BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS — On the third day of the ongoing Americas Netball World Cup Qualifiers, St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ national netball team, the Vincy Jewels, bounced back from a lopsided previous-day defeat to claim a solid 51-41 victory over Canada, powered by a standout performance from star goal shooter and co-captain Mary-Ann Frederick.
The team entered Wednesday’s match hungry for redemption, still reeling from a 41-73 blowout loss to Trinidad and Tobago’s Calypso Gems a night earlier, where the opponents had dominated every quarter of play. That defeat had come just 24 hours after the Vincy Jewels opened their tournament with a tense 50-48 comeback win over the United States on opening day. That match against the U.S. had seen the Caribbean side claw back from a first-half deficit to level the score 36-36 by the end of the third quarter before holding on for a narrow win, with Frederick already notching 40 goals from 43 attempts in that outing.
Against Canada, the Vincy Jewels asserted their dominance early, grabbing a 16-9 lead by the end of the first quarter. Though Canada fought back to outscore the Caribbean side 13-10 in the second quarter, cutting St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ lead to 26-22 at halftime, the Vincy Jewels retained their focus and physical intensity through the second half. They extended their advantage to 38-32 by the end of the third quarter before closing out the match 51-41 to secure their second win of the tournament.
Frederick delivered a near-perfect shooting performance, sinking 44 goals from just 45 attempts to anchor her team’s offensive push. Goal-attack Joseann Antoine contributed three goals on three flawless attempts, while substitute goal-attack Shellisa Davis added four goals from 10 attempts. For Canada, goal-shoot Ladonna Lamonth notched 23 goals from 34 attempts, and goal-attack Jacqueline Kelly finished with 18 goals from 24 attempts.
Following the win, assistant coach Akeil Mathew credited the team’s ability to reset after their disappointing loss to Trinidad and Tobago. “The players were broken over the previous night’s defeat, but we knew we had what it takes to win today,” Mathew explained. “We went back to the drawing board, refined our game plan, and executed exactly what we set out to do.”
Mathew noted that Canada, a team widely known for its high-tempo, physically imposing style of play that constantly pressures opponents, served as an ideal test for his side coming off a loss. “This challenged our team both mentally and physically, and I think we rose to the challenge perfectly,” he said. “This group of ladies is just as fit as Canada, and we matched their speed and intensity the whole game. When we needed to slow down the pace to regain control, we did that too. Defensively, I think the ladies executed what the coaching staff has been teaching them excellently from start to finish.”
Frederick, who was honored as the player of the match for her performance, echoed her coach’s comments, saying the team’s hunger for redemption after Tuesday’s loss was the key driving force behind the win. “We went back to the drawing board after the Calypso Gems loss, stuck to our adjusted game plan on Wednesday, and did exactly what we needed to get the win,” she said. “We were all hungry for this victory. We came out, we fought, and we got the job done.”
Reflecting on Tuesday’s lopsided defeat to Trinidad and Tobago, Frederick acknowledged the team had failed to stick to their original game plan, but emphasized that the loss provided valuable lessons for the rest of the tournament. “We knew going into that match it would be a hard fight, but we didn’t execute the plan we had,” she said. “We’ve learned a lot from that loss, and now we’ll go back to training, adjust our approach again, and keep executing for the remaining matches of the qualifiers.”