Saint Lucia suffered their first defeat at the fifth Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) International Netball Series on Thursday, falling 57–43 to defending champions St Vincent & the Grenadines at the Tanteen Netball Facility in St George’s, Grenada.
The Vincy Jewels surged ahead early, leading 18–11 after the first quarter. They capitalised on unforced errors by the Piton Sparks, who settled somewhat in the second period. Still, the Vincentians extended their lead, winning the quarter 12–8 to go up 30–19 at halftime.
The second half followed a similar pattern. Vincentian goal shooter Maryann Frederick, a standout performer throughout the tournament, continued her dominant form. SVG took the third quarter 14–10, stretching their advantage to 44–29. Saint Lucia rallied in the fourth, edging the quarter 14–13, but the gap proved insurmountable.
Saint Lucia’s attack was led by Melika Destang, who netted 25 goals from 30 attempts (83.33% accuracy), while Shem Maxwell added 18 from 22 (81.82%). Frederick led all scorers with 51 goals from 54 attempts.
Post-match media duties fell to rising centre-court talent Naija Ferdinand, captain of Saint Lucia’s Under-16 team. She reflected on the Sparks’ mindset heading into the clash.
“Our coach gave us a good talk; like, we could win if we put our best foot forward,” said Ferdinand. “We spoke about what we had to do, what we had to improve from our last games. It was a hard match, but I think we fought well.”
Saint Lucia grew into the contest, but struggled to penetrate the shooting circle, with SVG effectively denying entry passes. Ferdinand acknowledged that the team’s lack of discipline had cost them.
“Coach made sure we were aware of the unforced errors, just simple mistakes we were making,” she explained. “She made sure to tell us to calm down, stop the errors. But I think in the last quarter, we closed on the lead a little.
“In the circle, they were double-marking Shem, so that’s why they couldn’t get her all the time. But all we had to do was make sure the pass was precise, and that’s all.”
Saint Lucia face another stern challenge on Friday night, taking on Barbados’ Bajan Gems at 7 p.m. Barbados are among three teams in the tournament competing solely for International Netball Federation ranking points.
