AIKEN

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (CMC):

World No.1 New Zealand outgunned Jamaica 66-46 to secure a series sweep in the two-Test netball schedule on Saturday night.

Playing at The Trusts Stadium, the New Zealand Silver Ferns completed their second win over the world third-ranked Jamaicans in three days while advertising impressive form ahead of the World Netball Championship (WNC) in November.

Hammered 80-36 in the opening game of the series on Thursday night in Christchurch, the Jamaican Sunshine Girls were determined to be more competitive and had some measure of success on that score.

They hardly threatened to beat the world champions but the battle was far less lopsided than Thursday's 44-goal debacle.

The tall Jamaican teenager Romelda Aiken had a solid game and scored 37 from 43 attempts after replacing captain Elaine Davis midway through the first quarter.

The New Zealand shooting ace Irene Van Dyk was in top form for the home side and netted 49 of 51 attempts.

Jamaica took the early lead briefly after making just the one change to their line-up Thursday, starting with Davis, ahead of teenage sensation Aiken.

Ploy worked

The ploy worked well for Jamaica until injury forced Davis off the court with five minutes of the first quarter remaining.

Jamaica made sure the Silver Ferns did not have the same attacking freedom of the first test with a much more committed defensive effor New Zealand led the quarters 18-9, 38-24, 51-35 en route to wrapping up the series 2-0.

The Silver Ferns were superior throughout but were given a testing workout ahead of the upcoming three-test series against Australia, starting in Auckland on Wednesday.

"We didn't quite have the flow that we wanted but you take the wins when you can," New Zealand coach Ruth Aitken said.

"I thought Jamaica played very well tonight," she added.