Jamaica coast to easy 67-36 win over Scotland
LIVERPOOL,
England — Jamaica regrouped after recent disappointment at the Netball World Cup to spank Scotland 67-36 inside M&S Bank Arena yesterday.
It was just the riposte the coaching staff was hoping for after the number two-ranked Sunshine Girls saw their medal hopes derailed in back-to-back losses to South Africa and England.
For Jamaica, who have not missed the World Cup semi-finals since 1995, the best possible finish at this tournament is fifth after South Africa confirmed their last-four place with a 67-40 beating of Uganda yesterday.
Boosted by the win over world number seven Scotland, Jamaica continue their quest for consolation today against sixth-ranked Uganda in a match scheduled to start 6:00 pm (12:00 pm).
Sunshine Girls centre Nicole Dixon, who yesterday started at her natural position before filling in admirably at wing attack later, noted that the team was far more clinical after trailing by a goal after the opening 15 minutes.
“At the end of the [first] quarter we tried to analyse what was wrong, and we just came out in the second quarter and we put everything on the court,” she told reporters afterwards.
Acknowledging that Jamaica are now left to fight for consolation honours, Dixon stressed there is no room for complacency against Uganda today.
“We just have to go in there
positively, and there’s no team that we take lightly. We have to go in with a plan and take it quarter by quarter. It’s a tough one [elimination from medal contention] because we came here [to the World Cup] with a plan. But we are going to finish the tournament strongly and we are going to play with pride,” she said.
Scotland head coach Gail Parata told the Jamaica Observer she was encouraged by her team’s start, but said she saw the typical Sunshine Girls’ swagger as the match wore on.
“I was really pleased with our start. We were hoping that we might be able to catch Jamaica off-guard in the first quarter. In the second quarter we knew they would respond and the skill and flair that we have seen from Jamaica in the past — and I’ve been around netball for years — were what I saw in the second and third quarters. They are number two in the world for a reason,” said the former New Zealand player.
For Jamaica, outstanding goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler hit 45 goals from 48 attempts, while Romelda Aiken was 13 from 16.
Goal shooter Emma Barrie led Scotland with 19 from 22 tries, while Lynsey Gallagher scored all her 11 shots.
Earlier this week, the Sunshine Girls suffered deflating back-to-back losses to world number five South Africa and third-ranked England. Against Scotland yesterday, they appeared to be struggling with that hangover before they morphed into a sprightly bunch.
Not for the first time throughout the tournament, the Sunshine Girls were out the blocks slowly, and were behind 13-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Jamaica reversed the script in the second quarter on the Scottish Thistles, forcing a number of turnovers. They limited the Scots to seven goals and banged out a 32-21 halftime lead.
The Sunshine Girls upped the tempo across all three thirds of the court in the third quarter. Their defence was even more stringent in the third quarter, conceding only five goals as they secured a 50-26 advantage going into the fourth and final quarter.
From there it was just a matter of game management as they coasted to victory. Teams: Jamaica — Jhaniele Fowler, Shanice Beckford, Khadijah Williams, Nicole Dixon, Vangelee Williams, Stacian Facey, Shamera Sterling.
Subs: Romelda Aiken, KadieAnn Dehaney, Rebekah Robinson, Adean Thomas, Jodi-ann Ward
Scotland — Emma Barrie, Lynsey Gallagher, Nicola Mccleery, Claire Maxwell, Kelly Boyle, Emily Nicholl, Hayley Mulheron
Subs: Ella Gibbons, Bethan Goodwin, Sarah Macphail, Niamh Mccall, Lauren Tait Yesterday’s results
Sri Lanka 44, Fiji 59 Singapore 49, Samoa 63 Trinidad and Tobago 46, England 72
Jamaica 67, Scotland 36
South Africa 67, Uganda 40 Today’s games
First session
Northern Ireland vs Barbados Australia vs New Zealand Zimbabwe vs Malawi
Second session
Trinidad and Tobago vs Scotland
Jamaica vs Uganda
South Africa vs England