Fowler scored 52 goals as the Fever racked up 97 in their victory on Sunday.
Suncorp Super Netball
Defending Suncorp Super Netball League champions West Coast Fever rebounded by last weekend’s loss with a record-breaking performance against the Queensland Firebirds on Sunday.
Having lost to New South Wales Swifts by a single goal last week, and three of their last four to slip to third in the league table, the Fever responded by crushing the Firebirds 97-63 at the RAC Arena. The 97 goals scored was the highest number of goals scored in a single match in the league.
Led by Jhaniele Fowler’s 52 goals from 56 attempts and Sasha Glasgow’s perfect 15 of 15, the Fever led by 10 (27-17) at the end of the first quarter and extended the lead to 20 at half time after outscoring Queensland 23-13 in the second.
The Firebirds managed to rally in the third quarter in which they were outscored 21-18 but the Fever put their foot back down on their necks in the final quarter 26-15 to win by a massive 34 goals.
Donnell Wallam led the scoring for the Firebirds with 37 goals from 40 attempts.
Fowler scored her 500th goal of the season and ended the match with a tally of 552, 75 more than Wallam.
The Fever’s seventh win of the season saw them maintain third place in the league standings despite Adelaide Thunderbirds falling to a massive 21-point loss to Melbourne Vixens on Saturday.
The league leaders suffered only their second loss of the season 60-39 due mainly to outstanding defensive play by the Vixen’s mid-court.
Shamera Sterling had a strong start for the Thunderbirds, with a rebound, two intercepts, and a deflection in a formidable first term. Her performance spurred the Thunderbirds to a three-point lead (14-11) over the Vixens as the first quarter came to a close.
However, the Vixens defense were relentless. Emily Mannix had an impressive display with five intercepts, four deflections as the Vixens stamped their authority on the encounter.
Mwai Kumwenda (21/22) and Kiera Austin (23/30) led the scoring for the Vixens while Eleanor Cardwell scored 21 of 24 and Georgie Horjus scored eight goals for the Thunderbirds.
In another lop-sided match on Saturday, Romelda Aiken-George scored 26 from 32 attempts, Helen Housby 14 from 17 and Sophie Fawns 17 from 22 as the New South Wales Swifts swamped Collingwood Magpies 85-56 at the Ken Rosewall Arena despite Shimona Nelson’s 35 goals from just 37 attempts.
It was the Swifts’ largest margin of victory this season.
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Rhone Hornsby Trophy an added delight for Sunshine Girls, England in Horizon Series battle
Jamaica's Sunshine Girls and England's Vitality Roses, who are currently half way through their four-match Horizon Series, will have added motivation heading into the next two games as the winner of the series will cop the Rhone Hornsby Trophy.
The new series trophy is named in honour of Molly Rhone OJ, CD, OD on behalf of Netball Jamaica and Jean Hornsby on behalf of England Netball. This home and away series between Jamaica and England will become a fixture on the international calendar for the next four years.
Molly Rhone has a long and distinguished period of service as a sports administrator and former national netball player. She served as president of the Jamaica Netball Association for ten years between 1993 and 2003 and eventually became president of AFNA (Americas Netball) and President of the International Netball Federation from 2003 to 2019, the only Jamaican to ever head an international sporting body.
Jean Hornsby was an outstanding netball player and is the first black player to represent England. She played wing defense for the national U21 team for four years (1974–1978) and was captain for two of the four years. She went on to represent England in the 1979 World Netball Tournament (now known as the Netball World Cup). She has stayed close to the sport over the years. She has declared that she holds fond memories of Jamaica, where she visited for the first time in 1975.
Rhone and Hornsby have greatly impacted the sport of netball in their individual countries, at the regional level and the world stage, and have contributed to the growth and development of netball in their unique ways.
The Rhone Hornsby Trophy will be presented for the first time in Jamaica at the National Indoor Sports Centre (NISC) in Kingston to the winner of the four-match Horizon Series.
England currently lead the tie 1-0 following a 55-47 win in the second contest at the AO Arena in Manchester. The first game ended in a 49-49 stalemate.
Jamaica's Sunshine Girls are eagerly looking forward to the next two matches, which are scheduled for Monday at 6:30pm and Tuesday at 7:00pm.
NB: Action can be seen live on SportsMax and the SportsMax app.
Caribbean teams face tough draws for Netball World Youth Cup
The road to the Netball World Youth Cup 2025 has officially begun, as Caribbean representatives Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados now know their opponents for the tournament, which will see 20 of the world’s top under-21 netball teams vying for supremacy on the international stage.
With 10 months to go before the September 19–28 showpiece in Gibraltar, Jamaica’s young Sunshine Girls, as well as the young Barbados Gems and Calypso Girls, will intensify preparations as they have tough draws to navigate.
Jamaica’s young Sunshine Girls have been drawn into a competitive Pool C alongside powerhouse England, Tonga, Wales, and Sri Lanka. It’s a challenging group, but one that Netball Jamaica President Tricia Robinson believes they will be well-prepared for.
“We know the quality of our opponents, especially England, who are always strong at the youth level. However, we will be ensuring that the girls preparation is very thorough, as we have every intention of possibly making a deep run in this tournament. So the focus of the preparation will be on fine-tuning strategies and sharpening the team’s physical and mental readiness in the build-up to the World Cup,” Robinson told SportsMax.Tv.
While Jamaica, having established itself as a powerhouse in senior netball, aims to carry that momentum into the youth competition. For Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, this tournament represents an opportunity to showcase their developing talent and challenge more seasoned teams on the global stage.
This, as Tuesday’s draw pitted Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados in Pool D, where they face an equally formidable lineup. They will go up against Fiji, South Africa, and Malawi—teams known for their athleticism and tactical prowess.
Meanwhile, Pool A will see host Gibraltar square off against defending champions New Zealand, Malaysia, the Cook Islands, and Zambia.
Australia, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore, and Northern Ireland will contest Pool B.
The initial pools further highlighted the global diversity of the competition, with at least three teams from each of World Netball’s five regions—Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania—represented.
Games will be played at the Europa Point Sports Complex and Tercentenary Sports Hall in Gibraltar.
World Netball President Dame Liz Nicholl, DBE, emphasized the importance of the tournament for young athletes.
“This competition is often the first time many players experience different styles of play from across the globe. The NWYC is a platform for emerging elite talent, and we are excited to see what new matchups and experiences await,” Nicholl said.
Expectations high as Sunshine Girls, England eye victory on Jamaican leg of Horizon Netball Series
After two exciting encounters at the AO Arena in Manchester, Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls and England’s Vitality Roses are now in Kingston for the second leg of the four-match Horizon Series.
With England leading the series 1-0, after topping game two 56-47, while the game one ended in a draw, the decisive third and fourth games scheduled for November 25 and 26 at the National Indoor Sports Centre promises to keep spectators at the edge of their seats.
In fact, with the games set to be the Sunshine Girls’ first encounter at home in a long time, Head coach Sasher-Gaye Henry is optimistic that they can deliver two top performances to treat local fans.
“I think we did great as a team and we should be proud of our achievements, maybe the last result was not we what we wanted but it’s something that we have to work through and try to come the last two games and improve on our performance” Henry said shortly after arriving at the Norman Manley International Airport on Monday.
Henry believes her number four-ranked Sunshine Girls possesses enough quality to top their number two-ranked opponents, but in the same breath, pointed out that it is easier said than done.
“It is going to be two keenly contested games. It’s going to be competitive. We have to respect England and their second place in the world and we are number four. It all comes down to being disciplined, being precise in our movements and to improve on our weaknesses that we had. We have to limit our turn overs and capitalize on their strengths so it’s something that we have to work on,” Henry noted.
First time captain Shamera Sterling-Humphrey was also optimistic about the team’s chances against the Vitality Roses.
“I feel like once we can fix what needs to be fixed in the three ends of our court –the mid court, the shooting and the defence –then I think Jamaica can get the two wins.” Sterling-Humphrey shared.
Her counterpart Fran Williams was happy to be in Jamaica for the first time to compete against the Sunshine Girls as she also declared high expectations for the two matches.
“We are so excited to be here and it’s amazing to get to travel and get to play in other countries and explore new places. We’ve had such a good start to the series with two really close matches including a draw so it’s going to be exciting on Monday and Tuesday next week,” Williams beamed.
Meanwhile, England’s coach Jess Thirlby echoed similar sentiments.
“We know that this is going to be a really tough ask coming out to Jamaica but we know we are on the hunt for one more win to try and take that series. Our expectations of ourselves re high but the Jamaica Sunshine Girls have got some if not a lot of world class girls in that side,” Thirlby stated.
Game time 6:30pm on Monday, and 7:00pm on Tuesday.
NB: The Horizon Netball series can be seen live on SportsMax and the SportsMax App.
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