Queens keep Hopes alive
Malawi Queens yesterday kept alive their title hopes at the Pent Series Netball Championship in Windhoek, Namibia with a 76-44 thrashing of Zambia.
The 32-basket win is their biggest at the six-team contest, where they also registered wins against Zimbabwe (56-38) and Namibia (64-43) but lost 43-59 to Uganda’s She Cranes.
Malawi narrowly won by six baskets, having triumphed 51-45 during the 2017 Africa Netball Championship.
In an interview after the game, Queens coach Peace Chawinga-Kalua said they were delighted with the victory.
“This was one of our best performances at this event and we are happy to have chalked such a big win,” she said.
The coach added that they are looking forward to a good finish against Kenya tomorrow.
For the Queens to win the round robin-format tournament they have to beat Kenya by over 60 baskets in their last fixture today and hope that Uganda falter against Namibia.
Uganda beat Kenya yesterday to register their fourth-straight win and have 12 points while Malawi are second with nine points from three wins and a loss.
The Pent Series is a rated tournament, meaning that the Queens stand to lose their sixth ranking in the world if they continue losing against lower-ranked teams.
In a match monitored on Namibia Netball Association Facebook page yesterday, the Queens did not gamble on the attack as they started United Kingdom-based goal shooter Joyce Mvula and goal attacker Jane Chimaliro, who combined perfectly to score 21 baskets against Zambia’s nine in the first quarter.
The individual brilliance of defenders Towera Vinkhumbo-Nyirenda, Grace Mwafulirwa and Carol Mtukule-Ngwira also worked well to contain Zambia’s attacks.
They led 39-21 at half-time.
In the third quarter, Chawinga-Kaluwa pulled out rising star wing attacker Flora Chipeta for experienced Bridget Kumwenda as the score-line moved to 59-30. Goal attacker Sindi Simtowe-Msowoya was also featured in place of Chimaliro and she did not disappoint.
Other changes were made in the last segment when centre Sheila Dimba, shooter Tendai Masamba and defender Beauty Basiao replaced Kumwenda, Mvula and Vinkhumbo-Nyirenda, respectively. Mwafulirwa was also rested for Martha Dambo.
