Saint Lucia wrapped up their campaign at the Americas Netball World Cup Qualifier on Monday evening, with an overtime loss to St Vincent & the Grenadines. The injury-hit Piton Sparks had testing time at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex in Wildey, Barbados, competing well but finishing sixth in the eight-team table with two wins and five losses.
Despite their challenges, Saint Lucia enjoyed significant positives. They lost teenage shooter Neriah Charlery before the tournament, forcing Shem Maxwell out of retirement. Maxwell went down in the final quarter of the game against hosts Barbados. After leading through three quarters, the shorthanded Sparks lost that game by just two goals.
All in all, Saint Lucia scored 312 goals and conceded only 283, fourth-fewest of all teams. The squad had a positive goal difference of plus-29. Only four other teams had positive goal differences – tournament winners Trinidad & Tobago, runners-up SVG, third-placed United States, and hosts Barbados. Yet Saint Lucia walked away with just six competition points.
A slow start proved costly. The opening fixture brought a 34-25 loss to Canada. Game 2 produced genuine heartbreak against the host nation. Saint Lucia held a 22-18 halftime lead over Barbados, but after Maxwell’s injury, the Bajans rallied late to claim a 42-40 result.
In Round 3, the Sparks routed the British Virgin Islands 75-11, holding the BVI to single digits through three periods. Following the tournament rest day, Saint Lucia defeated Grenada 50-29, before falling to Trinidad & Tobago 62-35 victory, and to the USA 50-34.
Saint Lucia occupied fifth spot through Day 6 with a plus-31 margin. Canada trailed behind in sixth. The table flipped on the final day. Canada edged Grenada 42 to 40 to move to nine points.
Meanwhile, Saint Lucia trailed SVG 28-24 at the half, and fought back to lead by one in the final quarter. Scores were tied at 45 when the final buzzer went, and the Vincy Jewels won 55-53 in overtime. Saint Lucia were a couple of bad breaks and four goals from finishing in the top four.
Dasha Eugene led Saint Lucia with 141 goals from 187 attempts, shooting 75 per cent. Naija Ferdinand converted 137-174, a 79 per cent mark. Ferdinand stood tall in the finale against SVG, sinking 32 goals. Maxwell added 30-38.
TTO went unbeaten to claim the title, while SVG secured the second Americas ticket to Sydney 2027. Host Barbados stumbled on home soil, dropping consecutive fixtures to the USA and SVG before finishing fourth.
