Former Lady Saints Play for Titles in Africa

n 2005, Deolinda Ngulela and Flavia De Azinheira were proudly
representing the Seward County Lady Saints as they captured Jayhawk West
and Region VI titles, while leading the gals in green to a 5th place
finish at the NJCAA National Tournament. Last week the two were
representing even something larger as they tried to capture a
championship for their country, Mozambique, in the 2013 African
Championships in their hometown of Maputo.

Ngulela and De Azinheira led Mozambique to a perfect 5-0 record in group
play of the tournament, giving them the top spot in the group for the
knockout round. Mozambique blewout Egypt in their first contest 105-53
as Ngulela and De Azinheira combined for 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting
from the field. Their second group game was another laugher as
Mozambique defeated Zimbabwe 117-28 with the former Seward duo combining
for 17 points and 8 rebounds in the win. Mozambique’s defense locked
down Algeria in their third game of the tournament, allowing just 34
points in a 67-34 win. Ngulela starred for Mozambique in their next
group game, scoring 15 points and dishing out 3 assists in a 56-41 win
over Ivory Coast. In their final group game, a battle of undefeateds
with Senegal, Ngulela again was the main attraction, scoring a game high
21 points and distributing 5 assists as Mozambique won the group with a
77-61 victory.

Mozambique’s quarterfinal matchup with Nigeria was a nailbiter with the
home team coming out on top 77-74 to advance to the semis, thanks in
large part to Ngulela who had a game high 7 assists to go along with 6
points in the win. It was another nip and tuck battle in the semis for
Mozambique as they edged Camaroon behind 6 points, 6 steals, and 4
assists from the former Lady Saint Ngulela. Mozambique’s championship
game matchup with Angola was one for the ages. The two teams battled
into overtime before Mozambique’s dream run was ended with a 64-61
Angola win. In the loss Ngulela scored 8 points and added 6 assists and
5 steals while De Azinheira scored 2 points in 7 minutes of action.

Ngulela, who was the captain for the Mozambique squad, finished the
tournament averaging 10 points per game and her 5.4 assists per contest
were best in the tournament. De Azinheira played in 7 of the 8 games,
averaging 8.3 minutes of court time per game. She averaged 3 points per
game and shot 58% from the field.

Roy Allen