Gaborone – In a closely contested final, Namibia’s senior national women’s netball team, the Debmarine Desert Jewels, narrowly lost to Zambia with a score of 55-57 at the African Netball Cup. The 13th edition of the tournament was hosted at the University of Botswana in Gaborone from November 28 to December 6, 2023.

The Namibian team, having previously lost to Zambia 42-52 in the group stages, advanced to the final to face them again in a thrilling match. The initial quarter saw a strong performance from Namibia, who led 13-11 after capitalizing on turnover balls.

Zambia, however, made a comeback in the second quarter, levelling the score at 23-23 by outscoring Namibia. The third quarter continued with Zambia’s dominance, ending with a score of 33-35 in their favor.

In the fourth quarter, despite Zambia forcing errors, Namibia managed to tie the game at 43-43. The match then proceeded to extra time, where Zambia gained a slight advantage by scoring 14 points against Namibia’s 12, resulting in a final scoreline of 55-57.