Rematch With Samoa Today in Liverpool
The Fiji Pearls need to get even and win the 13th place playoff against Samoa today.
The Fijians lost their first pool match earlier by a whisker 54-55.
Fiji’s Kelera Nawai said:
“We worked hard, we worked together and we pushed. It was an important game. We’re very happy. We wanted to win that game (against Sri Lanka) because we wanted a rematch with Samoa (after the 55-54 defeat against them earlier in the tournament).
“They’re going to come hard again – we’re expecting them to come hard. We’re just going to keep pushing and try to win the (Samoa) game.” The Pearls beat Sri Lanka 59-44.
Semifinal matchups confirmed
The semifinal matchups have been confirmed at the Netball World Cup in Liverpool.
After a week of one-sided affairs, it’s now time to get down to business, with defending champions Australia to meet South Africa tonight and New Zealand to face hosts and Commonwealth Games champs England on Sunday morning.
Northern Ireland v Barbados
In the bottom-of-Group F contest, Northern Ireland came away 46-43 winners, for a first World Cup win over Barbados in what was their third attempt.
That sees the Warriors progress to the ninth/10th playoff against Trinidad and Tobago, while Barbados will face Scotland for 11th/12th.
Australia v New Zealand
The defending champion Diamonds hung on for a thrilling 50-49 victory after a spirited fightback from the Silver Ferns, who were down by as many as eight goals, midway through the third quarter.
Maria Folau missed a shot in the dying seconds which would have drawn the game, although Australia would have still qualified top of the group thanks to a superior goal percentage.
Zimbabwe v Malawi
In the all-African contest, Malawi were comfortable 5943 winners, thanks to a very accurate shooting display from Joyce Mvula (41/43) and Jane Chimaliro (18/20), while defender Towera Vinkhumbo claimed six intercepts and two rebounds.
The result sees Malawi finish third in Group F behind Australia and New Zealand, and progress to the fiftheighth place semifinal against Uganda, where a fifth place finish would equal their best-ever World Cup placing of fifth at the 2007 event in Auckland.
Trinidad and Tobago v Scotland
These two sides battled out the first draw of the event, with Lynsey Gallagher sinking on the buzzer for Scotland to see the game finish at 43-43.
It means the Thistles finish bottom of Group G on goal percentage and head for an 11th/12th playoff against Barbados, while the Calypso Girls face Northern Ireland for ninth/10th.
Jamaica v Uganda
After suffering the ignominy of missing out on the semifinals while being ranked No 2 in the world, Jamaica eased to a 61-48 win to finish third in Group G. Despite Uganda winning the last quarter 14-10, the Sunshine Girls had romped 22-11 in the second, and will face Zimbabwe in the fifth-eighth place semifinal, where they will have to win to avoid a worst-ever World Cup finish.
South Africa v England
The hosts notched a comfortable 58-47 win over the Proteas to book a semifinal meeting with the Silver Ferns, and leave South Africa to face the Diamonds.
After racing out to a 19-11 lead at quarter time, the Roses never looked troubled, as Jo Harten (30/33) and Helen Housby (24/26) were well on target.