After bronze medal finishes at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, and Gold Coast, Australia, respectively, Stacian Facey had been optimistic the Sunshine Girls would return with at least a medal from the Netball World Cups which followed.

But they lost the third-place play-off match to England to finish fourth at the 2015 World Cup, which was held in Sydney, Australia.

Jamaica were even farther back at the 2019 World Cup as they ended the tournament in fifth place at the event which was held in Liverpool, England.

“Not getting a medal both years, we were disappointed because we worked very hard for it. I mean, we barely got any sponsorships, and we had to leave things like work and school as well as late night studying; we had to put that on the back burner and put netball first, and some of us had family,” Facey told the Jamaica Observer.

“We were very disappointed. We were heartbroken, really heartbroken, because we really wanted a medal. Both years, especially in 2019, because we came very hard and really wanted to medal but it didn’t work out. Most of us were left heartbroken,” the 29-year-old added.

Facey said based on the Sunshine Girls’ silver medal performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in England, she believes that Jamaica can come home from the Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa, with that long-overdue medal.

“Without a doubt, I believe that the girls are capable enough to win a medal. If they can reproduce that performance from the Commonwealth Games last year or better it, they can definitely win a medal, and once they are in the final, they are going to win the gold,” she said.

Facey, who started playing for the senior Sunshine Girls in 2013 and took a break in 2021, said it was always a magical moment for her when representing her country at the global showpiece for netball.

“It was electrifying. I mean, representing your country out there in front of millions of people was just so amazing. Just being there and having people want to take your picture, makes you feel like a complete celebrity, and you just want to be part of a team where all of us are working towards one goal. It feels like a family, and words really can’t explain the feeling,” she said.

Facey said that preparation for the global showpiece was more intense than just training for a regular series.

“It is rougher on your mental health than just a regular series. There are more tactical plays. The endurance part is harder, like running for 45 minutes straight without stopping, and so mentally, it was even harder.

“So for regular series, we had different players coming along, but when we are in like World Cup mode, we have a squad of 15 or 16 players that we work with, and everyone is competing against each other,” she said.

Facey said that her position on the team as goalkeeper and goal defence was just as important as the other units in the Sunshine Girls setup.

“People don’t really think of defence as one of the top positions on the team, as it is always the attacking unit that gets more attention. But imagine we are at game point, or like we are one point down; it is all on the defenders to get back that ball so our shooters can get it to score so we could tie or win a game.

“So I think my position is very important, just like the attack; I think we are the backbone of the team… goals do win matches but defences do as well,” the Trelawny native said.