Bermuda redeemed themselves from a 72-32 loss to Canada at the Battle of the Isles to end the day on a high note by beating Guadeloupe 82-12 in Sint Maarten last night.

The squad had time to rethink strategies on the ferry ride from Sint Eustatius to Sint Maarten and Kimale Evans and Anthony Mouchette’s side came out firing.

Next up for the Longtails is a clash with British Virgin Islands on Friday at 10.45 Bermuda time, before the play-off matches on Saturday and Sunday.

Captain Debré Evans was delighted to turn things around fast after tasting defeat at the hands of Canada.

“After the rough loss this morning it felt nice to claim victory against Guadeloupe this evening,” the team leader told The Royal Gazette.

“We were extremely nervous as we had to take a two-hour ferry back to Sint Maarten to turn around and check in, then be at the courts in an hour.

“Everyone was flustered from feeling rushed but we played a slower game to allow us to get into it mentally. Guadeloupe is new to the sport but they still put up a good fight.

“We needed to get a good goal difference to solidify our spot in second place behind Canada.

“I know I keep repeating it but I’m extremely proud of us as we worked really hard to be here and I feel like we’re proving ourselves and will finish with an amazing ranking which will open more doors for Netball Bermuda.

“We go again for our final match in the round-robin and then go into the knockout stage. I hope everyone is tuning in at home and supporting us. We need a lot of love and positivity from everyone.

“Everyone is trying their best and it’s important to note the coaches are only human, as are we. We are doing everything we can to make Bermuda bigger in the netball world.”

Evans and vice-captain Kianté Lightbourne viewed being vanquished by the highly rated Canadians as a learning experience for the side.

The Longtails, who beat Sint Maarten 42-30 and Sint Eustatius 59-29 to make a perfect start to the tournament on Wednesday, had their perfect record dented.

“The result this morning speaks to us learning more about how to manage our bodies and emotions in a way that allows us to continue to play at our top level in every game,” Lightbourne said.

“We played the last match of the day yesterday and the first match this morning. Collectively, I don’t think we allowed ourselves to move beyond that quick enough and switch back into game mode.

“We do have to take positives from that game, though. We got some court time with different combinations and were able to learn more about how they play to be better prepared next time.

“We started strong in the tournament; the first two games showed us that we can dig deep and turn things around in our favour.”

Evans spoke of the challenges faced by the team in coping with the physical demands of playing two matches on the same day.

“The loss to Canada was tough; we all knew as a collective it would be a very rough game,” the captain said.

“Everyone is really struggling with the two matches every day, especially as physicality was at an all-time high.”