(SNO) – Saint Lucia beat St. Vincent and the Grenadines 37-26 Thursday night, July 12 in St. Kitts & Nevis to win the 2018 Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB)/Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Under-23 Netball Tournament title.
Saint Lucia, led by veteran under-23 player Ianna Hippolyte and coach Donna Joseph, swept the table, ending the competition unbeaten.
It’s their first title at this level since winning on home soil in 2014, and their sixth overall.
Ianna converted 27 of her 35 shots on goal. Dasha Eugene made 10-15. Saint Lucia attempted 50 shots on goal, compared to 48 for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. But while Zanelle James was 27-40, the Saint Lucia defense rendered the remainder of the Vincy attack toothless.
The new ECCB/OECS champions got the early jump on their neighbours, taking an 11-5 first quarter lead. By halftime, the advantage had swollen to 24-13, and Saint Lucia entered the final up 29-18.
Said Coach Joseph: “I’m very proud of my players’ achievement.”
Meanwhile, president of the Saint Lucia Netball Association, Liota Charlemagne-Mason, added: “I am indeed very pleased with the title. It was a long and difficult journey but the we didnt give up on the girls and they have delivered.”
Saint Lucia was awarded the most accurate shooting team.
Aged just 14, a student of Corinth Secondary and a member of Avengers Netball Club, Eugene was awarded the most accurate shooter of the tournament. The teenager had a 76% conversion rate.
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