Senegal seal Rio 2016 spot by clinching 11th Women's AfroBasket title

Senegal sealed their 11th Women's AfroBasket title by beating host nation Cameroon ©FIBA

Senegal secured their 11th Women’s AfroBasket title and with it a place at next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro as they ended host nation Cameroon’s unbeaten run with an 81-66 victory in the final in Yaounde.

The Senegalese team led for the majority of the contest before going on to seal a comfortable win to silence the partisan home crowd inside the Palace de Sports venue.

Despite the defeat, Cameroon will still have the chance to earn a Rio 2016 berth as they qualified for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament by virtue of finishing second.

Aya Traore was again the star performer for Senegal, who last won the Women’s AfroBasket title in Madagascar in 2009, as she finished with a game-high points total of 17, which saw her crowned the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Astou Traore was also in good form as she chipped in with 16 as Senegal proved far too strong for a Cameroonian side that had reached the final with their 100 per cent record intact.

2013 champions Angola have missed out on the chance to qualify for Rio 2016 altogether after they suffered a 65-55 defeat at the hands of Nigeria in the third-place play-off.

Senegal proved far too strong for the host nation as they silenced the home crowd inside the venue with a commanding performance ©FIBA

The gold medal match began with Senegal on the front foot and that pattern continued throughout the encounter as Cameroon struggled to cope with their opponents' attacking prowess.

Fatou Dieng proved the catalyst in the first-half as she netted a hat-trick of three-pointers, finishing with a total of 12 points as Senegal seized control of the contest.

Senegal only trailed for 49 seconds during the entirety of the match, although they did have to fend off a third-quarter surge from Cameroon which saw the host nation move to within five points.

Much to the disappointment of the supporters inside the arena, Cameroon weren’t at their best at either end of the court and Senegal began to run away with it towards the end, sealing a commanding win which sees them regain their status at the summit of women’s African basketball.

Elsewhere on the final day of the event, Mali finished fifth thanks to beating Mozambique 69-68, while Gabon came from behind to oust Egypt 71-66 in the seventh-place play-off.