Calypso Girls fall to Jamaica

Calypso Girls, TT's national netball team
Calypso Girls, TT's national netball team

THE CALYPSO Girls played their best netball in the first quarter but quickly lost all momentum, falling to a 68-43 defeat against Jamaica in both teams' second group fixture at the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019 in Liverpool on Saturday.

TT, seeking a first win, gave Jamaica a clear run in the opening period and would have been pleased to leave the court trailing just 17-15 against the second best ranked team in the world. However, the game quickly slipped away for TT in the second as Jamaica jumped to a massive 42-23 lead after a one-sided period, with the Sunshine Girls holding a massive 26-point lead at one stage.

Jamaica then outscored their Caribbean arch-rivals 15-11 and 11-9 in the closing two periods to win with ease.

Goal-shoot Samantha Wallace and Kalifa McCollin were TT's top scorers with 19 goals from 24 and 21 attempts, respectively, while Jameela McCarthy–the only other player on the score sheet for TT–added five goals from six attempts.

Jamaican professional Jhaniele Fowler was again unstoppable and economical, scoring a massive 38 goals, missing only two attempts, while Shanice Beckford (12/14), Rebekah Robinson (11/20) and Romelda Aiken (7/13) provided support.

Jamaica was the deserved winner after beating TT in all departments. They notably scored some 17 goals from turnovers.

The result, following a disappointing 76-45 defeat to South Africa on opening day, meant TT will finish third at best in the group, but will have to defeat Fiji today in order to do so. That match is scheduled to start at 12.25pm (5.25 pm Liverpool time). South Africa demolished Fiji 90-35 in the other Group C match, meaning the two winners advanced out of the group.

The losing team between TT and Fiji will finish last in the group and move into Group E, featuring the four bottom placed teams, which will play for 12-16th place.

A third place finish in the group will see TT enter Group G, which will also feature Jamaica and South Africa, as well as the top three teams from Group D, which will include England, and more than likely Uganda and Scotland.

Meanwhile, Barbados, which got off to a brilliant start on Friday, drubbing Singapore 69-34, were humbled by New Zealand, losing 78-25 in their second Group B match.

Malawi got past Singapore 87-38 in the other.

In Group A, Australia picked up its second victory, beating Zimbabwe 73-37, while Northern Ireland beat Sri Lanka 67-50. And, in Group D, the hosts whipped Scotland 70-34, while Uganda defeated Samoa 69-48.

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"Calypso Girls fall to Jamaica"

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