Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

Head coach of Jamaica's national netball team, Oberon Pitterson-Nattie, is convinced that her team made a lot of strides despite losing their three-Test series 2-1 to arch-rivals England.

The Sunshine Girls were beaten 63-51 by England in the opening game. However, they rallied to level the series with 49-44 over their opponents in game two. In Wednesday's decider, England won 62-58 to clinch the series.

"I thought they improved along the way, and I think each outing, you saw improvements and you saw that everybody was playing strong and that's good for us," Pitterson-Nattie said when the team arrived yesterday at the Norman Manley International Airport.

"Unfortunately, we weren't able to take the series, but we did some good things. We had persons really coming out on this tour and performing well and I am grateful for that," she said.

Pitterson-Nattie added that her she was very pleased with performance of the defensive unit throughout because they stood out against the English attackers.

DEFENCE IMPROVED

"The defence was much improved because we were able to execute, especially in the second Test. We didn't do a good job in the first Test, but certainly, in the second, we were able to execute and that's good for us," Pitterson-Nattie said. "However, it is about consistency and being able to do it one match after the other."

Meanwhile, team captain Nadine Bryan said they gave it their best shot throughout the three-Test series.

"It was a very good performance because everyone played their hearts out," said Bryan. "We lost the first game, but we went back to the drawing board and we fixed quite a few things that we had to work on, and it paid off for us in the second game."

"The third Test could have gone either way because we played the match right to the last minute, but one team had to win and England won," Bryan said.

The Sunshine Girls will now turn their attention to the World FastNet Championships, which will be held in New Zealand in November.