Springer Memorial continue to wear the crown of queens of the Barbados Secondary Schools' Netball League Under-19 Competition after capturing their second consecutive title by defeating Queen's College 22-16 this afternoon at the Netball Stadium.
Queen's College were unable to dethrone the defending champions Springer Memorial who commanded the first three quarters that ended at 6-4, 11-8 and 18-15 to the delight of coach Allison Archer who attributed sticking to basics as the reasons behind her team's success.
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Springer Memorial ladies celebrating capturing the under-19 netball championship.[/caption]
The Most Valuable Player award went to Springer Memorial's goal-attack Rashanna Thorne who netted 14 goals rom 20 attempts during today's final and was given admirable support by goal-shooters Jada Smith with five goals from seven attempts and Tyra Holder who netted three from ten attempts.
Meanwhile for Queen's College both goal-shooters Niara Forde and Kaelyn Shockness put away six goals each and goal-attack Brittney Small had four goals from six attempts.
Springer Memorial were up by three goals, 11-8, at half-time and sought to extend their lead by blocking out Queen's College on the defensive end and taking possession of the ball from Queen's College's shooters especially goal-attack Brittney Small who found it difficult to get Springer's goal-defence Tricia Phillips off her back on a number of occasion.
Springer increased their lead by six goals, 18-12, during the third quarter to further daunt their opponents but Queen's College responded through goal-attack Small and goal-shooter Shockness with three goals between them to cut the deficit by just three and place the defending champions under pressure heading into the fourth and decisive period.
Shockness started the ball rolling with a clean shot to make it a two goal differentiation at 16-18 but Springer responded like the champions they are with Phillips and goal-keeper Shonte Seale intercepting a number of passes inside the semicircle and capitalizing on the turnovers where possible.
Speaking with Barbados TODAY after the final Archer admitted that despite coming out on top it had been a rough year but explained that the girls continued to show determination and learn from their mistakes which allowed them to improve wherever necessary.
An elated Archer who has won her maiden netball title as coach of the Springer Memorial netball team, said preparation went well as they told the players to block out the spectators and coaches on the side lines in order to focus on their respective roles on court.
Describing the final, Archer explained: “It was a see-saw final. We played well in patches, we did some really good things and when we should slow the ball down, we tried to hustle. We turned it over quite a bit more than we would have like, so it was a see-saw game.”
Last year's runners-up Christ Church Foundation won the third place game, defeating Lester Vaughan 22-12 (6-4, 12-7, 16-9).
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