England avoid 'Test' sweep

Robert Bailey, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Jamaica's Sunshine Girls failed to sweep rivals England yesterday as they were beaten 54-51 in the final match of the three-Test Supreme Ventures Sunshine Series at the National Indoor Sports Centre.

The Sunshine Girls were seeking a perfect series following their 57-56 win in game one and a 55-53 victory in game two.

The Jamaicans were below their best throughout the match and started nervously turning over the ball on nine occasions in the first period. It led to them trailing the English 16-11 at the end of the period.

Goal attack Jodi-Ann Ffrench, who was securing her first start of the series, failed to provide any spark for the Jamaicans, as she was overpowered by the English defenders. Fellow shooter Jhaniele Fowler scored all 11 goals for Jamaica in the first quarter.

very determined

The English were very determined to hold onto the advantage in the second period, as they matched the Sunshine Girls stride for stride and in the process extended their lead to 22-16 with five minutes remaining in the quarter.

This led to a time-out by Jamaica's coach Connie Francis. Following the short break, Jamaica came out with new vigour as Fowler netted five straight goals, as they rallied to close the gap to 26-21 at half-time.

The English took command of the match in the third period, with their tight marking, aggressive play and swift movements which forced eleven turnovers from the Sunshine Girls in the stanza, enabling the visitors to outscore the local girls 16-13 to extend their advantage 42-34 at the end of the period.

With the home crowd cheering them on in the fourth quarter, the Jamaicans began the final period confidently as they rallied to close the gap at 53-50, with less a minute remaining in the match. However, the English held their nerves and got a deserved victory. Fowler ended the match with 48 goals from 53 attempts and Ann-Kay Griffiths, who shot a perfect three goals from three tries while Ffrench, who played in the first half, failed to score. Louise Brownfield with 34 goals from 42 attempts and Pamela Cookey 20 goals from 23 tries were the scorers for England.

Annette Daley, coach of Jamaica, said the defeat was disappointing.

"It is a disappointing loss because we came out to win. However, the girls showed that they do have the guts to fight back like they did in the final quarter," said Daley.