Jamaica’s Romelda Aiken was almost perfect from the field as the Queensland Firebirds defeated the Adelaide Thunderbirds Sunday in the second round of the Suncorp Super Netball League in Australia.

Aiken, who became an Australian citizen in early 2020, shot at 91 per cent while scoring her 2,000th goal, netting 34 of her 35 attempts in the Firebirds’ 68-57 victory at the Nissan Arena in Brisbane.

The Firebirds, who won the Super Netball title in 2015 and 2016, were also helped by new mom Gretel Bueta, who shot 18 from 22 for the winners who led 22-15 at the end of the first quarter and 38-28 at half-time.

Thunderbirds, helped by Lenize Potgieter, who scored 30 goals, rallied to win the third quarter 16-14 aided by Shamera Sterling’s relentless defending with grit determination and athleticism. The Thunderbirds’ Jamaican import’s three first half gains did not fully reflect the energy she pumped into the defence, with two deflections coming in the same passage. 

However, the Firebirds’ firepower proved too much for Adelaide who yielded the closing quarter 16-14.

Overall, the Firebirds shot 96 per cent from the field to the Thunderbirds’ 89 percent.

The win puts Queensland third in the standings with one win and one loss suffered in their opening match to New South Wales Swifts 66-69.

Aiken scored 39 goals from 46 attempts in the loss.

Queensland’s next match is against the Giants at the Ken Rosewall Arena on May 16.

Meanwhile, Jhaniele Fowler, last season’s leading scorer picked up from where she left off scoring 54 goals from 59 attempts as the West Coast Fever defeated the New South Wales Swifts on Saturday.

The Fever trailed 26-28 at half-time before Fowler unleashed her talents helping her team to 37 points in the second half while limiting the Swifts to just 27.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Samantha Wallace scored 32 goals from 34 attempts for the Swifts, who are currently fourth in the eight-team standings.

The Fever, meanwhile, sit at the bottom of the table despite winning their opening two games of the season. The league has deducted 12 points from the team for salary cap violations last season.