BASKETBALL – Bahrain’s Al Hala suffered a heavy 48-81 defeat to Fuheis SC from Jordan last night in the 26th Arab Women’s Clubs Championship, currently being played in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Hala had a slim three-point edge early in the game but after Fuheis took control ending the first quarter, their lead ballooned over the remainder of the contest and they powered ahead by as many as 35 points late on.
Hala were overmatched in the affair as they took to the hardwood without their professional players Yacine Diop from Senegal and Alexa Nicole Hart from the US, who were suited up.
With the result, the kingdom’s representatives suffered their fifth straight setback with one assignment remaining in the tournament.
That will be on Thursday against Al Qurain from Kuwait, scheduled for a 3pm tip-off, Bahrain time.
Hala are also already out of the running for the bronze medal game.
The Bahrainis fell behind 16-24 at the end of the opening period against Fuheis, who extended their advantage to 43-29 at the half.
The Jordanians then blew the game wide open in the third quarter where they held Hala to just eight points for a commanding 64-37 cushion heading into the final frame.
There, a Dania Mansour lay-up put them up 80-45 with just under five minutes remaining to give them their biggest lead of the night.
Bayan Salman finished as Hala’s leading scorer with 17, while Hessa Aljaber added 12 and Shirin Madwar had 10.
Mansour paced Fuheis with 15 points, while Farah Alshiyyab scored 11 and Meral Abdelgawad had 10.
Hala’s big loss yesterday followed tight defeats to Association du Groupement Sportif Cosider from Algeria, Sharjah from the UAE, Saudi hosts Al Ula, and Kuwait’s Al Fatat SC.
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