Dark horse St Catherine impress in Urban netball
ONLY three teams — The Queen’s, St Hugh’s and St Catherine High remain unbeaten in the ISSA/Digicel Urban Area High Schoolgirls Netball League as they chalked up their third straight win in the second round at the Leila Robinson Courts on Thursday.
With two rounds remaining, the teams appear assured of reaching the semi-finals in both the Junior and Senior Leagues.
Defending All-Island Junior League champions The Queen’s, coached by Marvette Anderson, proved too strong for St Jago and romped to a comprehensive 44-10 win.
The Queen’s, through shooters Simone Gordon and Shenae Warren, gave the reigning champions a 29-3 lead at half-time before dominating the third and fourth quarters for a runaway win.
Meanwhile, defending Senior champions St Hugh’s, coached by Phillip St Marie also came out comfortable 39-23 victors over Bridgeport High. However, St Hugh’s had to work hard after taking a close 10-8 first-quarter lead.
St Hugh’s outscored Bridgeport in the second quarter with another nine goals to their opponents’ four for a half-time 18-7 lead. The defending champions were not in any real trouble before pulling away in the next two quarters.
St Hugh’s Juniors also kept their unbeaten streak intact by cruising past Ardenne, 35-14, after taking a 18-7 lead at the interval. Ardenne, coached by Bethune Morgan, failed to withstand the attacking pressure of St Hugh’s and were never in contention.
Meanwhile, The Queen’s, strongly favoured to reach the Senior League final, were in no nonsense mood as they made easy pickings of St Jago, 78-9. It was the bigger margin of victory by any team in the round.
Coached by Anderson, shooters Sade Ffrench and Khadijah Williams were both in fine form, giving their team a 22-4 lead after the first quarter.
One team to watch in both divisions is St Catherine as they are playing well. Coached by Joan Walker, St Catherine should reach the semifinals and possibly, the final.
St Catherine Juniors dismissed Norman Manley, 34-18, then pulled off another big win against former champions Tarrant in the Senior League, 33-20.
In other Junior League results: Vauxhall defeated Holy Childhood, 30-23; Mona beat Clan Carthy, 27-20, while Campion College and Camperdown drew 17-17.
In other Senior League results: Excelsior defeated Meadowbrook, 27-10; St Andrew High rebounded, 45-10 against St Andrew Technical, while Wolmer’s and Camperdown tied, 32-32.
The competition continues on Wednesday with crucial match-ups that could determine both Junior and Senior group winners.
