Sunshine Girls burn Bermuda in Santo Domingo

The Sunshine Girls picked up their second consecutive win at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games after a crushing 79-19 victory over Bermuda at the Ciudad Juan Bosch Sports Complex yesterday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Fresh from a dominant win over hosts Dominican Republic on Monday, the Sunshine Girls continued to stamp their class, comfortably brushing aside Bermuda.

The reigning champions, who are heavy favourites to defend their crown, were quick out of the blocks and raced to a 19-5 lead by the end of the first quarter.

They continued to press their advantage and outscored Bermuda 17-7 in the second quarter to take a commanding 36-12 lead into half-time.

The Sunshine Girls showed little mercy in the remaining two stanzas and held a dominant 54-17 advantage by the end of the third quarter.

They completed the rout by outscoring Bermuda 25-2 in the final quarter, bringing an end to a contest that had long been decided.

Simone Gordon led the team’s scoring with an impressive 35 points from 47 attempts and was supported by Kellian Hunter, who converted 25 of her 32 shots.

Tamera Jarrett was the most accurate shooter of the day, converting 10 of her 11 attempts.

Jada Ricketts also got in on the scoring, finishing with nine points from 13 attempts.

Jamaica were equally dominant defensively, forcing 17 interceptions and 13 deflections while consistently disrupting Bermuda’s attacking rhythm.

Tianna Reid led the way for the Sunshine Girls on the defensive end, tallying five interceptions, four deflections, and one defensive rebound during the contest.

Gordon was also influential in the shooting circle, collecting 12 offensive rebounds.

The Sunshine Girls will continue their title defence today when they face Barbados.

Bermuda, meanwhile, slipped to their second consecutive defeat and will look to change their fortunes when they take on St Lucia.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com