The University of the West Indies (UWI) set up a repeat of last year's final with title holder Fire Service for the Courts All Sectors Netball League Championship Division knockout title after stunning league winner Bermudez in their semifinal at the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena, Tacarigua on Sunday.
Bermudez which lifted the league title last Monday was heavily favoured to get past UWI in their semifinal, however the latter had other ideas and came away with a hard fought 25-21 win in the 40-minute contest after both teams were locked at 11-11 at the half-time break.
For UWI, which was on a bye in the quarterfinal round, goal shoot Abeni Taylor scored 22 of 27 attempts and goal attack Akeela Rodriguez chipped in with three from six while goal shoot Kathy James led Bermudez with 17 goals from 20 attempts, and Joycelyn Marcelle, got four from five.
Bermudez had earlier on pipped Jabloteh 17-16 in its last-eight encounter with James scoring seven goals, and Marcelle, and Indra Anderson five each from nine and 11 attempts, respectively.
Fire Service, meanwhile also made full use of its quarterfinal round bye, with a 33-29 beating of Police in their semifinal match-up thanks to Aquila Blugh's 21 goals from 28 attempts and Nariba Grant, with 12 from 19 to reach tonight's final.
Jenice Mc Intosh led all scorers with 27 goals from 30 attempts to lead Police's fightback, and Donneisha Wickham netted two of four.
The Alternative and Championship Division finals are also carded for tonight.
RESULTS:
Championship Division knockout:
Quarterfinals:
Police 29 (Jenice Mc Intosh 18/24, Donneisha Wickham 11/14) vs Defence Force 13 (Melissa Snaggs James 8/14, Makeda Pierre 5/13). Half-time score: 15-6 Police
Bermudez 17 (Kathy James 7//10, Joycelyn Marcelle 5/9, Indra Anderson 5/11) vs Jabloteh 16 (La Toya Thomas 6/13, Samantha James 6/12, Nicole Hospedales 4/6). Half-time score: 9-7 Bermudez
Semifinals:
Fire 33 (Aquila Blugh 21/28, Nariba Grant 12/19) vs Police 29 (Jenice Mc Intosh 27/30, Donneisha Wickham 2/4). Half-time score: 17-13 Fire Service
UWI 25 (Abeni Taylor 22/27, Akeela Rodriguez 3/6) vs Bermudez 21 (Kathy James 17/20, Joycelyn Marcelle 4/5). Half-time score: 11-1
FINAL STANDINGS:
Retro Division
Teams P W D L GF GA Pts
TSTT 8 8 0 0 237 137 16
CCS 8 4 0 4 219 187 8
Les Enfants 8 4 0 4 197 175 8
Harlem 8 3 0 5 162 188 6
Les Femmes 8 1 0 7 141 269 2
Championship:
Bermudez 10 8 0 2 386 299 16
Police 10 6 2 2 383 357 14
Fire Service 10 6 1 3 357 318 13
UWI 10 4 1 5 320 299 9
Jabloteh 10 3 1 6 324 349 7
D/Force 10 0 1 9 241 389 1
UPCOMING MATCHES:
Today (Knockout finals):
Thursday: Premiershiip Division knockout, 5.30pm
Saturday: Fast Five Championship and Premiership Divisions:, 1pm.
March 25: Steve Sargeant Challenge: Fire Service vs UTT, 7pm
March 28: Steve Sargeant Challenge:
Defence Force vs UTT, 6.20pm
Fire Service vs Police, 7.30pm
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