DENBIGH High and Holmwood Technical captured the 2019 Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Rural High School Girls Junior and Senior League netball titles respectively at Manchester High School courts last Thursday.

The Denbigh aggregation, coached by Janice Hancel-Walker, retained their Junior League title after defeating first-time finalists Glenmuir High 24-12.

Holmwood Technical avenged last year’s defeat in the Senior League final at the hands of dethroned champions and arch-rivals Denbigh by carving out an exciting 41-36 win. Holmwood Technical were winning the Senior League title for the 12th occasion since 2005 with their last triumph being in 2017, also against Denbigh High.

Coach Hancel-Walker said it was a good win for the team in the junior final, but that they were unlucky in the senior final.

“We were looking to retain both titles but Holmwood, who have always been our arch-rivals, played very well to win. The juniors will represent us in the All-Island Championship play-off and again it will be against Gaynstead,” Hancel-Walker said.

Meanwhile, Karline Graham-Powell, coach of Holmwood Technical, said she was elated and the players were very happy to have come out winners.

“It is always a good feeling to win as the girls performed and executed extremely well. I was also confident that Holmwood would have come out victorious based on the quarter-final and semi-final scores produced by Denbigh,” Graham-Powell said.

She said the team is now preparing for the All-Island Championships senior play-off and is looking toward avenging their loss at the hands of Excelsior in 2017.

In the Junior League final, Denbigh High trailed 3-4 in the first quarter but went into the half-time break leading 9-5. The defending champions pulled away from Glenmuir in the third quarter 18-8 before completing a 24-12 win to retain their title.

The Holmwood vs Denbigh Senior League final was closely contested as the shooters from both teams kept the game evenly poised. Holmwood gained a 10-7 first-quarter lead and at the end of the second quarter were still in front 22-18.

Holmwood’s shooters moved their team to 34-27, a seven-point lead at the completion of the third quarter, before rounding out the final score at 41-36.

In the junior third-place play-off, Manchester High defeated Green Pond High 41-18, while Manchester High beat Porus High 32-22 in the senior third-place play-off.