Bermuda finished second to tournament favourites Canada at the end of the round-robin stage of the Battle of the Isles when they eased to a 47-17 triumph over British Virgin Islands yesterday.

The attacking combination of Jahkenya Trott and Zakiyah Durham set the pace by staking Bermuda a 10-4 lead after the first quarter. Keizhari Knight replaced Trott early in the second quarter, joining Durham to push the score along to 21-9 at the half.

Bermuda made tactical changes throughout the match to give all 12 players on the roster a run on the court. That did affect the momentum flowing with the lead 36-12 after the third quarter, and 11 more points added in the last 15 minutes of the game.

Holding shooter Knight notched up 17 goals to close out the morning. Opening shooters Trott and Durham finished with 13 goals each, while Jahtuere Trott scored four.

Captain Debré Evans thought the success over a team ranked 42nd in the world was a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire team.

“Today’s victory in the round robin allowed us to place second in the tournament, which is very impressive from a team without a ranking and being out of the international scene for as long as we have,” she said.

“It’s a reflection of our work ethic and commitment. Everyone who’s here deserves to be here because they showed up and suited up during the beginning stages of the rebrand of the senior netball national team.

“It was not easy to get out here, nor was it cheap, so we’re all very glad to see our hard work paying off. Thank you to all the supporters who are supporting Bermuda.

“This is a team sport and we’re all leaning on and helping each other wherever we may need. The play-offs will start for us tomorrow night, so we finally get a break to rest physically and mentally.

“We hope to perform well and bring home a new trophy for Bermuda. We’re leaving it all on the court, as it’s do-or-die with the knockout and we’re hungry for victory.”

Canada were in action at 10pm Bermuda time last night, expected to complete a perfect run through the league format against Sint Maarten.

Bermuda could then see themselves playing against Sint Maarten in the semi-finals for a spot in the finals at 10pm tonight.

“We are more likely come up against Sint Maarten and Canada again,” Evans said.

“We’re looking to have a stronger and better performance to redeem ourselves in those matches.”