ISLAMABAD, April 27: Islamabad on Friday defeated Punjab 13-12 in a low-scoring but exciting match on the opening day of the 16th National Women’s Basketball Championship.

The Higher Education Commission, one of the strong contenders for the title, proved too good for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in their 56-12 win in the second match of the day at the Hamidi Hall of the Pakistan Sports Complex.

Although the Islamabad-Punjab match produced just 25 points, it still provided some excitement, said a press release issued by the HEC.

Both the teams struggled to find the basket throughout the game.

The first two quarters produced seven points from Punjab and five from Islamabad.

The same pattern continued after the break.

The clear advantage the opponents were looking for never came.

Islamabad edged one point ahead through a free throw with just 30 seconds from the final whistle.

All they had to do was to defend stoutly in that half a minute. But they fouled and that gave Punjab the chance to level things at 10-10 just a few seconds from finish.

Five extra minutes were given to decide the winners.

Although the struggle to find the basket continued, Islamabad edged Punjab 3-2 to register a victory.

Mahnoor Butt (4), captain Roaa Tahir (4), Sara Mehmood (3) and Saqiba Arshad (2) were the scorers for Islamabad.

Samina, Rizwana and Almira were the main players for Punjab.

HEC blanked their opponents 35-0 in the first half.

The winners relaxed a little after the break and that allowed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa girls to play freely, registering their first points in the third quarter.

They actually outscored HEC 10-5 in that period.

The Higher Education Commission upped the tempo again in the fourth quarter and emerged as comfortable winners.

Asma Akram top-scored for HEC with 13 points.

Nayar Nasir (8) and Sobia Sultana (6) also had a good game.

Sabiha Nasir contributed eight points for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while Lal Mina and Fiza Nayab added two points each.

Saturday’s matches:

Railways v Punjab, Islamabad v Sindh, Wapda v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh v Railways.