ISSA Urban, Rural netball champions crowned
St Catherine High, Denbigh High, Holmwood Technical and Excelsior High were crowned champions of their Junior and Senior Leagues, respectively, at the 2017 Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) netball finals played inside the National Indoor Sports Centre on Friday.
All four champions will go on to compete in the All-Island Championship play-offs scheduled to be held on Wednesday at Manchester High School.
Urban Junior League champions St Catherine High will go up against rural champions Denbigh High for the All-Island title.
Excelsior High, the urban champions, will face Holmwood for the All-Island Senior League crown. Denbigh are the current holders of the title after defeating Excelsior last year.
In the Urban Junior League final, St Catherine High registered a nail-biting, upset win by defeating defending champions Gaynstead High 31-30, while in the Rural Junior League final, Denbigh High defeated Manchester High 34-25.
Meanwhile, Excelsior High registered a comfortable 38-28 win over Gaynstead High in the Urban Senior League final, while Holmwood Technical dethroned Rural Senior League champions Denbigh High with a 43-35 victory.
The finals produced some entertaining matches, however, the most exciting match was the encounter between St Catherine High and Gaynstead High that went down to the last shot to decide the winner.
With St Catherine leading by one point in the dying moments, a penalty shot call was made in favour of Gaynstead High, but with the chance to tie the game and force extra time the shot was missed, thus handing St Catherine victory.
It was also the first first-ever junior league triumph for St Catherine High School and coach Phyllis Thompson.
For St Catherine High, goal shooter Tahlee Redwood scored 22 goals from 30 attempts and goal attack Chevell-Lee Thompson got nine goals from 22 efforts, while for Gaynstead, Britney Logan scored 19 goals from 28 attempts, and Kelsey Jonas added 11 goals from 19 attempts. Thompson of Denbigh was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP).
In the Rural Junior League final won by Denbigh, Rianna Wisdom scored 21 goals from 28 attempts, and Tefya Hunter contributed 13 goals from 17 attempts, while Majatee Laidlaw scored 20 goals from 22 attempts for Manchester High.
In the Urban Senior League final that saw Excelsior retaining their title with a 38-28 win over Gaynstead, the scorers for the winners were Hasana Williams with 18 goals from 28 attempts and Rocoya Douglas with 10 goals from 14 attempts, while for Gaynstead, Amanda Pinkney scored 17 goals from 24 attempts and Asha Brooks added 11 goals from 16 attempts.
The Rural Senior League won by Holmwood saw Shadine Bartley scoring 33 goals from 43 attempts and Sasha-Gaye Forbes getting 10 goals from 12 attempts, while for the losers, Danay Thomas scored 29 goals from 40 attempts and Zandra Powell made six goals from seven attempts. Davenia Stephenson was named the MVP for the final.
And in the Urban Junior League third-place play-off, Norman Manley High got the better of St Hugh’s High 33-29, while in the Senior League third-place play-off, St Catherine High came out 38-35 winners over The Queen’s School.
The Rural Junior League third-place play-off was won by May Day High, who edged out Glenmuir High 25-24, while in the Senior League third -place play-off, Manchester High defeated Anchovy High 35-23.