The 22nd edition of the Jean Pierre Youth Netball Tournament has delivered a stunning turnaround story, as Grenada’s Under-16 national netball squad – fondly nicknamed the Spice Girls – stormed to a lopsided 35-8 victory against Antigua and Barbuda on Monday, April 13. This 27-goal winning margin marks the biggest gap between final scores across all matches played in the tournament to date, turning around the young team’s rocky start to the competition in dramatic fashion.
After two straight opening matches marked by crippling offensive inconsistency that left the Spice Girls with two losses, the squad finally found its clinical footing on the court at the UWI SPEC Grounds. Leading the offensive charge was goal-attack Reshonna Francis, whose exceptional shooting accuracy tore through Antigua and Barbuda’s defensive line. Francis landed 30 successful goals out of 37 total attempts, accounting for nearly 86 percent of Grenada’s total score on the day.
Grenada seized control of the match from the opening whistle, ending the first quarter with a commanding 10-1 lead. Unlike the team’s earlier outings, where promising early leads slipped away due to unforced errors, the Spice Girls maintained relentless pressure through the entire match, heading into halftime with an overwhelming 20-2 advantage that Antigua and Barbuda never recovered from.
While Francis dominated the shooting circle, the historic victory was built on a suffocating collective defensive performance that shut down all of Antigua and Barbuda’s attacking chances. Goal-defender Nashauna Noel turned in a standout backcourt performance, notching a game-high six interceptions to disrupt opponent passes. Wing-defense Phebe Rubin added four more interceptions of her own, while goal-keeper Treasure Frederick locked down the goal circle to leave Antigua and Barbuda unable to find any consistent offensive rhythm. Mid-court play was expertly directed by Kamia Lewis, who notched two assists and two interceptions to keep possession and momentum firmly on Grenada’s side.
Monday’s blowout win comes as a much-needed boost of momentum for the young squad, which navigated a grueling opening weekend of back-to-back matches against the tournament’s most formidable opponents. On April 11, the Spice Girls kicked off their campaign against former champions Barbados, where despite a gritty defensive showing, costly ball-handling mistakes and inconsistent shooting led to a 20-12 defeat. The following day, the team faced arguably their toughest challenge yet: squaring off against defending champions Trinidad and Tobago, also known as the Calypso Girls, on their home turf. Playing through a hostile crowd environment, Grenada fell 32-12, extending the Calypso Girls’ ongoing winning streak that stretches back to 2025.
For the Spice Girls’ coaching staff, Monday’s performance offers plenty of reasons for optimism, particularly the squad’s marked improvement in two problem areas that sank their first two matches: reducing unforced errors and maximizing scoring opportunities from every possession. Now holding the title of the tournament’s biggest win so far, Grenada advances to the final stages of the competition with renewed competitive confidence and a vastly improved goal average that strengthens their position going forward. The Spice Girls will look to carry this red-hot form into their upcoming fixture against St. Lucia as they continue their push for a podium finish at this year’s tournament hosted in St Augustine.