A victory over Papua New Guinea this morning will assure Barbados a spot in the final eight of the World Youth Netball Championships after they defeated Singapore 67-38 yesterday at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city.
Goal shooter Shonica?Wharton sank 53 goals from 62 attempts (85 per cent). In the third quarter, she scored 14 of the team’s 15 shots, including 11 straight. Wharton and goal attack Shannon Hackett played unchanged for the whole game, the latter converting 14 from 15 attempts for 93 per cent shooting.
Tyneisha Rowe started at wing attack and played three quarters before being replaced by Cherise Seale who played centre for the first three before Tonisha Rock-Yaw took over.
Markayla Yearwood started at wing defence, with Jeneice Clarke and Shanice Rock once again the first choice defenders.
But winning by 29 goals doesn’t reflect just how hard Barbados had to work.
Unlike the first match where there seemed to be acres of space to run into and move the ball, Singapore kept crowding the passing lanes and Wharton had to work harder to get free. Barbados lurched to a 14-9 first quarter-lead.
Singapore narrowed the gap to three goals (17-14) before Barbados went on a mini-run to get a bit of breathing room, outscoring their opponents 10-3 to take a 27-17 lead.
Still play was a bit sloppy, and one of the biggest culprits was Hackett. She turned over several balls in the open court, others were picked trying to put in the overhead pass to Wharton and there was a lack of communication.
Sometimes when Wharton rolled to go back, the ball was sent short or long when she was looking for the short pass. It was hard to believe they had played at Graydon Sealy for several years, and the half-time score should have been better than 28-19.
The strategy continued to break down in the third quarter where Singapore kept pace, scoring 14 goals to Barbados’ 15. At one point, they shot seven straight as fatigue seemed to be setting in.
But Clarke, now on the wing, Rock at defence and keeper Shanice Wharton soon settled and began tipping balls and picking them off in the two thirds. Barbados made a series of runs and blew the game wide open.
Singapore tried several shooting combinations, with M. Ted scoring 18 from 23, J. Ng 16 from 22, and N. Zuikitfle four from five.
England, who are also in Group D with Barbados, moved to 3-0 with a 65-16 victory over Papua New Guinea, Barbados’ opponents at 8 a.m. today.
Two more centuries were recorded yesterday. Scoring at a very rapid rate, South Africa humiliated Israel 134-4 (the highest score in the history of the event) and New Zealand whipped Northern Ireland 102-15.
Jamaica almost added another in their 98-2 victory over Cayman Islands; Australia cruised 71-32 over Fiji; Wales sank Scotland 70-36 and Trinidad and Tobago beat Malta 69-32. (SAT)