Preview: Abbey Seals Dublin Lions and Templeogue clash in Women's Division One

Just one game in the Women’s Division One during the international window as Abbey Seals Dublin Lions look to move into a tie for second place in the standings with a win over Templeogue in Clondalkin.

The away side have only played three games in the first month of the season, a win on the road over Cleveland Rockets sandwiched between narrow defeats to iSecure Swords Thunder, the latter of which came in overtime in the National Cup a week ago.

Their leading scorer Joelle Burnley-Johnson only played seven minutes of that game due to injury, so head coach Mark Byrne will be anxious to see her return to full fitness for this Dublin derby. 

In her absence a number of young players stepped up to the mark. Lauren Darcy, Hannah Murphy, Caoimhe Gilligan and Niamh Sherlock all reached double digits in during their cup defeat, including a buzzer beater from Sherlock to send the game to overtime.

Looking ahead to the Dublin derby, Tempoleogue head coach Mark Byrne said: We are looking forward to visiting Lions this weekend. We’ve always had great battles against them in the past and I’m sure this one will be no different. Our season has been a little stop-start so far with only 3 games. Also, with so many new players this season it’s a work-in-progress to develop but the chemistry and teamwork is really starting to come through. The players have been great to work with and we’re getting stronger each week. After a tough loss last week in the cup, we’ll be looking to bounce back this weekend with a good performance.

Byrne’s opposite number Martin Conroy acknowledged that run of form this week: “Templeogue have been playing really well so far this season. They had two tough losses to Thunder, one in the League by six points and one in the cup by eight. But they’ve also had a really great road win against Rockets. 

They’re a really good squad with Aoife Whelan, Hannah Murphy, Lauren Darcy, Hannah Byrne and Caoimhe Gilligan all underage international players and their American Johnson-Burnley can be a handful if she’s fit.

Mark is an excellent and very experienced coach and I’m sure he will have his team ready to make the short trip over to Clondalkin on Saturday. 

Turning his attention to his own squad, Conroy added: 

“As for our girls, I think we are starting to click now. We have some fantastic Irish talent and a great pro in Sofia (Paska). We’re getting better every game and the girls are getting used to me now, so we are all on the same page. It’s great fun to coach a group like this that are so focused on hitting our goals.”

The joint leading scorers in Women’s Division One enter the game on the back of a 100-point performance against one of their pre-season rivals for promotion on paper Limerick Celtics. They’ll be without one of their leading players this season in Jessica Fressle who has made the move back to Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers, but in Sofia Paska they have someone who is playing some of the best basketball statistically during her time in Ireland. 

She’s averaging a double-double of 20.3 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game to go with 1.3 blocks per game. Matching up with her will be difficult for any team, so how Templeogue choose to deal with her presence around the rim will go a long way to deciding the outcome of this game.

Women's Division 1 24-25