Yesterday’s 62-36 defeat at the hands of a rampant Ugandan side further ruined the campaign of Namibia’s Desert Jewels in the ongoing African Netball Championship, as it marked their second defeat in two days. 

On Wednesday, a wasteful Namibia dominated the first three quarters before surrendering the lead in the final quarter to narrowly go down 49-50 against Zimbabwe. 

Going into yesterday’s encounter against top-ranked Uganda at the Wanderers indoor courts in the capital, the Namibians were seeking redemption and hoping to pull off a surprise win, but they proved to be no match for the fast and physical Ugandans.

A dominant and well-organised Uganda won all three opening quarters: first quarter 27-14, second quarter 30-24 and the third quarter 43-33, as they cruised to a comfortable 62-36 win over the host nation. Reflecting on the performance, Namibian coach Julene Meyer said she was particularly happy with how the girls played in the first three quarters, although they trailed in all three, saying they showed courage and character.

She, however, expressed disappointment with how the team played in the final quarter, explaining that too many unwarranted errors were committed and they were not so composed as she would have wanted.

“I noticed that some of our players could not handle the pressure as we were heading into the third and fourth quarters, and that has been one of our problems at this competition. But we learn from our mistakes, and we now look forward to the next match,” said a disappointed Meyer.

Namibia will return to the court today to face Kenya in what is expected to be another tough assignment for the Desert Jewels. 

“I will go have an honest discussion with the girls and make sure we recover from this defeat because we now have to turn our attention to the next match against Kenya, which is going to be another difficult one for us,” the gaffer added.