AUCKLAND, New Zealand, CMC – Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls suffered mixed fortunes on the opening day of the Fast5 Netball World Series at Vector Arena here yesterday.
The Caribbean side went down 25-34 to South Africa in their opening fixture, drew with New Zealand 38-38 before triumphing over Malawi 32-21 in the final game.
Fast5 netball is an innovative form of the game played among the world’s top six sides, with each quarter lasting just six minutes.
In their opening encounter against the Proteas, the Sunshine Girls snatched an early 8-2, first quarter lead which they converted into a 14-11 advantage at half-time.
However, South Africa turned the tables in the second half, out-scoring the Jamaicans 18-4 in a pivotal third quarter before securing an easy victory in the end with a solid final stanza.
Goal shoot Jhaniele Fowler led Jamaica with nine from 18 attempts while opposite number Chrisna Bootha piloted South Africa’s effort with a similar effort.
In their second game, the Sunshine Girls surrendered a narrow lead at the end of the third quarter to concede a draw to the Silver Ferns.
They had earlier produced a massive effort to come back from 11-16 down at half-time to lead 27-26 at the end of the penultimate quarter.
However, New Zealand outscored them 12-11 when it mattered most to come away with a share of the points.
Fowler was yet again in the forefront, netting 12 from 19 attempts.
Jamaica finally posted their first win in their final game of the day, when they rebounded from a third quarter deficit to edge Malawi.
In a see-sawed battle, Malawi led 8-6 at the end of the first quarter but Jamaica hit back to hold a 16-12 advantage at the half-time whistle.
The Queens, however, outscored the Jamaicans 14-4 in the third quarter to rush to a potentially match-winning 26-20 lead.
Jamaica roared back with a rousing final quarter performance, out-scoring Malawi 12-5 to take full honours.
Fowler shot 15 from 24 while Mwayi Kumwenda ended with 14 from 24 attempts for Malawi.
The tournament runs until tomorrow.