KINGSTOWN, CMC:
JAMAICA reaffirmed their number one status in regional netball when they beat St. Lucia yesterday to capture a third Caribbean Netball Association (CNA) Under-16 title in four years.
The Jamaicans, unbeaten in the tournament, rolled over St.Lucia 41-18 in the 2001 championship decider at the Arnos Vale Complex, to add to the junior titles they had won in 1998 and 2000 and the senior crown they snared in Dominica in July.
"We were always confident that they were going to win, because we had taller players who knew each other well," Jamaica manager Cora Ricketts said after the game.
Trinidad and Tobago beat St.Vincent and the Grenadines 31-25 in the third-place play-off.
Jamaica, with the psychological edge going in after their 32-23 triumph over the St.Lucians in group play on Thursday night, led the quarters 10-3, 21-5, 32-12 and were never threatened.
St.Lucia's 2-1 advantage in the opening minutes was their only lead in the game, as they had too many turn-overs and were dominated in mid-court by Jamaicans, who have won every Caribbean Under-16 tournament they have attended.
Peta-Gay Thomas at centre, and wing defence Kerian Brown, were outstanding for the champions, while goal shoot Taneisha Campbell with 23 goals from 24 attempts, and goal attack Kandian Mendes (18/23) took care of the scoring.
"We passed the ball better than all the other teams, and our players have been together for over a year," Ricketts said of her winning team.
Scoring for the St Lucians, who had upset former champions SVG 32-29 in the semi-finals on Saturday evening, were Indira Laurencine (5/8), Melissa Alfred (6/15), and Givani Lucien (7/8).
"The girls did not play too well tonight, they made too many errors and allowed the Jamaicans to get away," Donna-Lyn Joseph, the St.Lucia coach said.
T&T avenged a preliminary round group loss to the hosts for a six-goal win in the third place play-off.
After leading 18-14 at the half, T&T, behind goal shoot Afeisha Noel (23/28), maintained their advantage down the stretch for the win over SVG, whose top scorer was Khandi Joseph (11/18).
Barbados outscored Grenada 37-36 in extra-time for fifth place.
Grenada, who upset Barbados in a group match Tuesday morning, forced the game into extra time with a 29-29 tie at full time, but Barbados squeezed ahead in added time for the win.
Keisha Bruce (25/35) led the Barbados scoring.
