National League

Nov 27 2021

WIT Waterford Wildcats make it six wins in a row

WIT Waterford Wildcats made it six wins in a row, edging Fr. Mathews 74-72 on Saturday and are now the sole leaders of the MissQuote.ie Super League. DCU Mercy, who had been joint-top, lost 80-77 at The Address UCC Glanmire on Sunday.

WIT Waterford Wildcats trailed 35-34 at half-time against Fr. Mathews, but a strong third quarter from the home side saw them go 59-48 in front, before a Fr. Mathews fightback in the final quarter. WIT Waterford Wildcats head coach Tommy O’Mahony was relieved to emerge with another victory. “We managed to get the win against a very good Fr. Mathews side. There were times in the game when we should have been further behind due to lack of focus, but we managed to stay in touch and through a good third quarter took a lead, but as expected, Fr. Mathews came roaring back. This is our second game in a row being in a close game, but we need to learn to be more consistent if we are to maintain this form.”

Rachel Thompson top scored for the WIT Waterford Wildcats with 27, followed by Sinead Deegan (14) and Sarah Hickey (11). Fr. Mathews scoring was headed by Shannon Brady (23), Gráinne Dwyer (14) and Trish Byrne (10).

Fr. Mathews head coach Niamh Dwyer stated: “It was a tough loss on the road tonight. We have to learn and get ready to welcome them to Cork next week for the (InsureMyHouse.ie) National Cup.”

The Address UCC Glanmire defeated DCU Mercy 80-77 in a tight contest at the Mardyke Arena. Ireland international Claire Melia top scored with 33 points, followed by Carrie Shephard (23) and Áine McKenna (10). DCU Mercy’s American duo Bailey Greenberg (26), and Alarie Mayze led their offense with 26 points and 15 points respectively, while Hannah Thornton contributed 14.

Claire Melia scored 33 points for The Address UCC Glanmire against DCU Mercy.

The Address UCC Glanmire head coach Mark Scannell was thrilled to get a win over their rivals. “Great game of basketball we’re delighted to get the win. I think defensively DCU were brilliant, but eventually we made some big plays down the stretch. These games never fail to deliver, always tough, tight affairs. We’ll learn loads from today, hopefully improve and get ourselves back into contention in the league. We can now focus on the (InsureMyVan.ie National) Cup next week.”

Singleton SuperValu Brunell responded to their home overtime defeat to WIT Waterford Wildcats in the previous round, by picking up a 107-87 road win at Killester. Kwanza Murray was red hot at the basket, with a whopping 49 points, while Shannon Ryan had 32 and Ireland co-captain Edel Thornton scored eight. Head coach Tim O’Halloran said: “Absolutely delighted with the win tonight, it was a great team performance and after a loss that’s the way you need to bounce back. Now we take on the Cup.”

Myah Taylor led the offensive charge for Killester with 38 points, followed by Shannon Powell (17) and Telma Ducasse 12.

Killester head coach, Karl Kilbride, was frustrated after the defeat. “Disappointed with the performance. We were obviously short-handed, but to give up 107 at home just isn’t acceptable”, he said.

“Brunell were excellent all night. (Kwanza) Murray having 49 was sensational and (Shannon) Ryan had what felt like a really easy 32. We showed flashes of being really good defensively in the second half, but I just don’t think we made them earn enough of them. We had far too many turnovers that led to them scoring on the break and in secondary transition.

“We’ve a weekend off next week and will hopefully rest up and get some players healthy again for what will be a really tough test against a high flying Wildcats team in two weeks’ time.”

The game between IT Carlow Basketball and Trinity Meteors was postponed due to Covid-19, while Leixlip Amenities Liffey Celtics’ game with Team Garvey’s St. Marys was cancelled, after the away side didn’t travel.

In MissQuote.ie Division 1 Portlaoise Panthers inflicted a first defeat of the season on Ulster University, winning 57-54 at St. Mary’s Hall. The home side’s scoring was evenly spread, with Antigonie Sanabria grabbing 13 points, while Lisa Blaney, Ciara Wheeler, Gillian Wheeler and Jasmine Burke each got seven. For Ulster University, Lexi Posset was once again the standout performer, on 30 points.

Portlaoise Panthers head coach Peter O’Sullivan was pleased to edge a tight battle. “We expected a very close game and we are delighted to come out of it with the win. It’ll give us some confidence heading into next week’s (InsureMyHouse.ie) National Cup game away to (NUIG) Mystics, after beating such a great team like Ulster University. We’re still not where we want to be, but every game is helping us get to get there.”

Jasmine Burke, of Portlaoise Panthers. She scored seven points in their MissQuote.ie Division 1 win over Ulster University

Meanwhile Ulster University head coach Patrick O’Neill rued missed opportunities: “I am very proud of the effort my team put in, Panthers are a very well drilled team, who have played together for many years. We had chances to take the win down the stretch, but credit to them, they made it difficult. We will learn from today and move on to the next one.”

Limerick Sport Huskies picked up their fourth win in a row, with a 82-74 success at Phoenix Rockets. Taylor Herd (24), Yuleska Ramirez Tejeda (22) and Sophie Moore (12) were instrumental to that win, while for Phoenix Rockets Brooke Alexander topped the scoring charts, on 22, followed closely by Rebecca Barker (20) and Georgie McGrath (17).

Limerick Celtics were narrow 83-82 road winners at Swords Thunder, thanks to strong scoring from Sophia Paska (31) Danielle O’Leary (19) and Emily Tinnes (18). Swords Thunder’s top scorers were Peggy Black (24), Niamh O’Donovan (17) and Bethany Thompson (15).

There was also an away win for NUIG Mystics, 76-66 at Griffith College Templeogue. It was a tight opening half, with NUIG Mystics leading by a mere two points, 38-36, before Paul O’Brien’s side managed to pull clear, helped by the scoring contributions of Courtney Cecere (22), Áine McDonagh (16) and Hazel Finn (10). Griffith College Templeogue’s scoring was headed by Akeema Richards (18), Berta Rodriguez Carrera (11) and Jah-Leah Ellis (11).

On Sunday Tipperary Knights beat LYIT Donegal 90-83 Rosie Tobin (30), Meabh Humphreys (23) and Lilla Szucs (9) played pivotal roles, while for LYIT Donegal Shannon Cunningham headed the scoring charts on 32, backed up by Marie Kealy (17) and Nakeeya Goodman (13).

In the InsureMyVan.ie Division 1 Limerick Sport Eagles lost their unbeaten start to the season, defeated 92-83 at home by IT Carlow Basketball on Friday night. Matt Hall’s side led 29-23 at the end of the opening quarter and 49-48 at half-time, but a strong third by IT Carlow Basketball saw them lead 69-61 going into the final quarter and they never looked back. They were helped to victory by Nate Shafer (27), Roland Vaikuls (23) and Kevin Donohoe (22). Manny Payton once again headed scoring for Limerick Sport Eagles, with 28 points.

Killarney Cougars fell to back-to-back home defeats in the space of three days. They were beaten 88-72 by Limerick Celtics on Thursday night, and succumbed to Fr. Mathews 77-59 on Saturday.

Portlaoise Panthers beat Scotts Lakers Killarney 77-71, with scoring led by Nelson Larkins (20), Conor Gallagher (18) and Liam Kinsella (13). Emiliyan Grudov top scored for Scotts Lakers Killarney on 22, while their new Canadian recruit, Godwin Boahen, scored 17 poins on debut.

Both Ulster University against LYIT Donegal and Limerick Celtics versus WIT Vikings were postponed due to Covid-19.

There was one game in the InsureMyHouse.ie Presidents National Cup on Friday night, Fr. Mathews won 87-76 at Portlaoise Panthers. Jonathan Garcia (26), Sean McManus (18) and Jack O’Mahony (17) helped them get over the line and they now host UCC Demons in the quarter-finals next Saturday.

MissQuote.ie Super League Results

Saturday 27th November

Killester 87-107 Singleton SuperValu Brunell

WIT Waterford Wildcats 74-72 Fr. Mathews

IT Carlow Basketball v Trinity Meteors POSTPONED

Leixlip Amenities Liffey Celtics v Team Garvey’s St. Mary’s CANCELLED

Sunday 28th November

The Address UCC Glanmire v DCU Mercy

MissQuote.ie Division 1 Results

Saturday 27^th November

Phoenix Rockets 74-82 Limerick Sport Huskies

Swords Thunder 82-83 Limerick Celtics