England sealed a comprehensive 55-47 victory over Jamaica in the second match of the Horizon series in the Manchester meeting of the UK legs.
As the hosts, the Roses pulled away in the second half to clinch their first win of the four-match series and will now take a 1-0 lead to Jamaica. This came after the Sunshine Girls scored in the last second to snatch a thrilling 49-49 draw in Saturday's opening match.
Back then, England and Jamaica had to settle for a tie in their opening match after a dramatic last-second goal as the Sunshine Girls’ shooter Shanice Beckford scored in the final second to clinch the draw after England had led for three quarters. Following the match and series win, Vitality Roses’ head coach, Jess Thirlby, said: "For us to be able to elevate our performance in lots of areas was pleasing.
“And, for me, I’m far more pleased with the way we managed ourselves through the games. For Jamaica, though, they had not played a full international test match since the 2023 World Cup, where they finished third.
“This series is very important for us, because it is one that we know will carry a lot of ranking value, and so it is something that we are looking forward to,” said coach, Sasher-Gay Henry, who led the Sunshine Girls team to a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
“We are now looking forward to improving our performance and our position in the international rankings.” Before this series, Jamaica had not played a full international test match since 2023, and they could not find the extra to overcome the deficit this time.
The return matches in the Horizon series will now take place in Kingston, Jamaican on 25 and 26 November.
