The Spar netball Proteas will be having nightmares of Jamaica goal shooter Shimona Jok, whose dominance of the shooting circle led the Sunshine Girls to a hard-fought 55-47 win in the first Test of the three-match Margaret Beckford Sunshine Series in Kingston.
Proteas head coach Jenny van Dyk had warned before the series opener of the threat posed by the giant 1.95m Jamaican in the absence of first-choice goal shooters Jhaniele Fowler-Nembard and Romelda Aiken-George.
The powerful, athletic Jok lived up to that billing as she netted 38 goals from 39 attempts on Saturday (early Sunday morning SA time), according to the Sportsmax website.
She gave the Proteas defenders a torrid time, plucking balls out of the air with almost majestic ease, especially after South African goalkeeper Nicola Smith fell heavily and had to leave the court with an arm injury.
Her replacement, Ane Retief, was also sent off for two minutes for a foul in the second quarter.
The Sunshine Girls took advantage of the situation and won the quarter by 16 goals to 11.
In all fairness, the Proteas matched their hosts in the first quarter as they traded goal for goal.
Goal shooter Rolene Streutker answered the early salvoes from Jok. The quarter ended 12-all.
There were also strong scoring contributions later from South Africa’s Elmerè van der Berg and livewire Kamogelo Maseko.
The in-form goal attack did well to find space in the circle with her smart movement and was clinical with her shots.
However, Jamaica were able to build on the momentum of the second quarter, as they cut down on the early errors and twice stretched their lead to 10 points.
But the Proteas fought back hard and reduced the margin to seven goals (42-35).
In the final quarter, the Sunshine Girls surged ahead to take a 12-point lead, but Captain Khanyisa Chawane’s team fought to the end.
Coach Van Dyk refused to be downcast.
“The last time we played Jamaica we lost by 18 points – this time we lost by eight. There is something to work on and next time, we will know what to expect,” she said after the match.
“South Africa last toured Jamaica in 2012 and Van Dyk said she thought they had done well to cope with the atmosphere in the packed National Indoor Stadium.
“We theoretically know how they play, but there is nothing like experiencing it,” she said.
“The noise and the vibe are something special, but it can put you off your game.
“I think there is a lot we can take out of this match, and we know what we need to work on.
“The second quarter was very expensive for us, with a player injured and another sent off, but we should be able to cope with setbacks like that.”
“We had a plan and a strategy, but we were thrown a curve ball in the second quarter,” said assistant coach Zanele Mdodana. “That’s where we lost the match, because all the other quarters were very close. Losing Nicola changed the momentum of the game.”
That strategy will have to include coming up with ways to counter the dominance of Jok on attack, as well as world-class goalkeeper Shamera Sterling-Humphrey on the defensive end.
Meanwhile, in the curtain raiser, the Baby Proteas impressed in beating Jamaica Under-21s by 61 goals to 31.
The next Test match is on Thursday (2am SA time) and the final one on Sunday, January 26 (1am SA time).