Denbigh, Holmwood share rural netball titles

Richard Bryan, Gleaner Writer

Denbigh High of Clarendon put in a clinical performance last Friday in Mandeville to score a 27-22 victory over defending champions Holmwood Technical of Manchester, and in the process crowned themselves Digicel/ISSA rural senior netball queens.

Holmwood had earlier won the junior final battle between the two 23-15, and were banking on taking the double, as they have done for the last couple of years, before a strong show of parish support at Manchester High courts.

However, Denbigh had other plans, intentions which were made clear from early, when they made a grand entrance to the playing field, flanked by cheerleaders, with fans and teammates banging heavy Dutch pot covers. To top things off, they were quite vocal as they did their pre-game physical regiment. At first, this seemed comical for the bulk of fans, who clearly were there to support Holmwood.

Holmwood's win in the Juniors, however, kept the Denbigh cheerleaders quiet, but they came alive once the senior final started and the May Pen-based school sank the opening hoops and kept going, to keep a convincing 8-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

smooth sailing

Denbigh sported an all-round game, outmanoeuvring Holmwood in centre court, where they were noticeably weaker. National Under-21 player Denene Taylor tried hard with 17 from 23, but was often starved of enough balls to really pressure Denbigh. There was not sufficient backup, as Shanakay Palmer could only muster five from 10 attempts.

It was smooth sailing for Denbigh, who kept the lead throughout. The result was scarcely in doubt as they led 15-9 after the second quarter and 20-15 after the third. In the end, their two national representatives - goal shooter Jelene Graham and goalkeeper Crishena Copeland - made the difference. Graham beat all scorers with 21 from 26 while Gevaughn Benjamin was merely a sidekick, sinking six from 14.