Barbados crushed the British Virgin Islands 79-14 to make a commanding start to the Netball World Cup Sydney Regional Qualifiers – Americas at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium on Monday.
The Bajan Gems dominated from the outset, leading 21-5 after the opening quarter, 47-7 at half-time and 61-9 at the end of the third period.
Captain Shonette Azore-Bruce welcomed the emphatic victory, saying it was good to make such a strong start to the competition.
“Right now, all that’s going through my mind is, I can’t wait for the next matches. We started really, really well and it’s just building from here and going forward.
“We had not seen BVI play in a very, very long time, so we made up our minds that we’re going to come out here and start hard and keep pressing from there,” Azore-Bruce explained.
Barbados made a strong start to the competition. (Photo by Zahir Motara)
Head coach Julie Phillips was also happy with the emphatic win.
“For us it’s just to go back, revisit what happened throughout the game quarter by quarter and in preparation for… every other game. Its just one game at a time.”
Phillips also reflected on her decision to rotate her team extensively during the last two quarters.
“It was just to give all the girls some court time to knock off some rust, you know, to let them run and have some experience on the court against the different types of opposition.”
Earlier in the opening game of the competition, Trinidad and Tobago defeated Grenada 61-45 in a much closer affair.
They led 20-7 after the opening quarter, 35-15 at half-time and 48-29 at the end of the third quarter.
The most closely contested game of the opening day saw St Vincent and the Grenadines edge the USA 50-48.
USA led 11-8 at the end of a tight opening quarter and 28-24 at half-time, before St Vincent and the Grenadines levelled the scores at 36-36 at the end of a thrilling third quarter.
Canada also made a winning start to the competition, clinching a 34-25 victory over Saint Lucia.
The Canadians battled their way into a 7-5 first-quarter lead before extending their advantage to 18-12 at half-time and 26-20 at the end of the third quarter.
(KH)
