JAMAICA’S ace goal shooter and Captain Jhaniele Fowler says the youthful Sunshine Girls surpassed all expectations during the just-ended Americas Netball World Cup Qualifiers.

Fowler, one of the greatest players to set foot in the competition, mostly watched from the sidelines at the National Indoor Sports Centre as the Sunshine Girls thrashed every opponent to cross their paths.

Throughout an eight-game winning streak the Sunshine Girls defeated St Vincent and the Grenadines 74-35; United States 70-16; Cayman Islands 81-27; Antigua and Barbuda 80-23; Grenada 74-48; St Lucia 85-30; Barbados 75-37; and Trinidad and Tobago 69-37.

The Sunshine Girls, who had already qualified for next year’s World Cup in South Africa, used the tournament for development purposes.

“The young players stepped up and performed well. The girls did live up to the expectations, and then some,” Fowler told the Jamaica Observer.

“I am super proud of how the younger players performed. I mean, they are progressing well and I think they are hungry for it. They are putting out a lot of effort in terms of putting themselves on show to make sure that they are getting ready for selections coming up for the World Cup,” Fowler, who towers at 1.98m, said.

There were solid numbers from Gezelle Allison and Amanda Pinkney on the offensive end and strong defensive work from Mischa Creary.

Allison scored 56 goals from 66 attempts against St Lucia; 54 from 59 against Cayman Island; and 23 from 30 against USA.

Pinkney also enjoyed good scoring, netting 25 from 30 against St Vincent and the Grenadines; 22 from 24 against USA; and 21 from 27 against the Cayman Islands.

“I think both Gezelle and Amanda have had an amazing tournament, and their confidence to take on the challenges is commendable. Mischa has stepped into the goalkeeper [GK] role well, and with more training and experience she will become a very good GK,” said Fowler.

Fowler, who is regarded as the best goal shooter across the globe, said that while she is not yet at maximum fitness, she will be ready for the 2023 global showpiece.

“I am game-ready. I may not be 100 per cent fit as where I would want to be but I am game-ready and I am getting there. The World Cup is a while away and the plan is to make sure that I am ready for the World Cup,” said Fowler, who scored a staggering 929 goals for West Coast Fever in the Suncorp Super Netball League in Australia earlier this year.

“I am in season so I will definitely be ready for the World Cup. My performance here [at the Americas Netball Qualifiers]… I reckon it’s okay with a lot of room to improve and so I will see how things go from here on.

“We should have more series coming up in preparation for the World Cup but, if anything else, I will be back in Australia with my Fever team,” Fowler ended.