Aiken keeps Firebirds on track

MELBOURNE, Australia (CMC):

Queensland Firebirds stayed on course for ANZ Championship glory, but two other sides with Jamaicans in their line-ups continued to tread water when they suffered defeats last weekend.

Top Jamaican goal shooter Romelda Aiken scored 37 goals from 45 attempts and outclassed the Haier Pulse 61-44 at the Te Rauparaha Arena in Wellington, New Zealand.

The visitors delivered a complete team performance, executing the simple things well as they put a battling Pulse team to the sword, to remain unbeaten in the Championship.

There appeared to be few chinks in the Firebirds' armour as they slowly built a 15-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In full flight, the visitors were like a well-oiled machine as they executed the basics with a high degree of accuracy and were ahead 31-19 at half-time.

Under pressure

Despite her superior height advantage, Aiken at times came under pressure from Pulse goalkeeper Bessie Manu, who disrupted the flow of passes into the Sunshine Girls shooter to keep her side in the hunt at 45-31 after three quarters.

Aiken is expected to start her 50th ANZ Championship match for the Firebirds when they face the Melbourne Vixens today at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.

At the Hisense Arena in this city, the Vixens withstood rampaging Jamaican goal shooter Carla Borrego to topple the defending champions Adelaide Thunderbirds 55-53.

Borrego netted 37 goals from 40 attempts, but it was another hard luck story for the T-birds, who contributed significantly to a thrilling contest, but losing this clash has almost certainly killed off their hopes of making the top four.

In the end, a vital interception from the hard-working Vixens goalkeeper Geva Mentor delivered the knockout blow to set up a winning buffer for the home team.

At Edgar Centre in Dunedin, Jamaican defender Kasey Evering was not on the roster for the Canterbury Tactix because she aggravated a knee injury that will keep her out of the rest of the season and the World Netball Championships. In her absence, the Southern Steel got their payback in the battle of the two New Zealand south-island teams, with a well-constructed 49-40 victory.