By Tamica Garnett
Emanie Netball Club staged a triumphant return to the sport while the Doves Netball Club seized their only win in the final match of the Guyana Netball Association Under – 23 Tournament held recently.

The Doves beat the Rim Rockerz 40-12 on Monday at the National Gymnasium after enduring a brutal beating in all three of their previous matches. Shenne Subrattie took to the net more often than the Rim Rockerz players and, from a massive 67 attempts,  scored 35 of the goals while goal attack Keisha Sampson scored five.

Rim Rockerz goal attack, Kristy Roberts, was the only player able to score managing 12 goals after 25 attempts, but with no major backing she fought a losing battle.

In the first match of the day, All Stars defeated Fearless Flyers 34 – 29 to take second place.

After a two-year suspension, Emanie took the tournament by storm from the start.

They beat Rim Rockerz 27-11 on Friday in the first match of the tourney. The pillage continued on Saturday when they scored two more victories against Fearless Flyers, 37-11, and  Doves 38-12. They then thrashed All Stars 33 – 14 on Sunday to take first place in matches at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Despite being touted as the team most capable of giving Emanie a run for their money things began to look bleak for the All Stars from early as the first quarter.

Relying on the proficiency of players like Carneisha Perreira and Dacoata Lucius, Emanie was destined for victory.

Alternating as goal scorer and goal attack Perreira scored 19 goals from 30 attempts while Lucius  scored  13 goals from 30 attempts. Goal Attack Roshell Fraser also contributed.

Coach Lavern Thomas-Fraser told Stabroek Sport that she was satisfied with her team’s brilliant return to the sport; as they proved that despite a two-year absence they were still a force to be reckoned with.

For the All Stars, Captain Tameka McEwan deposited six goals from 17 attempts while  Shonnette Eswick scored the remaining eight goals from 21 attempts. The All Stars had previously dominated the game against the Rim Rockerz (35 – 24). All Stars assistant coach Randolph Critchlow told this newspaper that his team’s loss to Emanie was due to the fact that his two  star players were suffering from injuries.

He added that Eswick was challenged by an old ankle injury which she had hampered her earlier in the day in the battle against the Rim Rockerz. This subsequently forced her to sit out the entire first quarter of the game. Also, McEwan was suffering from a knee injury. This proved very costly to the team and fuelled its demise, he said.

Nevertheless, Critchlow said he was still very happy with his team’s overall performance.

“We know that we would’ve come up against some stiff competition from Emanie so we knew coming in the game that it was an up hill battle but all in all it was a good performance they’ve put on a good competition throughout the tournament and barring a win against the Fearless Flyers they can still come in second,” he said.