Jamaica Sunshine Girls Beaten by England Vitality Roses (59-63) to End Series – Watch Match

In their final game, England defeated Jamaica 63-59 to win the series 2-1 over the Sunshine Girls.

In front of a large crowd at the Copper Box Arena in London, England had to hold off a tenacious Jamaica effort with the series tied at 1-1.

In the world rankings, England is rated third, ahead of Jamaica, which is ranked fourth.

Natalie Metcalf, the captain of the Roses, expressed her “proudness” at the “huge” victory over the Commonwealth Games silver medalists.

“I feel really emotional, to secure the series on home soil I’m really proud,” she stated.

The Roses’ assault was led by Metcalf and fellow midcourter Imogen Allison, while the defence appeared more secure with veteran defender Geva Mentor playing for the first time this season.

Shooter Helen Housby made a successful alliance with outstanding youngster Olivia Tchine after limping off the court during Saturday’s loss, much to the relief of head coach Jess Thirlby of England’s team.

England got out to a strong start, leading by four after the first quarter. However, Jamaica picked up the pace in the second quarter and had England playing strongly in the second half to contain the outstanding shooter Jhaniele Fowler.

The Jamaican wing defence Crystal Plummer was penalized for two minutes in the heated third period for repeated obstruction, reducing the visitors to six players as England kept a slim advantage.

Coach Thirlby focused more on defence to seal the victory, even though she had one eye on experimenting with different lineups to determine her athletes to partake in the South African World Cup this summer.

Watch the match Below: