Western Bureau:
Defending champions Farm Junior High gained their second consecutive hold on the St. James/Derrick Kellier Under-12 Netball title when they emerged the 2006 champions with a 12-10 win over their Mt. Salem counterparts on Tuesday at the Montego Bay Boys Club Courts.
In the play-off for third place, which preceded the final, Salt Spring turned in a commanding performance to defeat a completely outclassed Catadupa 24-9 in what turned out to be a one-sided affair.
"It was an excellent day for junior netball in St. James and we are extremely pleased for all four teams that competed here today," said Sefton Lawrence, the competition's coordinator. "It was an incident-free season and I believe the sponsor got value for money."
In what was an exciting final, the teams were locked 2-2 after the first quarter and 6-6 at the half-time break. However, Farm edged ahead in the third quarter, which ended 10-8 in the favour, and then kept their composure to secure their eventual 12-10 win.
Top performers
Crystal Grey and Karen Morgan, who got nine and three goals, respectively, were the top scorers for the Farm team. Kedesha Green and Sally Hunter, who got six and four goals, were the top performers for the Mt. Salem team in their losing effort.
In the third-place play-off, it was Salt Spring all the way as after winning the first quarter 8-3 and then coasting to a 12-6 advantage at the end of the second quarter, they powered themselves to an
18-7 third-quarter lead before romping to their 24-9 margin of victory.
Shavelle Sterling, who was quite accurate under the hoop, finished with a game-high 15 goals. She was well supported by Felecia Brown, who contributed seven. Shakera Whyte was the top player with six goals.
"St. James currently has two players in the National Under-16 team and based on what I have seen in this competition, I strongly believe we should be getting a number of national players out of this group," said Lawrence. "I think St. James netball is in safe hands for many years to come.
- A.F.
