JAMAICA defeated Trinidad and Tobago 65-60 on Friday and will play for fifth at the 2012 Centrobasket Championship for Women in Morovis, Puerto Rico.

After a disappointing run in the preliminary stage where they finished third in Group A behind Puerto Rico and Mexico, the Jamaicans outscored their Caribbean rivals 19-7 in the last eight minutes of the game to continue their fight to salvage pride.

Trinidad’s Pietra Gay tied the game at 60 with 2:55 left on the clock but Shenneika Smith makes a jump shot and Tarita Gordon sunk a three-pointer to give the 2010 silver medalists back-to-back wins in two days.

Shooting guard Sasha Dixon led with a game high 22 points and six rebounds while Smith had 12 points and eight rebounds, as Jamaica recovered from trailing in the first quarter 7-15.

A better second quarter saw the Jamaicans behind by four points at half-time.

Swiss-based Rhona McKenzie, who was later fouled out, tied the game at 43 points, with 51 seconds left in the third quarter, but consecutive baskets from Miriam Seale and Jowan Ortega ensured that Trinidad maintain their narrow lead at 47-43 at the end of the third.

The key moment for Jamaica came with approximately four minutes remaining in the game when Thova Gardner and Dixon hit jump shops from behind the three-point line to turn the game 58-53 in Jamaica’s favour.

Gay finished with 18 points for Trinidad, who had 19 turnovers, the bulk of which came in the last quarter.

Jamaica now waits for the winner of the El Salvador versus US Virgin Islands game and will play for fifth spot on Saturday, while Trinidad & Tobago will face the loser of that game, for seventh place.