Zimbabwe too clinical for Namibia

Limba Mupetami – The Desert Jewels of Namibia were beaten 57-38 by a quality Zimbabwean side today in the DebMarine Netball Pent Series being held at the Patrick Iyambo Police Court in Windhoek.
From the first quarter, the Jewels were in trouble with Zimbabwe taking a 15-8 lead. In the second quarter they extend the lead to 30-19 with the Namibians making changes hoping to change the match around.
The third quarter wasn’t any different. The Zimbabweans, ranked 12th in the world, continued to play a clinical match against the 24th ranked Namibians. The tourists didn’t give the Namibians any chance at the ball and thus extended the lead to 46-26.
Head coach of Namibia, Julene Meyer, said they set high standards for themselves and that the result was disappointing.
“We didn’t convert our chances and couldn’t find our rhythm. It was also a very physical match. But it’s a learning curve,” she said.
The winning coach Lloyd Makunde said Namibia didn’t give them a hard time. However, he added that his team needs to work on utilising their turnovers better.
In other matches played today, Malawi hammered Zambia 76-44, with Uganda thrashing Kenya 77-28. Uganda leads the log, followed in second by Malawi.
• In Friday’s final matches, Kenya will kick off proceedings against Malawi at 09:00. The second match will see Zambia going up against Zimbabwe (11:00), whereas Namibia will face Uganda at 15:00, followed by the closing ceremony.

PHOTOS: Limba Mupetami
FIRM OPERATOR: Namibia’s wing attack Nanguloshi Kamutushi.
NEVER MISS: Namibia’s goal shooter Anna Kaspar.