Australia suffers shocking netball loss to Jamaica as Diamonds lose to Sunshine Girls for the first EVER at the Commonwealth Games – and will face England or New Zealand for a spot in a gold medal match
Australia lost 57-55 to Jamaica on Thursday at the Commonwealth Games
Both the Diamonds and the Sunshine Girls are through to the medal rounds
Jamaica overcame a six-goal deficit starring Jhaniele Fowler
Australia plays in the semi-final against New Zealand or England
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Jamaica caused a big stir in netball when it led the Commonwealth Games gold medal favorites on Thursday after a stunning comeback.
The Sunshine Girls qualified for the medal rounds with their 57-55 win over the Australia Diamonds, who were also through. They play on Saturday in the semi-final against England or defending champions New Zealand.
Jamaica overcame a six-goal deficit at the start of the final quarter to secure their first win over Australia in the Games, with captain Jhaniele Fowler on the attack.
Jamaica took a surprising 57-55 win against Australia in Birmingham on Thursday
Fowler, who plays in the Australian league for West Coast Fever from Perth, scored 47 goals from 50 attempts and said the win boosted her confidence in Jamaica’s hopes of winning the gold medal.
“It’s a bit surreal to beat Australia in a Commonwealth Games,” she said.
“We haven’t done that before but this team of ours is incredible and we went out and proved everyone wrong and it feels so right.
Australian center Kate Moloney, who started in place of the injured Paige Hadley, admitted the Diamonds were disappointed with the result but insisted there were positives to be had despite the result.
The Diamonds lost a six-goal lead against the Sunshine Girls at the NEC
The defeat marks the Diamonds’ first loss to Jamaica in Commonwealth Games history
Australia center Kate Moloney (right) admitted the result was disappointing
“We knew they would come out hard and we are disappointed with the result,” she said.
“We will take some positives out of it and look at some things we need to work on.
I knew we had to be patient with the ball, they have a great defensive team. I think we let ourselves down in that last quarter with some execution material.
“We were six goals ahead. We probably should have been able to execute those, but when they have weapons like they have in their defensive side and their offensive side, you never really have it – it can change so quickly.”