By Charmaine Austin, Staff ReporterMANDEVILLE, Manchester:
THE SUCCESSFUL execution of a two-fold game plan led world netball champions Australia to a comfortable 55-49 victory over Jamaica's Sunshine Girls in the final practice game of their tour at the Northern Caribbean University Gymnatorium here yesterday.
Unaffected by playing at a much higher altitude, the Aussies secured an early lead and held the Jamaicans at bay with a 20-12 scoreline at the end of the first quarter.
Jamaica outscored their opponents 16 goals to 12 to pull within four points of the lead with the score 32-28 at halftime but the Aussies had a third-quarter plan waiting for the Sunshine Girls.
Action intensified when the game resumed and the Aussies stretched their lead by 12 goals (47-35) but determined not to go down without a fight, Jamaica rallied strongly to get within four points of the lead. The score at the end of the third quarter was 48-37.
A fightback was in order for the last 15 minutes and again the Jamaicans outscored the Aussies (12-7) but the damage was already done. Losing two consecutive centre passes only served to further seal their fate of a six-goal loss.
"I'm pleased with the performance although we lost. We had a lousy third quarter but I think overall what this showed was how unfit we really are.
"We need to get back to the drawingboard and work on our weaknesses for the World Championship because even though the Aussies, are the greatest we've proven that they are not unbeatable," said stand-in coach Janet Guy said.
The Aussies, who won five of their six practice games, leave the island today for home having, according to coach Jill McIntosh, accomplished most of their objectives of the tour.
"We wanted to end the tour on a positive note and winning did just that. We accomplished most of what we came here to do, for example giving all our players a chance to play against the Jamaica team.
"Their performance demonstrated that we can take any one of our players off the bench and be confident that they will do an excellent job on court. We really got a lot out of this tour," McIntosh said.
Jamaica made a similar move by showcasing younger talent in defender Tamika Sherwood, Tiffannie Wolfe and Carla Williams alongside veterans Oberon Pitterson, Nichala Gibson, Nadine Bryan and Sharon Wiles.
This shift, according to Guy, said was designed to given them experience against players of Australia's calibre and a taste of what to expect in the World Championships come July.
Of their performance, Guy said, "They did very well. We exposed them for the sake of experience. This is also part of our experimenting and while they still have a lot of work to do, are eager and that's a good sign."
Williams was again in good form shooting in the high 90s with 32 of 35 attempts. Adding support were Simone Forbes with eight of 11, Connie Francis four of seven, Elaine Davis three of three and Wolfe two of two.
