Girls flop to huge loss in bronze play-off

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

NEWTON, Singapore:

Beaten, battered and bruised. Jamaica's Sunshine Girls were embarrassed by England in the Mission Foods World Netball Championship bronze medal match at the Singapore National Indoor Stadium here yesterday.

England, who are were claiming bronze for the second time in the competition's history, put on a scintillating performance, as they thrashed the Jamaicans 70-49.

The Oberon Piiterson-coached Sunshine Girls, who gave some very impressive displays earlier in the tournament, looked a shadow of themselves as the English wrestled away the bronze medal from their arms, after Jamaica had beaten them to win the third-place match in 2007 in Auckland, New Zealand.

The Sunshine Girls also suffered a humiliating 82-46 defeat the previous day in the semi-finals to Australia, the eventual champions.

Pitterson was at a loss for words as she sought to explain Jamaica's dismal showing in their last two games of the championship.

"I think a lot of things went wrong because we didn't move the ball well and we struggled trying to get it down to the shooters, especially in the beginning and we just didn't defend well," said Pitterson.

"England really moved the ball well down the court and they had easy entries into the circle, but we were just not able to stop it, even though we recognised it," she said.

The Jamaicans started the game on the wrong footing as they allowed the English to dictate the pace of the match, due to their poor marking and faulty defending, which led to them trailing their opponents 18-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Romelda Aiken and Anna-Kay Griffith failed to impress upfront, and the passing and the running off the ball and into pace were almost non-existent, as the confident English continued to run rings around the Jamaicans, who were outclassed in all departments. In the ensuing scenario, the English extended their lead to 34-26 at half-time.

Out of steam

The Jamaicans simply ran out of steam in the third quarter, and England took advantage of their sloppy play, which included six turnovers, while their defensive unit failed to keep England's attackers at bay, as they swiftly increased the lead to 52-36 by the end of the third quarter.

Jamaica failed to cope with the pressure that was applied in the fourth quarter and England romped home to a comfortable victory.

Aiken was the leading scorer for the Sunshine Girls, with 23 goals from 27 attempts, while Jhaneile Fowler shot 16 from 22 and Griffith 10 from 13.

Pitterson further stated that the team did not adjust well.

"They knew what was at stake and so it was a matter of coming out here and doing it, but it just didn't happen," said Pitterson. "We just didn't adjust well, mistakes were made yes, but there was room for adjustment and if we had done that then maybe it would have been a different result."

Joanne Harten led the way for England with 51 goals from 61 attempts, receiving support from Pamela Cookey, who shot 19 goals from 28 attempts.

Sue Hawkins, the coach of England, said: "We had some very creative players out there and Jamaica tried different combinations and it didn't work and so I am really pleased for the girls."