Fowler leads Sunshine Girls to win over England
CAPTAIN JHANIELE Fowler turned in a scintillating shooting display to lead Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls to an impressive 55-43 victory over rivals England in the opening match of their three-Test Lasco Sunshine Series at the National Indoor Sports Centre last evening.
Fowler netted 34 goals from 35 attempts to lead the Jamaicans to a 1-0 lead in the series.
The Sunshine Girls dominated the first period, with Fowler scoring 11 of her team’s 16 goals, while Shanice Beckford added four goals to give the Jamaicans a 16-11 lead at the end of the stanza. The Jamaicans, who are ranked fourth in the world, two places below England, produced a spectacular second-quarter defensive display to restrict the visitors to just 10 goals, while scoring 19 to take a 35-21 lead at half-time.
Jamaica’s defensive unit of Shamera Sterling, Stacian Facey, and Vangelee Williams were impressive in the quarter as they combined to shut down England’s attacking unit.
SUSPECTED KNEE INJURY
However, the Sunshine Girls suffered a minor scare, with seconds remaining in the second stanza, after Fowler pulled up with a suspected knee injury and was replaced by Shantal Slater at the start of the third quarter.
Despite the absence of Fowler, who is rated as the best shooter in the world, the Sunshine Girls still managed to maintain their 14-point lead at the end of the quarter. taking a 46-32 lead into the final stanza.
However, despite the return of Fowler in the final quarter, the Sunshine Girls were outscored 11-9, but they held their nerve for the victory. Fowler received good support from Shanice Beckford, who netted 12 goals from 17 tries, while Slater added seven goals from seven attempts. Helen Housby was the leading scorer for England with 27 goals from 35 attempts.