DEFENDING champions Kingston Humming Birds finally broke their losing streak when they pulled off a close and exciting 43-41 win over St Ann Orchids as the 2015 Netball Jamaica (NJ)/Berger Elite League competition continued at the Leila Robinson Courts on Sunday.

It was the Birds’ only victory in nine matches this season after their success in lifting the title in the inaugural staging last year.

The six teams all have one game remaining to be played on Friday to complete the round, but the Humming Birds are completely out of the running.

The current point standings are as follows: St Catherine Racers lead with 21 points, St James Sharpes are second on 16, third are Clarendon Gaters on 16 followed by Manchester Spurs on 15, St Ann Orchids with nine, and Kingston Humming Birds with three points. All teams have played nine matches.

Friday’s 10th round will see the Sharpes facing St Ann Orchids at 6:00 pm; Kingston Humming Birds against St Catherine Racers at 6:15 pm, and Manchester Spurs taking on Clarendon Gaters at 7:30 pm.

In the Birds’ win, Thristina Harwood got 27 goals from 37 attempts and Mellisha Josephs added 16 goals from 25 attempts, while for Orchids Shanice Beckford scored 26 goals from 30 attempts with nine from 16 for Geselle Allison. The MVP for the match was captain Kerry-Ann Brown of the Birds. The quarterly scores for the Birds were 9-11, 24-18, and 33-30 for the winners.

St Catherine Racers registered their seventh win from nine games by holding off Clarendon Gaters in a thrilling 39-37 victory, with quarterly scores of 11-7, 20-18, and 30-27. For the Racers, Ladonna Lamonth got 21 goals from 27 efforts. Captain Nordia Hanson added 18 goals from 27 attempts, while for the Gaters Simone Gordon got 20 goals from 25 attempts and Kadie-Ann Dehaney notched eight goals from eight attempts. Khadijah Williams of the Racers was named the MVP.

Manchester Spurs clipped St James Spurs in an exciting 37-36 results, with the quarterly scores being 15-6, 23-17, and 31-31. Shantel Slater netted 31 goals from 35 attempts for the Spurs, while Deneen Taylor got 27 goals from 40 attempts, with Paula Thompson of the Sharpes named the MVP.

Meanwhile, last Friday, St Catherine Racers defeated Kingston Humming Birds 41-34 with quarterly scores of 9-9, 22-18, and 30-27. Anna-Kay Griffiths scored 30 goals from 40 attempts and Lamonth registered 11 from 15 efforts. Beckford got 26 goals from 32 attempts, and Josephs sank eight from 11 tries. Stacian Facey of the Birds was the MVP.

Clarendon Gaters raced away to a convincing 40-29 win over Manchester Spurs with interval scores of 13-8, 23-11, and 33-21. Dehaney scored 31 goals from 41 attempts and Claudia Callender got 10 from 24 tries for the Gaters, while for the Spurs, Slater got 19 goals from 30 efforts. Kasey Evering of Gaters was the MVP of the match.

St James Sharpes got the better of St Ann Orchids 36-34 with quarterly scores of 11-8, 17-19, and 25-25. Taylor scored 31 goals from 44 attempts for the Sharpes, while Beckford scored 16 from 17 attempts and Allison got 13 goals from 16 attempts for the Orchids. The MVP of the match was captain Shasher-Gaye Henry.