Tough start in 3×3 basketball as Kenya fall to Australia at Commonwealth Games

Tough start in 3×3 basketball as Kenya fall to Australia at Commonwealth Games
National 3x3 basketball team in Benin. PHOTO/KENYA BASKETBALL FEDERATION (INSTAGRAM)

NAIROBI, Kenya, July 24, 2026 – The national women’s 3×3 basketball team faltered in their first match at the Commonwealth Games, losing 21-5 to Australia on Friday morning.

The Kenyans matched their opponents for the first one-and-a-half minutes, keeping the scores at 4-3 before the Australians took the game by the scruff of the neck and dominated proceedings.

Their dominance showed as they raced to a 12-3 lead before the Kenyans could get another point on the scoreboard, courtesy of Mary Omondi’s drive into the paint in the third minute.

However, it proved to be the spark that the Australians needed to up the ante, coasting to a 16-4 lead that was only interrupted by Barbra Achieng’s shot — off of an assist by Omondi.

The Kenyans were let down by a lot of turnovers and missed shots, which worked to the advantage of their opponents as far as creating daylight between the two teams is concerned.

Other than Omondi and Achieng’, other scorers for Kenya were Esther Minayo (two points) and Yvone Okello.

On the other, Emma Clarke sunk a game-high nine points for the winners, three better than Amy Atwell, her closest challenger on the scoring charts.

Kenya will be hoping to make amends in subsequent Pool A matches against Fiji (1700hrs) and Uganda (2015hrs) on Friday evening.