Zimbabwe beat Kenya 53-44 at the African Netball Championships in Malawi and punched their ticket to the semis. The Gems grabbed second place in Group B, and they're facing South Africa next after the neighbors topped Group A. Assistant coach Pepetua Siyachitema said going against the top-ranked African squad will be rough, but her team wants gold.
The match stayed tight early on, but Zimbabwe found its groove by leaning on young shooters Thandazile Ndlovu and Nicole Muzanenhamo. They went into halftime up 31-23 and never really let Kenya back in. The third quarter got scrappy with both sides fighting for control, but the Gems forced turnovers and fed their shooters to close it out.
Ndlovu snagged Player of the Match and gave credit to her teammates for setting up the shots. Siyachitema praised the mental bounce-back after losing to Uganda earlier and said the young players stepping up mean the future looks solid heading toward the 2027 World Cup.
The match stayed tight early on, but Zimbabwe found its groove by leaning on young shooters Thandazile Ndlovu and Nicole Muzanenhamo. They went into halftime up 31-23 and never really let Kenya back in. The third quarter got scrappy with both sides fighting for control, but the Gems forced turnovers and fed their shooters to close it out.
Ndlovu snagged Player of the Match and gave credit to her teammates for setting up the shots. Siyachitema praised the mental bounce-back after losing to Uganda earlier and said the young players stepping up mean the future looks solid heading toward the 2027 World Cup.
