Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls displayed resilience in a hard-fought battle but fell short, losing 57-54 to 11-time champion Australia in the second semi-final match at the Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa on Saturday.
The Diamonds are now into their ninth consecutive final but they were given a serious test by Jamaica.
Throughout the intense contest, scores and momentum fluctuated by the minute, but crucial moments favoured Australia.
The score was tied at the end of the first quarter and halftime, with neither side leading by more than three at any stage of the first 30 minutes.
The game was tied 50-50 going into the last five minutes, but an intercept by outstanding goalkeeper Courtney Bruce helped turn the tide in Australia’s favour,
Captain Jhaniele Fowler scored 46 of 47 shots in her 100th appearance for Jamaica, who suffered their first loss of the tournament. Goal-attack Shanice Beckford shot nine goals from 10 attempts.
At the other end, Cara Koenen starred for Australia with 29 goals from 30 attempts, with her vice-captain Steph Wood contributing 28 goals from 31 attempts.
Sunshine Girls vice-captain and outstanding defender Shamera Sterling expressed disappointment with the end result.
“We are gutted that we lost because we came here determined to go all the way to the final, but it was a good fight and I am very proud of my team and how we came out,” Sterling said in a post-game interview.
This semi-final clash followed a closely fought encounter a year ago, when the Sunshine Girls lost 55-51 to Australia in the gold medal match at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
Australia will face England in the final on Sunday at 11:00 am Jamaica time. England made history by reaching their first Netball World Cup final after defeating the defending champions in a dramatic fashion, pulling away to secure a 46-40 victory in the last quarter.
Jamaica will take on New Zealand in the bronze medal match at 9:00 am, just before the gold medal match.
