Asanté Chapman’s great defensive effort helped North Village triumph 42-24 over her former team Storm in the Bermuda Netball Association Senior League at Bernard Park on Saturday.

In her first league appearance for Village after returning to Bermuda for a Christmas vacation, Chapman formed a good partnership in defence with captain Jada Richards and was named Village’s MVP, in what was her last match for Village before she left for England on Sunday. Taahira Butterfield was adjudged Village’s most outstanding attacker.

Darrika Simons led the scoring for Village with 28 goals, while goal attack Coriah Simmons chipped in with 14.

Storm’s goals came from Rihanna Reddicks with 15, Zakiyah Durham who scored seven times and Nabiilah Nasir with two. Durham was named MVP for the second match in a row and also won the best attacker honour. Debré Evans was voted Storm’s best defender.

Chapman, who played for Village in the Fast5 tournament at the beginning of the month, urged her team-mates to remain focused in the remaining league matches.

“We gave it our best,’’ Chapman said. “This is one of the top teams that we have trouble with and they have the same work ethic as us, so we had to give it our all.

“It was a challenging game but in the end we got the points. We did the technicals correctly and in the end we came out on top. I hope they stay in the top ranks on the league. They should keep their heads up, worry about the sport and not the opponents.”

Chapman, who last played for the Bermuda netball team in 2017, is yearning for a return to the national side.

“I'm ready to play for the Bermuda national team whenever we have an international competition,’’ she said.

“For now I play for my University of Hertfordshire team and I also play in my local league.”

In the first league match on Saturday Phoenix Heat, the defending champions, made it four wins in a row after defeating St George’s 42-23.

Heat were successful despite missing a number of key players with Karlandra Smith Eshé Grant, Kianté Lightbourne, Stacia Ming and Chelzea Somner absent and coach Erika Russell took the opportunity to field some up-and-coming talent.

Danielle Raynor, the goal shooter, was on target 28 times, while goal attack Ebonie Cox contributed seven goals. K'Xiyae Gibbons also chipped in with five of the goals and Sydney Santos found the target twice.

Heat’s MVP was Antionay Tankard, with the best attacker going to Ayanna Wolfe and Keizhari Knight picking up the leading defender honour.

Nikita Trott finished top scorer for St George’s with 11 goals, while Kristin Holman and Sonja Townsend each scored six times. Best defender Jasmaine Adams shared the MVP award with Townsend, while Amali Powell won the attackers’ award.

Gibbons, 18, who has just recovered from an ankle injury, found the game challenging in her first season playing with the senior team.

“It’s always a pleasure being part of a winning team,’’ she told The Royal Gazette.

“I had a fracture on my ankle from playing football and a bike accident, so I'm not yet 100 per cent.

“I've been doing this since I was 12 so it’s nothing new, it’s just the game. Going unbeaten is just what we do and hopefully, I'm part of the team going forward.”

Raynor, 38, the Heat captain on Saturday, was pleased with the way the younger players blended in with the seniors.

“We mixed in a lot of younger players so they could get some experience in the senior league,’’ Raynor said.

“They performed, they worked hard, and they hustled to the ball. K'Xiyae, she made her shots count in the last quarter when she was goal shooter, so it was a great game and I'm proud of them.

“As for my contribution, I tried to stay in the circle instead of coming out too much like I did in the last game.

“We’re happy to win four out of four. We've been unbeaten since the 2012-13 season when the team was still called Bluebirds.

“A couple of teams have come close but we have prevailed in the end. We want to keep it that way, and groom the younger players so that when the older players want to retire, they could take over.”