Jamaican goal shooter Romelda Aiken-George taking a shot during the third Test between the Sunshine Girls and England Roses at the National Indoor Sports Centre on Monday.
Marlon Reid
Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls set up a decisive fourth and final Test match against England’s Vitality Roses after producing a nail-biting one-goal win over the current World number two to tie the series at 1-1 at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on Monday.
Entering this game on the back of a 49-49 draw and a 47-55 loss in the first two games of the series at the AO Arena in Manchester, England on November 16 and 17, the Girls were looking for redemption in front of an energetic home crowd.
They used the energy of the vibrant crowd packed into the Sports Centre to jump out to a quick 4-0 lead before the Roses used their physicality to claw their way back into the contest early. The score at the end of the first quarter was 12-10 in favour of the hosts.
England came out firing at the start of quarter number two, however, with three quick goals handing them an early one-point advantage and making it seem like the tide was turning in their favour.
With the home crowd rearing them on, the hosts regained their composure and, through some quick and accurate passing and shooting, re-took the lead at 15-13 with 11 and a half minutes left in the period.
Over the next few minutes, Jamaica continued to build momentum sending the home crowd into a frenzy with a seven to three run to lead 22-16 with six minutes left in the first half.
The two rivals continued to trade buckets fir the rest of the second quarter, with England eventually closing the gap to three points at half-time, the Jamaicans leading 26-23.
The second half started like the first, with the hosts extending the lead to 32-25 within the first five minutes of the period.
England stayed strong, however, and, despite some spectacular defensive plays from Jamaica captain Shamera Sterling-Humphrey throughout the rest of the quarter, the gap between the teams heading into the fourth and final stanza was still only three points with Jamaica up 38-35.
The first five minutes of the fourth quarter saw both teams showing why they are so highly ranked globally, producing timely goals and steals throughout. With 10 minutes to go, Jamaica’s lead was just two at 43-41 and the crowd was getting more pensive by the second.
Action continued back and forth and the nerves began to build even more when England made it a one-point game at 47-46 with three minutes to play.
Jamaica hit back, however, with two quick goals to restore the three-goal lead before England, displaying remarkable resilience, hit back once again with two goals of their own to make it a tied game at 49-49 with 50 seconds to play.
That would prove to be the last time England had the ball in their attacking third, however, as the Sunshine Girls strategically passed the ball around for the remaining time before, with one second left, Shanice Beckford hit what proved to be the game-winner, securing a 50-49 win for the hosts and sending the crowd into wild celebrations.
Beckford finished with 19 goals from 23 attempts while goal shooter Romelda Aiken-George had 30 goals from 34 attempts.
For England, Liv Tchine had 26 goals from 27 attempts while Lois Pearson had 18 goals from 21 attempts.
“I’m super happy for this win. Our fans brought us over the line today and we’re very grateful,” said Sunshine Girls captain Shamera Sterling-Humphrey after the game.
“I think we won the game defensively today. We revisited our game plan after the games in England and came back out strong,” she added.
Jamaica head coach Sasher-Gaye Henry praised the performance and poise from her troops.
“I think they were exceptional. I’m quite excited for them. Thy have grown from the second game,” she said.
“Still we have a lot of rough edges that we need to fix but I must commend them. To beat England is a big thing for us right now,” she added.
England coach Jess Thirlby believes early errors cost her team the game in the end.
“I think we made too many errors at the start of the game. Everything we expected from the Sunshine Girls came at us tonight,” she said.
Despite the loss, Thirlby expressed positivity at the way her team played, especially in the final two quarters.
“We drew that third quarter and won the fourth quarter by two. An outstanding performance and huge credit to the Sunshine Girls. In the moments where they needed to be, they were super smart,” she said.
The decisive fourth game of the series will take place at the same venue on Tuesday starting at 7:00pm Jamaica Time.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
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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