Adrian Frater, News Editor
Cathy Cooke (left), of the Jamaica Public Service Company, presents the 'Champion of Champions' Trophy to Michelle Watson of Westlanders, the Westmoreland champions, following their victory over St. James' Juveniles, on Sunday. Westlanders won 32-27. - Photo by Adrian Frater
Western Bureau:
Westlanders, which recently won the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) Westmoreland Netball League, added another title to their collection on Sunday when they defeated St. James champs, Juveniles 32-27 in their 'Champion of Champions' showdown at the Montego Bay Cricket Club courts.
"This is an absolutely good victory for us because we have not had many victories over St. James teams in recent years," said Michelle Watson, captain of the Westmoreland team. "I thought we played a disciplined game today as we stuck to our game plan, even when we came under pressure."
More composed
In the first quarter of what was an epic contest, the Westmoreland team had much the better of the exchanges as they passed the ball around better and looked more composed. With Tiarna Grant, who scored 18 goals, shooting accurately, they won the quarter 5-3.
In the second quarter, Juveniles gradually began to find their range with more accurate passes going to goal-shooter Danielle Ellis, who had a game high 22 points. Juveniles won the quarter 10-8 as the teams went into the half-time break locked at 13-13.
In the third quarter, Westlanders again took control, fighting off the determined bid. With Tamara Daley, who scored 14 goals, adding extra power to their offensive play, they won the quarter 8-6 to give themselves a close but decisive 21-19 third quarter lead.
Remained focussed
With Juveniles making a lot of mistakes in a bold bid to wrestle their way back into contention, the Westlanders remained composed and focused as they won the quarter 11-8, which was enough to give them their fairly comfortable 32-27 win.
"We did not play as well as we should," said 16-year old national Under-17 player Danielle Ellis, who spearheaded the Juveniles attack. "We learnt a lot from the game and we will be using this experience to become a better team."
