She Cranes finish fifth in Netball Fast Five Series

The Uganda national netball team the She Cranes finished fifth out of the six participants at the Netball Fast Five Series that ended on Sunday in New Zealand.

Uganda beat Jamaica  and Australia 33-22 and 32-30  in the round robin format of the game but fall to England, New Zealand and South Africa 

Uganda later beat Jamaica 32-10 in the classification game to emerge fifth overall at the competition, sending Jamaica  to the sixth position.

Ecstasy and pride filled team Uganda as they managed to beat Australia for the first time in history but their classification win  against Jamaica was also a historical one.

This was Australia’s fourth fixture and they were yet to concede a win. The team looked confident and led Uganda by 6-2 at the end of the first quarter.

The She Cranes came out stronger at the start of the second quarter putting more pressure onto their opponents.

With an 11-7 score in favour of the Aussies at the start of the powerplay , Australia  threatened to break away, however a six point goal by Uganda meant the score at half time was  15-13 in favour of Australia.

There was nothing to separate the sides at the start of the second half with both teams converting one  point shots. At the start of the powerplay, Australia had the lead by just one goal, but Uganda had the better powerplay as they claimed a 22 – 21 lead at the final break. 

Shooter Sophie Dwyer gave Australia an advantage at the start of the final six minutes with a two point shot, however Shadiah Nassanga responded immediately for Uganda with a  two point shot.

Uganda raced into the lead with an amazing four point shot by Mary  Nuba and they held on to claim an outstanding 32-39 win.

Classification match

Uganda’s classification game against Jamaica  had  a steady start  as both sides settled for one point goals.

Uganda had a two goal lead as the first power-play began, and they continued to play safe netball while extending their lead by scoring 2 pointers. 

At the first break the score was  8-2 in favour of the She Cranes.

 Uganda went on slowly building on their first quarter lead. They led by eight  at the start of the power-play and extended this to 10 at the half-time whistle with the score 15 – 5. 

Only a few goals  were scored in the third quarter as both sides had their defence alert, but as per the first half Uganda were building a comprehensive lead and went into the final break leading 23 – 6. 

Jamaica began to take a few risks in the final quarter and they were rewarded immediately with a two point goal, however Uganda responded instantly with a two  point goal themselves hence the 32-10 victory in favour of the She Cranes.

The three She Cranes victories came with players earning players of the match accolades .

Ugandan shooter Irene Eyaru was named player of the match in the 32-10 victory against Jamaica. Defender Faridah Kadondi was also named player of the match against Australia.

Earlier in the group stages, centre player Maggie Bagala won the player of the match accolade in the 33-22 defeat against Jamaica.

Shooter Nuba won the Fan’s favourite player of the tournament.

Coach Fred Mugerwa says the She Cranes have had lots of lessons from the tournament and she expects a better show from them in consequent competitions.

“My team did not disappoint, they however learnt lots of lessons which they will apply in consequent competitions,” he said.

At the competition Australia emerged first, followed by  South Africa, England, New Zealand, Uganda and Jamaica.

FAST FIVE SERIES - POSITIONS 

Australia

South Africa

England

New Zealand

Uganda

Jamaica