SVG fails to regain Under-23 Netball title

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Under-23 Netball team returned home last Tuesday night after failing to recapture the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) OECS title in Nevis last weekend.{{more}}

The ten players and three officials were met on arrival at the E T Joshua Airport by President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Netball Association Doris Mc Intosh and her First Vice President Godfrey Harry, as well as relatives of the members of the contingent.

This country went in search of its thirteenth piece of silver, but docked in third, behind first time winner St. Kitts and 2008 winner Grenada.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines had wins over Anguilla 86-16; Nevis 63-16 and St. Lucia in the third place play off, 65-45. St. Lucia had beaten the Vincentians 43-41 in the zone action and lost to Grenada 65-45 in the semi final.

St. Kitts rebounded after their early loss to Grenada, 53-46, to turn the tide in the final 50-47.

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Captain and the tournament’s Best Center Court Player Saska Diamond told SEARCHLIGHT last Wednesday that part of her team’s downfall was their “lack of fight and lack of concentration”.

“I will put it down to fighting to the end, as a lot of mistakes were made,” Diamond opined.

She pointed to the semi final match where they had established a six-point lead on the Grenadians, only to go under.

Diamond in her last year at the Under-23 level, and suffering the worst placing in her seven years at the sub regional age group competition, did not get the swan song she was looking for.

She thinks, though, that there are enough resources available for the Vincentians to bounce back in future competitions.

“There is a set of players with potential but they must have that passion for the sport and develop greater team spirit,” Diamond advised.

She made special mention of Goal Shoot Mary Ann Frederick as a player on whom much can depend in years to come.

Based on the statistics, St. Vincent and the Grenadines fell down in the shooting department, scoring 277 goals, but in turn missing 103, to finish with an overall accuracy average of 72.89 percent.

Frederick, who played in three of the five matches, had 157 attempts, and sank 124, with an average of 78.98 percent. Frederick was second behind the tournament’s top shooter Grenadian, Lottysha Cato, who returned an 84.04 percent scoring.

The other shooters for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Leanna Lewis and Shellisa Davis, had averages of 77.97 per cent and 59 per cent, respectively.

Lewis scored 92 from her 118 attempts, missing 26, while Davis from her 100 attempts, scored 59 and missed 41.

Shannique De Shong appeared in one match in the circle, scoring two goals out of her five attempts.

Talissa Browne of St. Kitts was the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and was adjudged the Best Defensive Player.

Grenada topped the shooting category with 82.5 per cent accuracy, followed by St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Anguilla collected the Most Disciplined Team award.

Played among eight countries in the OECS, St. Lucia finished fourth, Dominica fifth, sixth was Antigua and Barbuda, seventh was host Nevis, and Anguilla finished eighth.