Nagpur Pip Pune For Inter-University Gold

Nagpur: Star city forward Swati Wankhede, lanky centre Krupaee Sharma, and point guard Devika Thakre gelled well as Nagpur University cagers rallied splendidly to edge out Pune University in a thrilling final by a wafer-thin margin of 1 point and clinch the basketball title in the state inter-university sports festival at Nanded on Sunday.In a thrill-a-minute but low-scoring summit clash, Nagpur girls got the better of Pune 32-31. Despite losing the initial two quarters 6-7 and 4-7 respectively, the Nagpur girls remained positive and turned things in their favour after the change of ends. A dominant play in the third period gave Nagpur girls a slight edge over Pune, which they maintained in the fourth quarter to register a thumping one-point title triumph. While Nagpur won the third period 15-10 to take a point advantage, both teams netted 7 points each in the last quarter.For the winners, Swati fired a game-high 13 points, while Krupaee and Devika played pivotal roles with their 8 and 6 points respectively. For Pune, Oshin Ajanikar (10) and Karina Suryawanshi (9) did well. Earlier in the semifinals, Nagpur girls outplayed Nashik 38-11.While Nagpur girls emerged as the new champions, their boys' team brought home a bronze medal. In a high-scoring third-place play-off game, Nagpur made light work of Sambhaji Nagar 75-50.The Nagpur University Vice Chancellor Manali Kshirsagar, Registrar Raju Hiwase, and Director of the Department of Sports Sambhaji Bhonsale congratulated both teams for their medal-winning performance in Nanded.RESULT (FINAL)Women: Nagpur University (Swati Wankhede 13, Krupaee Sharma 8, Devika Thakre 6) bt SAV Pune (Oshin Ajanikar 10, Karina Suryawanshi 9) 32-31 (6-7, 4-7, 15-10, 7-7).