Preview: Top two clash in Women's Super League showdown

There’s a showdown between the top two in the Women’s Super League to look forward to this weekend, as the race to the playoffs continues to heat up.

Joint leaders SETU Waterford Wildcats and FloMAX Liffey Celtics hold a two-game advantage over Trinity Meteors and Killester, but one will establish themselves as the sole leaders come 9pm on Saturday night in Leixlip.

The previous league meeting between the teams went the way of Wildcats – Ashia McCalla hitting the final score of a 75-72 win. However, it’s Jillian Hayes side who’ll enter the game looking for a semblance of revenge for their loss at the hands of FloMAX Liffey Celtics in the semi-finals of the Paudie O’Connor National Cup earlier this month.

Áine O’Connor was in top form on that occasion, scoring 20 points and providing four assists inside, while the returning Alexandra Navarette helped take some of the scoring burden from O’Connor and Irish international guard Sorcha Tiernan. They will come into the game on the back of a loss though. A final quarter flurry wasn’t enough for them to avoid an 81-76 loss against Trinity Meteors. 

SETU Waterford Wildcats had to show composure down the stretch of their 86-81 win against The Address UCC Glanmire in their previous outing. Ashia McCalla was perfect from the foul line as she fought her way to 29 points, while their other American Chelsea Cain came up with no fewer than seven offensive rebounds in her total of 19.

Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell’s Edel Thornton and Lauryn Homan earned call-ups to James Weldon’s Irish squad for their upcoming FIBA Women’s EuroBasket qualifiers against France and Latvia next week. They’ll have to negotiate a Cork derby with The Address UCC Glanmire on Friday before linking up with the squad. Both enter the game with a 6-6 record, with the winner set to go fifth in the standings.

Trinity Meteors can extend their strong form to six wins in seven if they can overcome a trip to Cork to face Catalyst Fr. Mathews. Emma Merriweather was at something close to her best during their win against FloMAX Liffey Celtics, who is chosen to guard her will go a long way to deciding what is sure to be a closely contested game.

Elsewhere, Killester host Utility Trust St. Paul’s in their first outing since coming up short in the Paudie O’Connor National Cup Final as they aim to cement their spot in the playoff mix, while there’s also an important meeting at the opposite end of the table with Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers travelling to University of Galway Mystics.