After Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls registered consecutive series win in the space of two months, Captain Shamera Sterling-Humphrey says the team’s quality and camaraderie will continue to play a big factor in their success going forward.

Jamaica’s senior netballers wrapped up their Margaret Beckford Sunshine Series on Saturday at the National Indoor Sports Centre with a 58-47 win over South Africa to sweep to a 3-0 triumph.

Goalkeeper Sterling-Humphrey was named player of the match for her defensive performance. It was the second game in a row that the world number three-ranked side won by double digits after registering a 59-47 victory last Wednesday.

Sterling-Humphrey, who led the team for the second series in a row in place of Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, credited South Africa’s competitiveness but says the Sunshine Girls’ squad was too much to handle.

“It was really good to get the practice against a team that’s ranked lower than us. The fact they’re ranked lower than us means they came out and gave a good performance, so it’s good for us heading into the Commonwealth Games and the World Cup,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

“[Our] depth really helps us, especially with load management because sometimes you don’t want just seven players playing every single series so it’s good we have that depth, rotate, put in who we want to put in and it’s good to see the youngsters coming in and getting the job done.”

Saturday’s match at the Indoor Sports Centre had a sell-out crowd with just over 5000 people in attendance.

Sterling-Humphrey wants the support to continue in the years to come.

“I was very impressed with the turnout. I could see it was a sell-out crowd which was expected because from the previous match with England, we knew the fans would come out and us pleading to the fans really helped a lot so we hope to continue,” she said.

The Sunshine Girls have won the hearts of many Jamaicans due to their togetherness and playfulness which has been highlighted in person and on social media.

Captain Sterling-Humphrey says their relationship with each other makes it easier to dominate in games.

“We’ve been coming for years and we’ve been together. We’re not just netballers on court but we’re also friends outside of netball and I think that’s what gives us the 100 per cent on the court. Us being friends outside of netball and to be able to put that on the court is very commendable,” she said.

The team will now await their next opponents as they continue preparation for the 2026 Commonwealth Games and the 2027 Netball World Cup.

Though they may not be together in the coming months, Sterling-Humphrey is confident they will keep the standards high.

“Majority of us won’t be with the team, a lot of us will go back to Australia for preseason but the knowledge we’ll be gaining there, we hope to bring it back to the team so they can gain something from it. But I’m definitely looking forward to coming back again and just building on our connections,” she said.

Sterling Humphrey, Shimona Nelson-Jok, Latanya Wilson, Jodi-Ann Ward, Shanice Beckford, who all played in the Margaret Beckford Series, will head to Australia next month to join their respective teams in the Suncorp Super Netball League.

Fowler-Nembhard, who missed the England and South Africa series, is likely to miss the 2025 season after announcing her pregnancy.