Still Rangers

C.O. Williams Rangers are still the Barbados Netball Association’s league queens.
The defending champions came from behind Friday night at the Netball Stadium to retain their crown with a nerve-wracking 37-36 win over Pine Hill St Barnabas, overturning three previous losses including a one-goal surrender of their knockout title to St Barnabas earlier in the season.
While an overjoyed coach Sandra Bruce-Small pointed to the total team effort that netted victory, one could not discount the performance of English-based Nikita Piggott, who was playing St Barnabas for the first time since 2012, as she scored 21 goals from 29 attempts. 
“Our strategy was to play a total team game to retain our title, and rotating our three shooters kept fresh legs on court to keep us in contention,” said Bruce-Small.
Tremendous accuracy from veteran Olivia Walcott (14/16) and outstanding defence from goalkeeper Rhe-Ann Niles, who was voted Most Valuable Player of the finals, saw Rangers battling back from 8-9, 17-19 and 26-27 deficits to gain that crucial lead in the final quarter. Shakeena Rock only added two of eight but she created top passes to Piggott and Walcott.
St Barnabas’ goal attack Sheniqua Thomas was excellent in midcourt but a 2/8 return in the shooting circle was not enough support for her team.
While the game was punctuated with great passes and steals, it was also plagued by infantile turnovers and horrendous misses, with high drama erupting in the final seconds in front of the moderate but involved crowd. 
After Rangers crept ahead 37-36 on a Piggott shot, the timekeeper started counting down the final ten seconds as St Barnabas moved the ball towards the shooting circle.
As umpire Marlene Hall blew off the game, celebrations for Rangers turned to concern when it was realized that the other umpire Marion Johnson-Hurley had called wing defence Ronda Harris for deliberate obstruction, thus giving six-footer Laurel Browne a penalty shot that could have locked the scores and forced extra time.
Browne’s shot rolled off the rim with no time left for her to grab a rebound and take a second shot, and Rangers’ players and fans then restarted the celebrations.
Birthday girl Sabreena Smith had played in a mood to generate partying as she sparked the early Rangers lead with some great passes into the circle.   
However, after moving to 3-1 and 5-3 advantages, Rangers never took the lead until a brief period in the third quarter.
The final quarter saw the scores locked from 27 up to 36 which was after Rangers got their first lead in the match in the third quarter, 22-21. 
With Laurel Browne enduring her worst game of the season despite scoring a match-high 34 goals from 45 attempts, it took the robust play of Shonette Bruce to stymie Rangers at the other end.
Bruce was dominant in defence and in taking rebounds, with Niles also a standout in those areas for Rangers. When Bruce was forced to leave the court in the third quarter, Rangers found more breathing space against veteran Jackie McConney.
Introducing “secret weapon” Julie Phillips to centre court in the second quarter helped St Barnabas as she, Jeneice Clarke, Marisa Burgess and Samantha Browne showed their speed and accuracy. 
However, Smith, Tyneisha Rowe, Kath-Ann Agard and Ronda Harris were just as good as they battled to keep their league title.
The relentless pressure of both teams created errors in midcourt and the shooting circle, with coach Margaret Cutting citing Bruce’s injury and Browne’s surprising off night as some of the factors that denied her team the double crown.