Unbeaten Jamaica march into semis

MAYAGUEZ, Puerto Rico (CMC):

One way or the other, an English-speaking Caribbean side will contest the final of the Women's Centrobasket Championship.

This follows unbeaten Jamaica and strong regional rivals Trinidad & Tobago reaching the semi-finals, after important victories on Monday in their final group matches.

Jamaica completed the preliminary round with a perfect 3-0 record in Group A, with a 79-76 victory over the Dominican Republic (DR).

T&T clinched their spot with a lopsided 101-46 victory over St. Vincent and the Grenadines to finish second in Group B behind hosts Puerto Rico, with a 2-1 record.

The Jamaicans were led by a 33-point performance from Nicole Louden and also out-rebounded the Dominican Republic 47-36, which translated into 48 points in the paint.

Comeback

Nothing separated the two sides after the first quarter, which ended 15-15, but the DR made a 9-1 run to hold a 34-27 half-time lead.

Jamaica fell behind by as many as 10 in the third period, which the DR dominated, thanks to their great defence that forced a number of turnovers, leading to a number of baskets.

But the Jamaicans responded well to make an 11-2 comeback of their own to end the quarter down 54-55.

With the scores tied, Louden made a basket to give Jamaica a 70-68 lead that they never relinquished and secured the game via a free throw from Simone Edwards with 14 seconds left.

Edwards ended with 17 points and Vanessa Gidden scored 15.

Carmen Guzman led the DR with 27 points and Jennifer Estrella 15.

In their game, T&T led the first quarter 23-9 and were ahead 45-18 at half-time, before the blow-out was completed.

Six T&T players, led by Alicia Liverpool with 20 points, scored in double figures.

SVG ended the preliminary round without a point.