New Zealand 61
Jamaica 56
Building resilience has been one of the catch-cries of the Silver Ferns throughout their end of year tour. And it took all the resilience they could muster yesterday to shrug off a determined Jamaican side in a torrid opening test in Kingston.
Now, with Jamaican coach Connie Francis promising to ramp up the aggression in tomorrow's final clash, the Ferns' physical and mental toughness will be put to the ultimate test in their last hit-out of the year.
The Sunshine Girls, fresh off a confidence-boosting win over Australia on Monday, fought doggedly throughout yesterday's match, never allowing the Silver Ferns any breathing space.
While New Zealand were able to pull away at times, they couldn't seem to deliver the knock-out blow as the Jamaicans answered every burst from the Ferns with one of their own.
It wasn't until mid-way through the final spell that the Kiwi side eked out a decisive lead and maintained it, eventually winning the match by five goals.
Silver Ferns' coach Ruth Aitken was thrilled with the way her side absorbed the pressure and kept their wits about them, especially when the Jamaicans resorted to some underhanded tactics in the third and fourth quarters.
"There were certainly some challenging moments and it had the potential for players to lose their focus," said Aitken.
"There was a time there when Bubby [Temepara George] and Laura [Langman] came under some really close attention in the midcourt and really struggled to get free. But in the end they stepped it up and their perseverance really shone through."
While there wasn't the same level of contesting the ball in flight and physical collisions we've come to expect from the athletic Jamaicans, it was nevertheless a rugged display from the home side, who employed some rather devious defensive tactics.
There is no doubt Jamaica's methods took their toll on the Ferns physically and mentally, and the New Zealand side will have to brace themselves for more of the same tomorrow if the Jamaican coach gets her way.
Francis said she was disappointed with what she saw as a lack of physical intensity from her side and is promising a more robust performance.
"I thought we let in some soft goals and we should have been more aggressive," she said.
One Kiwi player who didn't look hassled or harried at any point in the game was young shooter Maria Tutaia, who followed up a player of the match performance against England last week with arguably her best performance in the black dress.
Tutaia landed 32 of her 33 shots at goal - most of those her trademark long bombs - for a 97 per cent return to overshadow New Zealand's number one strike weapon Irene van Dyk in terms of volume and accuracy.
Aitken said Tutaia's performance was a continuation of the strong progress she has made in the latter stages of the season.
"I think she's really grown throughout the international season, she had a challenging first part of the year but she has really stepped up on this tour," said Aitken.
But like her Jamaican counterpart, Aitken will also be asking more of her defence tomorrow. The Silver Ferns did not start to make an impact defensively until the third quarter, when a slight reshuffle to the defensive end saw Joline Henry brought on at goal defence, and captain Casey Williams move back to goal keep.
