In an impressive display of shooting prowess, Jhaniele Fowler led the defending Suncorp Super League champions, West Coast Fever, to a 72-61 victory over the GIANTS at the RAC Arena on Saturday. Fowler's scoring prowess was on full display as she matched the GIANTS' final score of 61 points, missing only one shot throughout the match.

Contributing to the Fever's success, Sasha Glasgow maintained a perfect shooting record, going three for three and nailing four super shots. By halftime, the Fever held a narrow 37-33 lead.

Despite Jo Harten's 19 goals and the combined efforts of Matisse Letherbarrow and Sophie Dwyer, who both scored 10 goals, the GIANTS found themselves trailing by 10 points at the end of the third quarter. The Fever outscored them 21-15 in a dominant display.

Although the final quarter was a more evenly contested affair, the outcome of the match had already been decided.

With this victory, their ninth of the season, the Fever climbed to second place in the league standings. The New South Wales Swifts remain at the top of the table after a convincing 78-65 win against the Queensland Firebirds at the Nissan Arena. Romelda Aiken-George led the charge for the Swifts, racking up an impressive 43 goals. Supported by Helen Housby's 17 goals, the Swifts secured their 10th win of the season.

Despite Donnell Wallam's 34 goals for the Firebirds, it was another defeat for the team, marking their ninth loss of the season, and leaving them in seventh place in the league.

In the meantime, former league leaders Adelaide Thunderbirds slipped to third place after suffering a close 56-54 loss to the Sunshine Coast Lightning at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

While Jamaica's Netball culture and current ranking pits the Sunshine Girls as overwhelming favourites to win gold at the upcoming Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, Nicole Aiken-Pinnock is mindful that it still requires efficient execution to get the job done.

As such, Aiken-Pinnock, who will guide the 12-member number-four ranked Jamaican team to the 24th staging of the June 23 to July 8 Games in El Salvador, is taking steps to guard against complacency and ensuring that players take nothing for granted.

"On paper, we are expected to win, but at the same time, we know the games aren't played on paper so we will not only have to turn up, but more importantly, execute accordingly. So, we just have to take it one game at a time," Aiken-Pinnock said.

"We have to turn up and be ready for every game. We have to respect our opponents and make sure we give of our best regardless of who we play against because they will not be handing any win to us. I am sure we will have to work hard for our wins, so we have to just work hard and believe in our structure and execute," she added.

Aiken-Pinnock revealed that their preparations have so far been on course to achieve their intended goal, with only some fine-tuning required over the next week.

"Preparations have been going well, I can tell you that there is a lot of intensity and focus at the sessions. The drive and effort of the ladies is commendable, and we just have to keep working at the small things and try to be as consistent as possible," she said.

Aiken-Pinnock, a former defender, who represented Jamaica at numerous major tournaments, knows the importance of a fielding a solid team with some depth, which is why she welcomes the addition of the experienced Adean Thomas and Rebekah Robinson to accompany rising stars Crystal Plummer, Abigale Sutherland, and defender Kimone Shaw, who are all a part of the squad to the World Cup later this year.

With this being the first time in CAC Games history that netball will be a part of the multi-sports event, Aiken-Pinnock said it represents an opportunity for the young players, in particular, to show their class and, by extension, gauge their readiness for the showpiece in South Africa.

"We do have a few ladies who will be participating in their first major tournament for Jamaica away from home, so we just have to ensure that stay mentally prepared and ready for what is to come at the Games," Aiken-Pinnock noted.

These games will definitely assist our young players going into the World Cup, especially Crystal, to prepare her for what is to come at the big dance," she ended.

Full Squad:

Shooters – Shadine Bartley, Simone Gordon, Amanda Pinkney, and Rebekah Robinson

Centre court – Crystal Plummer, Abigale Sutherland, Adean Thomas, and Quannia Walker

Defenders – Theresa Beckford, Paula-Ann Burton, Abbeygail Linton, and Kimone Shaw

 

Jhaniele Fowler, one of the most imposing and skillful shooters in Netball, headlines a strong 15-member Sunshine Girls squad to the highly anticipated Vitality Netball World Cup in South Africa later this year.

The Jamaicans, ranked number four in the world, will be hoping to improve on their disappointing fifth-place finish at the 2019 World Cup in Liverpool, with 10 players from that squad being retained for this year’s showpiece, scheduled for July 28 to August 6.

Expectations are high that the formidable mix of seasoned veterans, including Romelda Aiken-George, who recently returned from giving birth, and rising stars, such as Crystal Plummer, Kimone Shaw, Abigale Sutherland and Latanya Wilson, who have proven their mettle on previous occasions, will deliver exceptional results.

They will seek to add a gold or silver to the country’s three World Cup bronze medals won in 1991, 2003 and 2007.

Head coach Connie Francis, who will be assisted by Keyan Murdock, is anticipating a successful campaign with her team.

“All the players have been doing their work and are presenting well. The strength in depth of quality of players we now have at our disposal, fighting to get on court for the Sunshine Girls makes the selectors job very challenging and makes Jamaica a big threat to the top three countries going into the World Cup this summer,” said Francis.

“We have seven ladies currently playing in the Suncorp League and dominating the statistics at both ends of the court and locally we have our attacking core which includes three players who are making their third World Cup appearance,” she noted.

Specialist Coach Rob Wright, who will spearhead the team's strategic preparations, is also a part of the coaching staff.

Netball Jamaica President Tricia Robinson expressed sincere gratitude to all sponsors for their invaluable contributions in ensuring $41 million of the required $51 million for the team’s participation, is already in the bag.

This, she said emphasizes the critical role they play in helping Jamaica's netball team prepare for the World Cup.

“The support of our sponsors enables the team to focus on achieving greatness and represents our collective effort to elevate the sport to its rightful status with an elite world ranked team within the Nation’s sporting greats,” said Robinson.

The team will depart for their final training camp in South Africa on July 14, before bowing into World Cup action on July 28.

Squad: Romelda Aiken-George, Shanice Beckford, Jhaniele Fowler, Shimona Nelson, Rebecca Robinson, Nicole Dixon-Rochester, Crystal Plummer, Abigale Sutherland, Adean Thomas, Khadijah Williams, Kadie-Ann Dehaney, Kimone Shaw, Shamera Sterling, Jodi-Ann Ward, Latanya Wilson

 

Adelaide Thunderbirds suffered their third loss of the season and have fallen to second place when they went down 53-50 to bottom-placed Collingwood Magpies on Saturday.

Shimona Nelson scored 44 goals and Sophie Garbin nine, in a 100 per cent shooting effort as the Magpies in their final season in the Suncorp Super Netball league overcame the defensive efforts of Shamera Sterling and Latanya Wilson.

Collingwood led 16-12 after the first quarter and held a 27-23 lead at half time.

Collingwood widened their lead with another 16-12 effort in the third quarter and held on for the win despite a fourth-quarter rally from Thunderbirds who outscored Collinwood 15-10.

Eleanor Cardwell scored 27 goals from 29 attempts in the loss that saw Thunderbirds’ record fall to second place in the league table with eight wins, one draw and three losses this season.

The new league leaders are the New South Wales Swifts who defeated GIANTS 68-63 thanks in part to Romelda Aikens-George’s 32 goals from 39 attempts and Helen Housby’s 100 percent shooting for 18 goals.

Matisse Leatherbarrow and Jo Harten each scored 13 goals while Sophie Dwyer had 11 from 13 in the losing cause.

The Swifts now boast a record of nine wins, one draw and two losses after 12 rounds.

In the other game on Saturday, Queensland Firebirds defeated Melboune Vixens 76-71.

Jamaican goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler scored her 5000th Suncorp Super Netball league goal as her West Coast Fever narrowly came out 69-65 winners over the Sunshine Coast Lightning on Saturday.

Fowler converted 19 of her team’s first 20 goals in the first quarter as the Fever built a seven-point lead entering the second period.

The Lightning then had an improved showing in the second quarter, eventually losing 14-17 to enter halftime facing a 27-37 deficit.

The lead built by the Fever proved to be extremely important as the Lightning came out blazing in the second half winning the third and fourth quarters by six points, eventually coming up just four points shy of their opponents at the end of proceedings.

In total, Fowler converted 54 goals from 58 attempts to keep the defending champions third in the table on 32 points, two behind the Adelaide Thunderbirds and New South Wales Swifts, from 12 games.

Key defensive plays from Shamera Sterling and Latanya Wilson overcame another high-percentage shooting performance from Jhaniele Fowler as the Adelaide Thunderbirds pulled off another thrilling one-goal win 54-53 over the West Coast Fever at the Netball SA Stadium on Saturday.

Fowler, the Suncorp Super Netball League’s leading scorer, converted 42 of 43 attempts but it was not enough to prevent the reigning champions from falling to their fourth defeat of the season.

Wilson earned 74.5 Nissan Net Points and Sterling 63 for defensive play that held off the defending champions who led 20-12 after the first quarter. However, the league leaders managed to close the gap by the half-time interval after outscoring Fever 14-11 in the second.

The low-scoring encounter saw the Thunderbirds win the third and fourth quarters, 13-10 and 15-12, respectively to snatch another close win. Eleanor Cardwell converted 26 of her 30 shots and Lucy Austin scored six from six in the hard-fought victory.

Adelaide Thunderbirds now have eight wins and just two losses from their 11 games this season while Fever dropped to seven wins and four losses and are only third on goal difference over Melbourne Vixens who also have a record of seven wins and four losses.

The Vixens suffered their fourth loss of the season going down 70-62 to New South Wales Swifts, who got 29 goals from Romelda Aiken-George from 34 attempts and a perfect 16 from 16 from Helen Housby.

Mwai Kumwenda scored 33 of her 35 attempts for the Vixens.

Meanwhile, Shimona Nelson scored 53 goals from 56 attempts for the Collingwood Magpies, whose miserable season will be their last in the Suncorp Super Netball League, as they suffered yet another defeat.

The Magpies were outscored 66-62 by the Sunshine Coast Lightning in what was their ninth loss of the season.

Cara Koenen scored 34 from 35 and Steph Wood 20/24 for the Lightning who were picking up their fourth win of the season and are current fifth in the league standings.

Defending Suncorp Super Netball League champions West Coast Fever rebounded by last weekend’s loss with a record-breaking performance against the Queensland Firebirds on Sunday.

Having lost to New South Wales Swifts by a single goal last week, and three of their last four to slip to third in the league table, the Fever responded by crushing the Firebirds 97-63 at the RAC Arena. The 97 goals scored was the highest number of goals scored in a single match in the league.

Led by Jhaniele Fowler’s 52 goals from 56 attempts and Sasha Glasgow’s perfect 15 of 15, the Fever led by 10 (27-17) at the end of the first quarter and extended the lead to 20 at half time after outscoring Queensland 23-13 in the second.

The Firebirds managed to rally in the third quarter in which they were outscored 21-18 but the Fever put their foot back down on their necks in the final quarter 26-15 to win by a massive 34 goals.

Donnell Wallam led the scoring for the Firebirds with 37 goals from 40 attempts.

Fowler scored her 500th goal of the season and ended the match with a tally of 552, 75 more than Wallam.

The Fever’s seventh win of the season saw them maintain third place in the league standings despite Adelaide Thunderbirds falling to a massive 21-point loss to Melbourne Vixens on Saturday.

The league leaders suffered only their second loss of the season 60-39 due mainly to outstanding defensive play by the Vixen’s mid-court.

Shamera Sterling had a strong start for the Thunderbirds, with a rebound, two intercepts, and a deflection in a formidable first term. Her performance spurred the Thunderbirds to a three-point lead (14-11) over the Vixens as the first quarter came to a close.

However, the Vixens defense were relentless. Emily Mannix had an impressive display with five intercepts, four deflections as the Vixens stamped their authority on the encounter.

Mwai Kumwenda (21/22) and Kiera Austin (23/30) led the scoring for the Vixens while Eleanor Cardwell scored 21 of 24 and Georgie Horjus scored eight goals for the Thunderbirds.

In another lop-sided match on Saturday, Romelda Aiken-George scored 26 from 32 attempts, Helen Housby 14 from 17 and Sophie Fawns 17 from 22 as the New South Wales Swifts swamped Collingwood Magpies 85-56 at the Ken Rosewall Arena despite Shimona Nelson’s 35 goals from just 37 attempts.

It was the Swifts’ largest margin of victory this season.

 

 

Defending Suncorp Super Netball champions West Coast Fever lost their third match of the season going down 65-64 to New South Wales Swifts and slipped to third in the league standings after what was their third loss in their last four games.

The win means the Swifts, led by Romelda Aiken-George, who scored 28 of 34, leapfrogged the Fever into second place in the standings going into round 10 of the competition.

Jhaniele Fowler, the league’s leading scorer, scored a game-high 53 goals from 55 shots, and Natalie Butler three of four for the Fever, who were without their vice-captain Jess Anstiss and goal attack Sasha Glasgow, who were ruled out due to Covid-19 Health and Safety Protocols.

The Swifts led 32-20 at half-time and despite a late rally from the Fever, they came up a goal short in the end.

Meanwhile, the Adelaide Thunderbirds maintained their position at the top of the standings after crushing the Queensland Firebirds 63-46.

Eleanor Cardwell led the scoring for the Thunderbirds with 27 from 32 and Lucy Austin, who supported with 19 from 21, while Shamera Sterling had six interceptions in what was a close match heading into the final quarter.

However, the Thunderbirds dominated the final stanza 24-9 to claim victory.

Shimona Nelson’s perfect night, scoring 46 goals from as many attempts, was unable to prevent the Collingwood Magpies from going down 69-56 to GIANTS.

 

 

Following their victory over GIANTS, Shamera Sterling’s Adelaide Thunderbirds are the new leaders of the Suncorp Super Netball League after defending champions West Coast Fever suffered only their second loss of the season on Saturday.

Led by Eleanor Cardwell near perfect 26 goals from 27 attempts and Lucy Austin’s 13 from 15, Thunderbirds led 18-13 at the end of the first quarter. However, Jo Harten who scored 23 goals from 25 shots and Sophie Dwyer (17/20) closed the gap to three by half-time as GIANTS outscored Thunderbirds 15-13 in the second stanza.

GIANTS dominated the third quarter 13-9 and take a slim lead into the final quarter of the game but Thunderbirds rallied to win the quarter 14-9 and take the game 54-50 for their sixth win of the season.

Fever, meanwhile, went down 74-73 in a thriller to Melbourne Vixens despite a game-high 48 goals of 49 attempts from the league top scorer Jhaniele Fowler, who now has 446 goals on the season.

However, after both teams traded goals for the entire match, it was Kiera Austin’s super shot at the buzzer than kept the Vixens unbeaten at home this season and handed the defending champions their second loss of the season.

Mwai Kumwenda led the Vixens with 45 goals from 50 attempts while Austin scored 23 from 29 for her side that outscored Fever 18-16 in the first quarter before sharing honours 19-19 in the second to take a two goal lead into the break.

Fever rallied to take the third quarter 19-16 but thanks to Austin’s super shot, Vixens edged the final quarter 21-19 to secure their fifth win of the season.

In the battle between the teams at the foot of the table, Donnell Wallam scored a game high 64 goals from 65 attempts to lead the Queensland Firebirds to their second win of the season, a 73-67 win over Collingwood Magpies.

Shimona Nelson scored 56 goals from 58 attempts for the Magpies who were losing their sixth game of the season.

 

 

 

 

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls have not won a Netball World Cup medal since 2007 when they took bronze in New Zealand.

When they descend upon Cape Town for the 2023 edition of the sport’s showpiece global event, the Commonwealth Games silver medallists will be very aware of their World Cup medal drought, according to Head Coach Connie Francis.

“They are very anxious and hungry to go out there and get one,” Francis told SportsMax.TV.

“We have not medalled in 16 years and I know that the girls are aware of that, especially this bunch. It will be fantastic,” Francis added.

As far as preparation goes, Francis says everything is going according to plan.

“It is going well. We took a break in our preparation for the girls to get some court time playing against each other and it’s really for the selectors and myself to assess and see the players that we need in our squad and I thought that the Elite League provided that,” she said.

“We see some young talent coming through and that’s a positive,” she added.

An initial squad of 28 players will be selected on May 13 before it is cut down to 21 a week later. On May 27, the final 15-member squad will be selected for the World Cup.

Francis described the selection of the squad as a “work in progress.”

“It’s not close, especially for the ones here in Jamaica. It’s a work in progress,” she said.

“It’s about that effort behind the work and seeing players improve every time they’re out there because we’ll be playing nine games in ten days. So, it’s about executing our sessions well and replicating the same things in competition,” she added.

The squad departs the island on June 14 with their first match of the World Cup coming against Sri Lanka on June 28.

 

 

 

Defending Suncorp Super League champions West Coast Fever suffered their first loss of the season, going down 64-63 to the Adelaide Thunderbirds at the RAC Arena on Saturday.

Led by the league’s leading scorer Jhaniele Fowler, who scored 51 goals from 53 attempts, the Fever outscored the Thunderbirds 20-17 and 15-14 over the first two quarters, respectively, to take a 35-31 lead into the half-time break.

Fowler has now scored 331 goals this season.

However, despite winning the third quarter 15-14, the Fever were unable to hold off the Thunderbirds, who stormed back to outscore the champions 19-13 in the final stanza to snatch victory. Eleanor Cardwell led the Thunderbirds scoring with 33 goals from 34 attempts but key to their victory was that she hit eight of her 14 super shots.

Wing Defence Latanya Wilson and Goal Keeper Shamera Sterling played key roles on the defensive side with nine intercepts between them. The much-anticipated battle between Jamaican teammates Fowler and Shamera Sterling proved decisive as the Goal Keeper, who had six deflections, made it difficult for Fever to connect into the circle and suffered their first loss of the season on home court.

On the back of 46 goals out of 52 attempts from Jamaican shooter Romelda Aiken-George, the New South Wales Swifts completed a remarkable fourth quarter comeback to beat the Melbourne Vixens in their Suncorp Super netball League game at the Ken Rosewall Arena in New South Wales on Saturday.

The Vixens won the first quarter 16-15 before a 15-15 tie in the second meant they entered halftime with a 31-30 lead.

The Melbourne-based outfit then produced some excellent Netball in the third quarter, winning 22-16, to enter the fourth and final stanza with a daunting 53-46 lead.

The Swifts had other plans, however, winning the final quarter 21-14 to complete a narrow 67-66 win.

British goal attack Helen Housby provided good support for Aiken-George with 12 goals from as many attempts.

Malawi’s Mwai Kumwenda tried her best for the Vixens with 47 goals from 50 attempts.

It was a happy and hopeful environment at the Summit in Kingston on Friday when Netball Jamaica kicked off their Road to Cape Town campaign ahead of the 2023 Vitality Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa.

With just 100 days to go before the start of the World Cup scheduled for July 28-August 6, Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls are going full speed ahead in their preparation for the long-awaited showdown.

In anticipation of the excitement, President of Netball Jamaica, Tricia Robinson, said a provisional team of 23 players will be selected in May before the squad is cut down to 15 in June for the event.

The first edition of the tournament to be held on the continent of Africa will see 16 teams taking part with Jamaica slated to compete in Pool C against the hosts, Wales and Sri Lanka.

“We are hopeful that our selections will dominate the courts in Cape Town,” Robinson said.

Our girls have worked hard and shown tremendous dedication over the past few years and I know that they are ready to take on this challenge,” she added.

Jamaica qualified automatically for the tournament due to their current global ranking of four.

In addition to getting the Sunshine Girls in shape, Netball Jamaica is labouring to secure funding for the World Cup as well as their pre-tournament camp in South Africa.

Approximately $51 million is needed to get the team to South Africa and the local governing body is responsible for raising the funds independently.

So far, $25 million has been secured through sponsorship. Robinson underscored that the organisation is grateful for the contribution from entities like lead sponsor Berylium Limited and main sponsors the National Baking Company, Wray & Nephew and Seprod Limited, who have been playing a critical role in helping Jamaica prepare for the World Cup.

Gilbert has joined the cause in providing kit and ball support while Wisynco is serving as the hydration sponsor. Marathon Insurance Brokers sponsorship of the Elite League has also aided in the team’s preparation.

Additionally, the government has, so far, committed $10 million to partially cover the cost of accommodation, ground transportation, luggage and airport transfer for the Sunshine Girls, while the team’s overseas travel insurance will be covered by the Jamaica Athletes Insurance Plan (JAIP).

Robinson remains hopeful that more sponsors will come on board and support the national team.

“I invite all Jamaicans to join us in supporting our group as we go for gold. Whether you are cheering from home or joining us at the World Cup, let us make Jamaica proud!” Robinson said.

Individuals will soon be able to contribute to the team through the popular crowd funding platform, GoFundMe.

After five rounds of matches in the 2023 Suncorp Super Netball League, Jamaican players are dominating the elite netball league on both sides of the ball.

Many-time West Coast Fever MVP and 2022 champion Jhaniele Fowler leads all scorers with the most goals scored (280) and the most attempts (284). The towering Jamaican shooter has missed only four times since the start of the season for the unbeaten West Coast Fever.

Shimona Nelson who plays for the Collingwood Magpies is third in the standings with 217 goals and is also third in the number of attempts at 226.

Shamera Sterling of the Adelaide Thunderbirds has been just as impressive on the other side of the ball. The defender leads in the number of defensive rebounds (16) and deflections (40). She also leads in the number of Nissan Net Points (539).

Fowler lies fourth with 491.

Nissan Net Points are Suncorp Super Netball's first overarching player metric. They are a stats-based scoring system, run by Champion Data, that measures every player action on the court. Every time someone scores a goal, blocks a pass, gets a defensive rebound (and so on), they get points.

The bigger the impact, the bigger the points. If players make mistakes or cause turnovers, they lose points. At the end of the game, each player receives an individual Nissan Net Points score, which represents their contribution to the match.

Also on the defensive side, Jodi-Ann Ward of the Collingwood Magpies leads the league with 19 intercepts followed by Kadie-Ann Dehaney of Sunshine Coast Lightning with 15. Sterling is fourth with 12.

Romelda Aiken-George of New South Wales Swifts leads the league with 22 offensive rebounds while Nelson has 17 for third in the standings.

 

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