Elaine Davis - FILE
MELBOURNE:
JAMAICA'S Sunshine Girls will play tough New Zealand in tomorrow's semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games netball tournament.
On Thursday night here they failed to reproduce the heroics of Wednesday's 54-54 draw against Australia and were just 60-47 winners over a robust Samoan team.
Hosts Australia had earlier romped to a whopping 107-19 victory over lowly Singapore to build up what turned out to be an insurmountable goal percentage lead.
At the end of the preliminary round, both Australia and Jamaica were locked on nine points in Group 2 but the hosts took top honours with 228.99 per cent to Jamaica's 186.21. Australia scored 324 goals and conceded 169 while Jamaica had a 324-174 record.
PRESSURE
In yesterday's game, Jamaica led 19-13 at the first quarter and 35-26 at half-time. After the break, the Samoans applied pressure and outscored Jamaica 14-12.
Jamaica increased the tempo in the final quarter scoring 13 to Samoa's seven but Australia with their big win had set too big a task.
Elaine Davis overcame the injury sustained on Wednesday to score 43 of 46 attempts while Simone Forbes had 17 from 18. Leading scorer for the Samoans was Catherine Latu with 45 from 49 attempts.
In tomorrow's semi-finals, Jamaica will play New Zealand, the winners of Group One while Australia oppose Group One runners-up England.
GOLD FOR SCOTT
In shooting, 42-year-old David Rickman finished a creditable 13 of 38 in the Open Full Bore event. Rickman had a score of 398.45 while the other Jamaican, Dennis Nelson was 27th, with 387.34. Australia's Bruce Scott winning gold with 403.60 in the three-stage event.
Squash pair, Karen Anderson and Marlene West, lost 9-1, 9-1, 9-2 in women's doubles pool play while Chris Binnie and West went down 9-3, 9-4, 9-5 in a fairly good mixed doubles performance in a preliminary round match against the talented English pair of James Wallstrop and Vicky Botwright.
- E. T.
