St. Mary’s Boarding Secondary School–Kitende delivered a commanding performance to dethrone St. Noa Girls Secondary School–Zana and win the 2026 Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association (USSSA) National Girls Basketball Championship with a decisive 49–32 victory.
The much-anticipated final, a renewal of an increasingly defining rivalry in school basketball, saw Kitende assert control from the outset.
They stormed to a 20–6 first-quarter lead, setting the tone with defensive discipline and clinical execution on offense.
St. Noa attempted to regroup, but Kitende maintained their grip with a 14–9 second-quarter edge to take a comfortable halftime advantage.
The third quarter ended evenly at 10–10, briefly suggesting a possible St. Noa resurgence.
However, Kitende closed out the contest with composure, despite losing the final quarter 7–5 to seal a dominant triumph and paint the Wakiso derby in their black, red, and blue colors.
The road to the final had already signaled Kitende’s intent. In the semi-finals, they dispatched Seroma Christian High School 48–36, while St. Noa overcame Nabisunsa Girls Secondary School 53–39 to set up yet another high-stakes showdown between the two powerhouses.
St. Noa were significantly disadvantaged, missing key players Maxine Modesta Anyango and Adikini, who suffered dislocated knees in a fiercely contested semi-final against Nabisunsa Girls a day earlier, while star shooter Resty Nanangwe also featured with an ankle injury.
Their latest meeting added another chapter to a rivalry that has defined the girls’ game in recent years.
Since 2024, the two sides have faced off in eight finals. Despite this defeat, St. Noa remain the more decorated side in that span, having won six of those encounters—including three Wakiso Zone titles, the 2025 national championship in Bukedea, and back-to-back FEASSA crowns in 2024 (Bukedea) and 2025 (Kakamega, Kenya).
Their only previous loss before this came in the 2024 national final in Ndejje.
Earlier in the day, Nabisunsa Girls Secondary School secured third place with a hard-fought 50–42 victory over hosts Seroma Christian High School.
The 2026 championship attracted 36 teams, grouped into eight pools, and ran from April 29 to May 7 at Seroma Christian High School in Mukono.
The competition showcased the depth and rising standard of school basketball across the country.
By virtue of their strong performances, the top four teams Kitende, St. Noa, Nabisunsa, and Seroma have all qualified to represent Uganda at the Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSA) Games scheduled for August in Morogoro, Tanzania.
For Kitende, this victory is more than just a title, it is a statement of resurgence and supremacy, wresting back national glory from a dominant St. Noa side and firmly reestablishing themselves at the summit of Ugandan school basketball.
