Lindo’s Tigers and Storm, the top two teams in the Bermuda Netball Association Winter League, prepared for their showdown next week by winning their respective matches at Bernard Park on Saturday.

Storm, second in the standings, recorded a 41-40 win over North Village before league leaders Tigers triumphed 52-11 over St George’s.

Nabiilah Nasir led the scoring for Storm with 31 goals and Selah Tuzo chipped in with ten. Amali Powell was voted Storm’s MVP, Zakiyah Durham the best attacker and captain Debré Evans picked up the most outstanding defender accolade.

MVP Coriah Simmons scored 16 times for Village, Jordyn Morris finished two goals behind and Zhanae Simmons had ten points.

With Storm returning to action for the first time in two months, Evans was pleased with the victory that kept her side within two points of Tigers.

“A win is still a win, even as sloppy as it was,” she said. “I’m super proud of my team as the job was not easy.

“We were missing key players but we pulled it off in the end. It was a hard-fought match, but we reigned supreme over North Village.

“We knew this wasn’t going to be an easy match, as no match is easy for us. What made it even more challenging is that we had not trained or played a match since November.

“Our team still had holiday fog and it took us a while to lock in, focus on the game and we made mistakes throughout the match.

“Village fought hard as they lost to us in the first round, so of course they wanted redemption. Only one team can walk away with three points and we’re glad our fundamentals helped us secure the win, even if it was by just one goal.

“We will be back at training for the match against Tigers and hopefully the rain stays away. The season is far from over and the job is not yet done.’’

Jahkenya Trott found the target 26 times for Tigers, Nahjae Raynor had 11 goals, Candace Paynter eight, captain Jahtuere Trott six and Demiqua Daniels four.

Diara Benjamin was adjudged the MVP for the league leaders and Khianda Pearman-Watson took the best defender’s award with Jordyn Ming voted the most outstanding attacking player.

Player-coach Nicky Smith and Stacy-Ann Brown were the scorers for St George’s, with eight and three goals respectively. Sarafina Woolridge-Burns was named MVP for the vanquished side. Best defender went to Dezirae Darrell and Kiarrah Rogers was deemed the best attacker.

The Tigers captain commended St George’s for displaying perseverance against a team chasing the title.

“It was a good game as St George's is a fun and resilient team to play against,” Jahtuere Trott said.

“We are taking it one game at a time and that's all we can do. I’m very proud of my team and what we are accomplishing this season.

“Everyone is committed to the game and to the team. We take time to do activities outside of netball as well, which has definitely made the dynamic of our team stronger.

“We are more in sync as players. We know each other's weaknesses and strengths and what each player contributes to the team.

“If we can keep this standard of play for the remainder of the season, we will be rewarded. We're definitely going for the league title.”