Lady Bucks meets rival Vaal

BRAAMFONTEIN – The Lady Bucks lose to Vaal's basketball team, but hope to meet them again.

Chantelle Fourie

September 20, 2016

The Wits Lady Bucks, although defeated after a neck-and-neck game with Vaal University of Technology during one of the last Gauteng University Basketball League games, hope to meet again in the final.

The Lady Bucks, Wits University’s Women’s 1st team, met their long-time rivals at their campus’ court where the battle ended with 54–49 (the score reads that Wits won) on 6 September.

Wits Men’s 1st team, the Horny Bucks, lost 71–58 (this reads that they won) after a gruelling match against Vaal.

One of Wits’ coaches, Manyani Maseko, said it was a tough game with the team struggling to keep their offence strong in the first half, even though their defence was excellent. Maseko said it is highly likely the two rivals will meet again in the finals of this year’s league.

The Wits Lady Bucks vice-captain, Bronwyn Tyler said before the match that the women playing for opposing teams will likely play together in the national team. “It’s a growing sport, but at the moment, basketball is still in its early phase in South Africa, so it’s an excellent time to join,” she said.

Tyler, a 26-year-old medical student, learned to play basketball in the USA, where she grew up. “But I have been with the Lady Bucks for three years,” she said. Tyler added that even though basketball is well-established at Wits, coaches still train players from scratch. She hopes the sport will soon be more promoted in high schools.

Focusing on the women’s team, both Tyler and Maseko said the playing field on a professional level still needs to be equaled. “As a female player, you can’t go professional in South Africa yet,” Maseko said.

The Lady Bucks lost to Vaal in this year’s South African National Basketball Tournament, last winning in 2014. The Horny Bucks, however, marked their first-ever win this year in the tournament.