Jamaica started well, outscoring their opponents 11-10 and 26-25 at the end of the first quarter and half-time, respectively. Jamaica’s lead was largely down to outstanding performances from Kadie-Ann Dehaney and Shamera Sterling, who caused England’s shooters significant challenges in the first half.
England’s defensive players turned the tables against Jamaica after the interval Eboni Usoro-Brown kept Jhaniele Fowler quiet and forced multiple changes in Jamaica's attack-end as the home side took control of the game to outscore Jamaica 16-9 in the third quarter and 14-10 in the fourth to pull off a commanding victory.
Fowler scored 40 of 41 attempts for the Sunshine Girls, who also got five goals from Shanice Beckford.
Jo Harten scored 30 of 39 and Eleanor Cardwell 20 of 22 for the Roses.
England had lost four of their last five games against Jamaica.
The second and third Tests will be played on December 4 and 5 at the Motor Point Arena
Fowler, the four-time Suncorp Super League Player of the Year, missed only two attempts as she and Alice Teague-Neeld, who scored six goals and two Suncorp Super Shots, did enough to secure the victory.
West Coast Fever trailed 8-10 after the first quarter but rallied to lead 20-19 at the half-time interval. They led 33-31 at the end of the third before pulling away 14-10 to seal the victory.
Jo Harten with 14 goals and Sophie Dwyer with 17 were the primary scorers for GIANTS team that committed 25 turnovers in the 40-minute encounter.
Fever play their other Pool B opponents, Collingwood and Adelaide, on Saturday before cross-over finals are held for all teams on Sunday.
It was Fowler’s 55th goal of the match from just 56 attempts that spurred the Fever from an eight-point halftime deficit to their fifth consecutive victory this season. In doing so, they handed the Giants their first defeat.
Fowler got support from Sasha Glasgow, who scored five goals as well as three super-shot goals that helped keep the Fever close as the Giants closed the half leading 37-29.
Jo Harten had 19 goals and nine super-shot goals for the Giants, which opened strong and led 17-13 at the end of the first quarter. They stretched the lead by winning the second quarter 20-16.
Sophie Dwyer was the Giants’ leading scorer with 26 goals and also scored a super-shot that helped the Giants maintain a lead.
However, the Fever came to life in the second half closing the gap to just three points by the end of the third quarter that they took 18-13.
The match swung in their favour at the death when Fowler sunk the winning basket with seconds on the clock to outscore the Giants 19-15 in the quarter and pull off a thrilling victory.
