Jamaica's Under-21 netballers will play for the bronze medal at the World Youth Championship today.

The Jamaicans failed to overcome their toughest challenge of the Championship so far, when the reigning champions and title favourites, New Zealand, came away with a 57-44 victory in the semi-finals.

After playing competitively to leave the scores tied at 15-15 after the first quarter, the Jamaicans could not maintain their intensity in the second spell and fell behind 24-29 at half-time.

A decisive turn

But the match took a decisive turn in the third quarter, when the Jamaicans faded further and were restricted to just eight goals, while the Young White Ferns piled on the pressure to lead 44-32 with 15 minutes remaining.

Although the Jamaicans fought back in the final quarter, New Zealand had done enough to secure the win and a showdown against Trans-Tasman rivals Australia.

The Jamaicans will face England in the bronze medal match, after the Aussies crushed their long-standing sports rivals 63-42.

In the all-Caribbean contest, Trinidad & Tobago prevailed over their neighbours and perennial sports rivals Barbados 46-42 in a very competitive affair.

Second time around

It was the second time in the competition that the Young Calypso Girls beat the Young Bajan Belles.

The two teams matched each other in the first half of the match with the score-line locked at 10-10 after the first period and 21-21 at half-time.

T&T however, edged away late in the contest to emerge victorious, and are ensured a top-10 finish at the Champion-ship.

The twin-island republic will contest the play-off for positions nine and 10 against Fiji, while Barbados will have to settle for either 11th or 12th when they play Samoa.