Australia's Caitlin Bassett (centre) catches the ball ahead of Jamaica's pair of Sasha-Gaye Lynch (left) and Malaysha Kelly during their the second match of the three-Test series at the G.C. Foster College on Wednesday. The Aussies won 52-26. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Jamaica's Under-21 netballers will be playing for pride when they face the Australian Under-21 team in their final game of the three-Test series at the G.C. Foster College in St Catherine, starting at 10 a.m.

The junior Sunshine Girls, who are 2-0 down in the series, were outclassed 52-26 by the Australians in their second match on Wednesday.

However, despite the heavy defeat, coach C. Lloyd Walker said he is expecting a better showing from his team today.

"You can expect a much-improved performance ... because our vision is the Cook Islands in August and we are using this Australian series as a builder and the team is growing as the series goes on," he said.

Walker added that the team put up a better fight on Wednesday because they were able to maintain a lot more ball possession than they did in their first game.

"I think we were better defensively and I think this is a great stride in one day because we are going to continue working on our game and I am certain you will see a lot more progress on Friday (today)," said Walker.

Tough fight

Simone McKinnis, coach of the Australia, said she is expecting a tougher game from Jamaicans today.

"I think the Jamaicans really came out tonight (Wednesday) a lot more determined because they were a lot more committed on the court and they really gave a good run in the first quarter and I am sure it is going to be the same in the final match on Friday," said McKinnis. McKinnis also added that she was pleased with her team's efforts.

"It think was a good performance from us tonight but we had to work hard for the win because we had to wait until the after first quarter before we got the breakthrough," she said.

The Jamaicans began Wednes-day's match slowly, trailing their opponents 26-10 at half-time.

Walker, then made two substitu-tions at the start of the third period, replacing goal shooter Christina Solmon with Jhaniele Fowler and Patricia McCulla for Vanessa Walker.

Comfortable victory

However, the Australians prove equal to the task, as they increased the tempo and ran rings around the junior Sunshine Girls. Their quick passing and brisk off-the-ball movement resulted in their goal shooter Caitlin Bassett scoring nine of her game-high 26 goals in the quarter, as the Aussies led 40-16 at the end of the period.

The young Sunshine Girls never recovered as the Australians maintained their advantage in the fourth period and cruised to a comfortable victory.

Bassett received solid support from Sophie Craft - 11 goals from 15 attempts and Kim Borger - six goals from 11 tries. Jhaniele Flower, 17 goals from 23 attempts and Crystal Gordon - six goals nine tries, were the top scorers for Jamaica.

Both teams are using the series as part of their preparations for the World Youth Championships, which will be held in the Cook Islands in August.