Jamaica’s Under-21 Sunshine Girls endured a tough start to their three-match series against South Africa, as they went down 31-61 in Saturday’s opener at the National Indoor Sports Centre.
The match, which served as the curtain-raiser for the senior teams’ Margaret Beckford Sunshine Series, highlighted Jamaica’s struggles with cohesion and match fitness against a sharper South African side.
Kelliann Hunter was the standout for the Jamaicans, netting 16 goals from 20 attempts, while Nickiesha Powell added 10 goals from 11 attempts, and Jada Ricketts chipped in with five goals from 10 attempts.
However, the hosts’ effort was overshadowed by South Africa’s Giada Prinsloo, who led all scorers with an impressive 44 goals from 48 attempts. Michelle van der Merwe contributed 13 goals, and Lisa Ingwersen added four goals for the visitors.
The match got off to a late start, but South Africa wasted no time to assert themselves, as they scored first. Jamaica managed to stay close early on, but frequent turnovers hampered their progress, and that allowed the Baby Proteas to secure a slim two-goal advantage at 13-11 by the end of the quarter.
Jamaica briefly leveled the score at 15-15 in the second quarter as they showcased flashes of promise, but South Africa soon pulled away. Their accuracy in the goal circle and Jamaica’s inability to protect the ball saw the visitors dominate the remainder of the period to hold an eight-goal lead at 29-21 by halftime.
South Africa extended their dominance in the third quarter where they once again opened the scoring. Jamaica’s rustiness became more apparent as turnovers and missed opportunities continued to plague their performance.
Still, South Africa’s Prinsloo was relentless and found the net with ease to put her team up by 22 at 47-25 heading into the final quarter, where the visitors solidified their control.
Despite Jamaica’s efforts, the Baby Proteas maintained their intensity in a showcase of superior ball handling and teamwork and completed a commanding 30-goal victory at the end.
Jamaica’s head coach, Annett Daley, remained optimistic despite the loss, as she pointed to the learning opportunity for her young team.
“The performance was about finding out those persons who are ready for international competition, team chemistry, and positional plays. We are playing for the first time as a team at this level, so it is now about finding a team that is able to perform at the level that we are used to and that’s what today was about. So it is about improvement from here,” Daley said post-game.
Her counterpart, Precious Mthembu, praised both teams’ efforts while acknowledging areas for her squad to grow.
“I think it was a good run against Jamaica. Exceptional skills were shown on the court today by both teams. I’m happy with how the girls pulled through, and I’m hopeful they will continue to grow and play with more patience. I just love the Jamaican style and how we were able to figure things out on court,” Mthembu noted.
The second game is scheduled for Wednesday at the same venue.