CAPE TOWN, South Africa, CMC – Trinidad & Tobago were thumped in the Netball World Cup opening match on Friday in South Africa when New Zealand launched their defense with a resounding 76-27 win.
T&T was utterly outplayed by the New Zealanders, who dominated the court from end to end in a one-sided contest at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
As T&T is affectionately known, the Calypso Girls were given little space to create attacking opportunities, and the Silver Ferns defenders made life difficult throughout the match, suffocating them through the mid-court with a slew of interceptions and forced errors.
T&T used only two players inside the scoring arc, Afeisha Noel with 17 goals from 18 attempts and Joelisa Cooper with ten from 10, finishing with solid scoring percentages, if not a high volume of scoring opportunities.
At the other end of the court, T&T had no answer for the size, power, and skill of Ferns starting goal shooter Grace Nweke, who feasted underneath the basket with a flawless 31 goals from as many attempts.
Her captain and starting goal attack Ameliaranne Ekenasio supported with eight from nine, substitute Te Paea Selby-Rickit scored 16 from 20, and Maia Wilson added 21 from 23 for an overall team scoring percentage of 96.
T&T fell behind from early when the New Zealanders rattled off nine straight goals before they could trouble the scorers after almost six minutes of play, setting the tone for what was to come.
The Caribbean side trailed 23-2 at the end of the first quarter, and this snowballed into 43-11 at the half in a match that resembled more of a training run for the defending champions and a chance for their coach to test drive some of her combinations.
T&T offered more resistance to start the second half – particularly defensively – but not enough to result in any contest, with the deficit 58-20 at the end of the third quarter.
T&T will be back in action on Saturday for their second match against Singapore before rounding out their Group D schedule against Uganda on Sunday.
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