WHAT’S WITH THE SUNSHINE GIRLS’ POOR THIRD QUARTERS?

If Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls are to advance to the finals of the Netball World Cup, they are going to have to play a lot better in the third quarter of their game against Australia whom they will meet in the semi-finals.

Why the third quarter you ask? Well, in the games against their toughest opponents so far, the Sunshine Girls have lost the third quarter in all three games. Against Scotland and Samoa Jamaica won the third quarters 27-9 and 18-7 respectively. Those games were blowouts that Jamaica won 90.44 and 71-24 respectively. The ladies won their third quarter against Uganda 16-8 in what was a closer match. They won by 12 points 59-47.

But Thursday night’s game against a fast-rising Malawi, a team that boasts a talented core of players and are not softies like many Jamaicans think they are, Jamaica was outscored 10-17 in a game they won by one point 63-62. Malawi also won the last quarter 16-15.  It has been a trend in their tougher games. Against New Zealand, a game they lost by seven points, Jamaica went to half-time leading 27-24 and went to lose the third quarter 10-16 and subsequently lost the match 48-55, their lowest point output of the tournament so far. Against England, the Sunshine Girls lost the third quarter 9-16 while going on to lose 50-54.

And it’s not like they are losing the quarters by one or two points, no! It’s by six and seven points, game changing point differentials. What makes it so stark too, for example, is that these poor third quarters come right after relatively strong second quarters. Against New Zealand, Jamaica went into half time leading by three courtesy of a second quarter display that saw the team outscore their rivals 16-10, only to cede the advantage by playing poorly in the third.

I don’t believe the team is unfit. The work they put in on fitness prior to this tournament was perhaps the most intense the ladies have ever endured but there is something definitely goes wrong when it comes to third quarters against the top teams.

The coaches, the management and most importantly, the players need to figure it out really quickly because Australia looms and they are playing before their home crowd for a chance to advance to the final and go on to win their third straight title. For the Jamaicans, much more is at stake.

For all the work they have put in and for all the support they generated for this campaign, for them to finish poorly in this tournament is not what they want to be faced with. The future success of the national programme depends on the success of  this team. Yes, they will have the support of their base but in order to attract new fans and greater levels of funding, they desperately need to get to the finals and attempt to win it all. If they have another third quarter meltdown, it could mean that their administrators will face an even greater challenge getting what they need for the next campaign.

That is not what netball needs. There is much more at stake this time.