Sunshine sweep Fowler not surprised by Jamaican netballers’ dominance of England
National senior netball captain Jhaniele Fowler said she was not surprised by the Sunshine Girls’ 30 sweep over rivals England Rose in their three-Test Sunshine Series, which ended in the hosts’ 58-43 win in the final game yesterday at the National Indoor Sports Centre.
Reid top-scored with 42 goals from 46 attempts and she received support from Shanice Beckford, who netted 12 goals from 17 tries. Georgia Fisher was the leading scorer for the Roses with 24 goals from 28 attempts.
The victory was the second straight series win for the Jamaicans over England in two years after their 2-1 series in England in 2016.
“I am extremely delighted to beat England at home because this is awesome for us,” said Fowler.
“I wasn’t surprised by this series win because the girls have been putting in a lot of hard work and so I was confident that we were going to take this series,” said Reid.
CAME OUT FIRING
England is always a good team but what we did, we played our game and didn’t watch what England was doing. We played our game and stuck to the task at hand and we came out victorious,” Fowler said.
The Sunshine Girls came out firing in the first quarter with captain Jhaneile Fowler scoring eight straight goals as the Jamaicans took a 16-10 lead at the end of the period. The Jamaican defensive unit, which comprised of Kadie-Ann Dehaney, Stacian Facey, and Jodi-Ann Ward was also impressive for the Sunshine Girls, as they combined to shut down the Roses’ attacking unit.
The Sunshine Girls were also very dominant in the second stanza, as they outscored the English girls 14-11 for a 30-21 lead at half-time. Reid was also very impressive for the Sunshine Girls, as she dominated the Roses defenders on her way to scoring 11 goals in the quarter.
The Jamaicans, who are ranked fourth in the world, two places below the Roses in the world rankings, increased their lead in the third period, as they outscored Roses 16-13 for a 46-34 lead at the end of the stanza. Fowler, who is rated as the best shooter in the world, had an excellent third quarter for hosts, as she scored 15 of the Sunshine Girls’ 16 goals in the quarter.