Commonwealth Games- The Sunshine Girls celebrate reaching netball final.

The Sunshine Girls had already secured their place in the showpiece event with victory over England in the semi-finals on Friday, and they showed off their moves after beating New Zealand in the final group game.

Netball is one of the most popular sports in Jamaica and the Sunshine Girls are among the best teams in the world. The Jamaican team, who are ranked third in the world, will face Australia in the final on Sunday after the holders beat England 52-49 in the other semi-final.

“We came out with a lot of energy and we just wanted to put on a good performance for our supporters,” said Jamaica captain Jhaniele Fowler-Reid, who top-scored with 33 goals. “We wanted to make the final and we are very happy to have achieved that.”

New Zealand, who had won all three of their previous meetings with Jamaica at Commonwealth Games level, took an early lead but the Sunshine Girls fought back strongly.

The Jamaicans went into half-time leading 31-28 and pulled away in the second half to seal a deserved victory. “It was a very tough match but we are very happy to have made the final,” said Jamaica coach Marvette Anderson. “We know Australia will be a tough team to beat but we will give it our best shot.”

This was in stark contrast to the first half, where both sides struggled to break down each other’s defence. The match really came alive in the third quarter though, as Jamaica began to take control the way of the game. The players were so happy, especially two of them - Adean Thomas and Shamera Sterling, so they decided to celebrate their win with an energetic dance.

Jamaica will face Australia in the final on Sunday, with the Aussies having beaten South Africa in their semi-final. It promises to be an exciting final, and one that Jamaica will go into full of confidence.