Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls finished top of their Netball World Cup pool with a perfect record by beating hosts South Africa 67-49, with both teams already through to the next phase.
The result could prove decisive when it comes to deciding who reaches the semi-finals later in the week, with both sides joining Pool G with defending champions New Zealand.
Results from the first group stage carry through to the second stage, so there was an incentive to keep goal difference as tight as possible as it could prove key later in the week.
The highly anticipated Pool C game at Cape Town International Convention Centre Court 1 drew a sold-out crowd, witnessing Jamaica’s dominant performance from the outset. They maintained their lead in all quarters, ultimately securing a convincing win.
Despite the spirited support from the home crowd, South Africa struggled to keep up with Jamaica’s relentless pace and precision on the court. The Commonwealth Games silver medalists showcased their skill and possession, leading 16-12 after the first quarter and extending their advantage to 32-26 by halftime.
The second half proved challenging for the Proteas as they encountered a determined Jamaican defense that limited their scoring opportunities. Jamaica dominated the third quarter, outscoring South Africa by 18 goals to 3, further widening the gap with a scoreline of 52-29.
In the fourth quarter, Jamaica replaced star goalkeeper Shamera Sterling with Kadie-Ann Dehaney and the move nearly backfired as South Africa started to regain their momentum.
The combination of Ine-Mar? Venter and exciting goal attacker Nichole Taljaard gave Dehaney and goal defender Latanya Wilson problems as South Africa finally outscored Jamaica by five points in the quarter. But it proved too little too late for South Africa as the damage was done in the earlier stages, and Jamaica won by a comfortable 18 points
Leading the way for the Sunshine Girls was captain Jhanielle Fowler, who scored 39 goals out of 40 attempts. She received strong support from Shanice Beckford with 19 goals from 22 attempts, Romelda Aiken-George with 6 goals from 6 attempts, and Rebekah Robinson with three goals from four attempts.
For the South Africans, Lenize Potgieter, who missed the opening two comprehensive wins over Wales and Sri Lanka due to a niggling injury, top-scored with a perfect 17 goals from 17 attempts. She had both knees heavily strapped.
Jamaica will face Uganda in their first Pool G match on Monday.
There were also wins for Australia and New Zealand, who were already guaranteed to progress to the next pool phase going into Sunday’s matches but, with results being carried over, the points and goal tally remained crucial.
Australia romped to a convincing 101-32 victory over Fiji before New Zealand beat Singapore 80-19 to top their respective pools.
