Scarborough Secondary of Trinidad and Tobago registered their second win of the AFNA Champion of Champions High School Netball tournament on Tuesday but were made to work hard by a plucky Dominica State College (DSC). Both teams struggled with the very strong afternoon winds and intense heat that resulted in the teams being offered one minute water breaks during each quarter.
Despite shooting into the strong wind, Scarborough were able to build up a four point first quarter lead of 10-6 after 15 minutes. Both teams struggled even further in the second quarter as the wind picked up even more. At half time the scores were 17-10 to Scarborough as both teams scored less goals in the second quarter.
DSC had a good third quarter outscoring Scarborough 9-5 as they put in a very energetic and determined performance to pull within three goals.
The team from Trinidad and Tobago responded in the fourth quarter however, retaking control of the game to run out 31-26 winners as DSC suffered their third loss in a row.
Kayla Keith-Wilson was pleased with the overall performance of her girls under trying conditions.
“Today (Tuesday) was very different to yesterday (Monday), the wind was as if we were on a savannah and for some of our shooters with the high looping shots they had to adjust the shot and bring it down flat to just scoop it into the net. For the shooter that we have that shoot nice and flat to get it into the net, it was perfect for her because the wind actually helped her.”
She acknowledged that the third quarter performance was not up to par but praised the response of her charges.
“In the third quarter we had a serious breakdown, I am not sure if it’s because of the heat, because of the wind or because of the frustration of it not working, something wasn’t gelling.
“But as the girls came together, remembered their purpose for being here, they got it back together, pushed hard because they know what the other team is capable of in the fourth quarter and we were able to drive it hard and we were able to pull away. I am very happy with the win,” said a pleased Keith-Wilson.
In the late games, Excelsior High blew away Soufriere Comprehensive while Christ Church Foundation stomped Micoud Secondary.
Excelsior scored the highest points total of the championship so far and also the largest margin of victory in their 66-18 defeat of Soufriere.
The team from St. Lucia stood no chance against the Jamaican champions and knew they were in for a long afternoon when the first quarter ended 16-7. The swift ball movement of the girls in green and gold saw them extend the lead to 31-11 at half time.
Soufriere would have hoped for a let up by their opponents in the second half, but that was not to be as Christopher Smart’s girls turned up the throttle even more to score 20 goals in the quarter while allowing just four for a 51-15 third quarter lead.
Fifteen more goals in the fourth quarter saw Rocoya Douglas and Hasana Williams pilot their team to the massive 48 goals win as they became the first team to register three wins in the tournament.
Douglas finished with 34 from 48 while Williams had 24 from 35. Megan Nestor with 11 from 34 was the leading scorer for Soufriere.
Christ Church out of Barbados got their first win of the championship when they turned in a very good performance at both ends of the court against Micoud Secondary.
After a close first quarter that saw Christ Church ease to a 6-4 lead, the team dressed in gold and black took control in the second quarter scoring 9 to their opponents 5 to open a six goal gap at half time as the scores read, Christ Church 15-9 Micoud.
Christ Church had their best quarter of the game in the third stanza, scoring 14 goals while restricting Micoud to 4 for a 29-13 lead with one quarter left to play. They then closed out the game at 41-16 to give their team a chance of advancing to the knockout phase of the tournament.
Chiara Chase led the way for Christ Church with 18/29, whiler Brianna Holder had 8/14. Merkissa Theodule had 11/25 for Micoud.
Dominica State College and Christ Church Foundation will meet in the first game today at 3pm while Springer Memorial and Soufriere Secondary will face off at 5pm. The game of the afternoon however is sure to be between Scarborough Secondary of Trinidad and Tobago v Holmwood Technical of Jamaica, also at 5pm.
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