High-riding Molynes United ‘A’, UWI Pelicans in JN Open League title showdown

The dream run of Molynes United 'A' in the JN Open League Sunshine netball competition continued on Thursday inside the National Indoor Sports Centre, as for the second time in two days they got the better of a Mico team.

After eliminating defending champions Mico 'B' in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, Molynes United upstaged Mico 'A' 20-18 on Thursday to advance to today's final, which will be played at 6 p.m.

Their opponents will be UWI Pelicans, who had an impressive 36-25 win over Waulgrovians 'A' in their semi-final.

Mico 'A', the best attacking and defensive team in the competition, were without the services of ace goal shooter, Jhaniele Fowler-Reid. Even then, they were expected to win.

However, Molynes jumped into a quick 3-0 lead and led 5-4 at the break. Both teams had a battle royal up to the half-time as they went into the break even at 9-9.

For the next two quarters it was anybody's game. Mico shooters, led by goal shooter Tanielle Roberts and goal attack Stephanie Anderson, found it very difficult to score, while Molynes shooters Shantal Slater and Kara Christie were finding it easier to make their shots.

"We are very elated; we worked hard, we trained hard and we executed well," said Molynes captain Stacy Mullings.

"We stuck to our game plan and it worked. After beating Mico 'B' we knew it was going to be a tough challenge as Mico 'A' is a good team, but we just remained disciplined and listened to our coach," added Mullings.

Slater scored 11 from 12 attempts, while Christie had nine from 10. For Mico 'A', Roberts had 16 from 24 tries.

In the earlier game, it was smooth sailing for the Conrad Parkes-coached UWI Pelicans after a competitive first quarter, where UWI led 9-8.

However, it was all UWI Pelicans from there as they led 20 -14 and 27-20 at the end of the second and third quarters.

Goal shooter Thristina Harwood top scored for the winners with 29 goals from 33 tries, while goal attack Rebecca Robinson scored eight from 10. For Wualgrovians 'A', former UWI player, Ladonna Lamonth, had 20 goals from 25 attempts.

Meanwhile, Speg 'A' and UTech Knights will meet in the Open B League final at 5 p.m., after both teams won their semi-finals on Thursday. Speg 'A' defeated Molynes United 'B' 37-26, while UTech Knights stopped Tivoli Gardens 37-22.