Carolyn Johnson, Freelance Writer

Jamaica's Jodi-Ann French (right) prepares to shoot as Trinidad and Tobago's goalkeeper Anika Laroche (partly hidden at left) defends during last night's third game of the three-match series against Trinidad and Tobago at the National Arena. Jamaica won 82-24. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Jamaica gave Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) a whipping last night, winning 82-24 in the final match of the tri-Test series held at the National Arena.

The matches, which started on Friday, ended 63-32, 68-25 (Saturday) and 82-24, respectively, clearly reflecting the superiority of the home team.

Ranked third in the world, the Sunshine Girlz proved they were leaps and bounds ahead of T&T.

Simone Forbes led Jamaica's scoring with 34 from 36 attempts, aided by Romelda Aiken 33/39 and Jodi-Ann Ffrench 15/20. For the Trinidadians, Janelle Barker netted five from seven, Lystra Zamore 14 from 20 and Simone Morgan 5/14.

Coach was concerned

At the beginning of the series, coach Connie Francis was concerned about her team's consistency and the gelling of the young players into the team. Both of these she proudly believes she has achieved.

"We are consistent - look at the scoreline. We were determined to keep the score, we achieved that, we were determined to up the score, we achieved that, we were determined to experiment, we achieved that with success. The skills they go out there and show are world-class skills. It was a really good test to see if we are capable of playing well every day."

Overwhelmed

About her youngsters, Francis said with a confident smile: "I am overwhelmed, they are determined to do well. That is a good thing and they are not afraid to take chances on the court. The future is looking really good for Jamaica."

"We are not really prepared to compete with that type of netball," T&T's coach Grace Parkinson-Griffith admitted last night.

Coming into the series, the coach said her aim was to learn as much as they could in preparation for the World Championships in Fiji in next year.

On Friday night Parkinson-Griffith said Jamaica's speed and aggression were major problems for her team, but that they were here to watch and learn.

Although T&T's score decreased each night, they did look better on the court as they tried to match Jamaica's speed. The defence also improved in the circle though Anika Laroche and Crystal Ann George were kept on their toes in combating Elaine Davis and Romelda Aiken's height.

"We have a lot of work to do. We need to work on agility and fitness if we are to play in Fiji 2007. Jamaica is certainly physical, plays physically and are winning by it. We have been playing good in spurts, not consistently, because of mental low capacity, but moments of brilliance," Parkinson-Griffith summed up.