Former national representative Olivia Walcott showed her class and C.O. Williams Rangers demonstrated their superiority in wrecking Goodride Ballers 38-32 when the Barbados Netball Association’s Division 1 netball competition continued on Wednesday night at the Netball Stadium.
Walcott, who has not played Division 1 netball in more than four years and who retired with over 100 Barbados caps in 2009, showed Goodride that her team’s colours of yellow and blue were close enough to Barbados gear to play a stellar shooting game to dump the Division 1 newbies to their third loss in four games.
With total calm and focused accuracy while “shaking and baking” her markers Dania King and Tamara Trotman all night, Walcott was almost perfect in sinking 27 goals from 28 shots. Walcott was her deadliest in the third quarter where she scored a perfect 15 to totally stall Goodride.
After a slow start, Rangers, who lost their sole game played previously to the newly promoted Wolverines, galloped from 10-6 to 20-14 and then exploded to 33-23 before trotting to victory.
Tatyanna Waldron’s percentage was low but the young talent hit some long distance shots (11-20) at crucial stages to assist Walcott.
Ironically, Goodride took more shots than Rangers (50 to 48) but even swapping the goal shooter and goal attack bib between Keryn Clarke (20/32), Colleen Griffith (7/11) and Kelly-Ann Knight (5/8) could not change their fortunes as Rangers played the better all round game.
Rangers used the same seven in the same positions for the four quarters with Walcott and Waldron shooting, Kerri King and Natasha Birkett-Sealy in the defence circle, Xhane Greenidge playing wing defence, captain Rashanna Graham at wing attack and Tonisha Rock-Yaw running the centre.
King played impressively to often deny the Goodride shooters while national cap Rock-Yaw was outstanding in controlling and outplaying her opposite centre in former Barbados star Kizzy Marville while Greenidge looked better in mid-court than the shooting circle where she had deputised in the first game.
Marville was regularly driven to a point of frustration as Rangers’ mean defence forced her team into making many turnovers and missed shots at goal were snared by King or Birkett-Sealy. To compound the situation, Walcott’s court craft forced Trotman and Dania to commit multiple penalty contacts which Walcott sank along with Goodride’s hopes of any upset win.
Division 1 action continues tonight at 7:30 with Guardian Group Pride of Villa facing Wolverines. Villa, Spooners Hill Firebirds and Pine Hill St Barnabas are in a race towards a play off for the Division 1 crown. Rangers may not have an invite to that event but considering their performance on Wednesday they may prove to be party spoilers when they meet the Firebirds on Monday. (KB)
