As expected, Barbados Gems had a convincing 67-27 win to start the Americas World Cup Netball Qualifiers in Kingston, Jamaica, on Sunday morning against Cayman Islands.
Gems recovered after a slow start in which they scored 13 goals to their opponent’s nine after the first period.
By halftime, the lead had grown to 34-13 and 48-21 at the end of the third.
Barbados, 14th in the world, won the battle in the statistical categories against a team ranked 18 places below them, including 12 interceptions, but the number of unforced errors must be cause for concern.
Barbados threw away the ball 19 times, but were able to make up for it because their opponents had 31 turnovers.
Co-captain Shonette Bruce, in the post-match interview, acknowledged the need to take care of the ball, especially the centre pass and scoring.
She said the v was also good for the team.
“It is very important to start this qualifiers with a win because it boosts your confidence and it puts you in a better place in terms of being cognizant of what you have to work on and what you have achieved so far.”
Barbados’ are off in the Sunday night matches, but will play against St Lucia in the feature on Monday night. (SAT)