Vincy Jewels win netball Battle of the Saints
On Wednesday night September 25, 2024 at the Beausejour Indoor Facility, despite a tough first two quarters, St. Vincent and the Grenadines defeated hosts Saint Lucia 56 – 45, to make it 4 wins out of 4 matches played to date.
Saint Lucia took a ding-dong first quarter 9 – 8, but the Vincy Jewels responded like champions to take a slim one goal, second quarter lead 22 – 21.
A tactical change saw coach Natasha Baptiste introducing captain Kemisha Antoine in the second half, which brought about the impetus to the Vincentian game plan. Despite making a few errors, the Vincy Jewels took the third quarter 41 – 31.
The hosts did not let up in the fourth and final quarter, throwing everything – tactically at the Vincentians, who held on to their lead winning 56 – 45, to go top of the 2024 ECCB International Netball Series table.
Maryann Frederick continued to lead the Vincentian quest to regain the title with 47 goals scored from 49 attempts, and Kristiana Christopher netted 9 from her 9 attempts made.
For Saint Lucia, Merlessa Alfred scored 20 from 29 attempts, Deaha Eugene 22 from 27, and Shem Maxwell 3 from 10.
Kristiana Christopher who played in the goal-attack position and had a profound impact on the game, credited the prayers the team had at the end of the first half which had them to refocus on the job at hand, and to execute their game plan. She admitted that in the first two quarters “we had a lot of bad passes.”
Both Kristiana Christopher and Maryann Frederick play for the same club X-Ceed in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines national club competitions, and as a result, have developed a very good understanding.
Another player who created an impact on the game was skipper Kemisha Antoine who was introduced in the second half that Kristiana said “made my job a lot easier.”
