of intent, because we are here to win gold.”
Anachor, however, praised their opponents for their fighting spirit, saying it was an entertaining game.
Anachor said: “The Plateau girls gave us a good fight, but we didn’t underrate them. They came all out and everybody enjoyed the game.”
“We will now rest and recover from our journey and work on our stamina for the next match.”
Gloria Ukpe, captain of the Plateau side, also told NAN that both teams played a good game.
Ukpe said: “It was not a bad performance from us, because Rivers have experience and their team is made up of stars.
“But we gave them a good fight and it was an interesting game, although we fell apart in the final quarter.”
Asked what areas her team need to improve upon before the next game, Gloria was precise: “We need to pick more rebounds because we tired out in the last quarter and we need to be more persistent.
“Personally, I need to shoot more and better, although I felt a cramp towards the end of the game.”
Earlier in the day in the men’s competition, Gombe State had walked over Zamfara, while Lagos also walked over Rivers.
In the female event, Lagos walked over Enugu State while the FCT also walked over Zamfara.
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