The Silver Ferns have won their three netball test series against Jamaica in Palmerston North tonight, with one match still to play.
Bailey Mes takes a shot at goal during the Silver Ferns match against Jamaica in Palmerston North. Photo: Photosport
The New Zealanders beat the Sunshine Girls 61-38 in front of a sold out crowd at Central Energy Trust Arena.
The Silver Ferns won the first test with a more than convincing 72-38 scoreline and while they had to fight a lot harder for their second test win, the victory was never in doubt.
Look back at how the game unfolded
Jamaica looked like a different side in the first quarter to the one that played in Nelson, coming out with a lot of intensity and causing turnovers right through the court.
The Sunshine Girls took an early 2-0 lead in the first minute of the match, intercepting the second pass of the game, which was converted by goal shoot Shantal Slater, and then backing that up with a goal off their own centre pass.
The Ferns managed to pull that lead back soon after, though they continued to throw away some easy ball and at times looked rattled by the physicality and energy Jamaica were bringing.
New Zealand coach Janine Southby chose to start Te Paea Selby-Rickit at goal attack over Amerliaranne Ekenasio, following her strong performance in the first test in Nelson on Sunday.
She also stuck with the same midcourt which finished the first test, with Laura Langman starting at wing defence and Shannon Francois at centre.
Despite playing well together in Nelson, Francois and wing attack Grace Rasmussen struggled to get the ball in to the shooters at times, throwing some ball too high for even goal shoot Bailey Mes, who has possibly the best elevation in the team.
There were plenty of turnovers in the Ferns shooting circle too, with Mes called for contact three times in the first half and Selby-Rickit missing seven of her 24 attempts.
But the cross-court defence the New Zealanders implemented so successfully in the first test was on show again, with the pressure causing plenty of opportunities for intercepts and deflections right through the court.
Katrina Grant and Jane Watson paired well yet again in the defensive circle and between them limited the Jamaicans to just seven goals in the second quarter.
Southby made several changes at half time, bringing Francois off, moving Langman to centre and putting Kayla Cullen in the wing defence bib, with Ameliaranne Ekenasio replacing Selby-Rickit at goal attack.
But Jamaica also made some changes, and while the Ferns seemed to find it easier to pass the ball into the circle compared with the first half, several contacts were also called against the New Zealanders in their own goal third.
The extra energy the Jamicans brought with the changes earned them 13 goals in the third quarter, matching the Ferns goal for goal.
In the final quarter, Southby brought Selby-Rickit back on for the home side in place of Ekenasio and then with four minutes left in the match, brought on 18-year-old Maia Wilson for her Ferns debut.
Wilson shot three from four attempts, looking confident shooting her first from quite a way out.
But the win will be somewhat disappointing for the Ferns, with the 23-goal score line not reaching the heights of game one and the match full of simple errors from the home side.
The victory means the Ferns will retain the Taini Jamison Trophy no matter what the result of the final match, which will be played in Rotorua on Saturday.
Southby said the Jamaicans increased the pressure on the Ferns which showed in the New Zealanders making uncharacteristic errors.
"Credit to Jamaica, they brought their 'A game' tonight and certainly challenged us, particularly on attack around just getting in amongst it and bringing a lot of physicality.
Maia Wilson said she loved every moment of her four minutes on court.
"It was a very, very physical circle there tonight and completely different to what I saw on the sideline in Nelson.
"I thought our shooters did quite well to stay composed when they needed to.
