National League

Jan 13 2022

Table-toppers The Address UCC Glanmire take on Singleton SuperValu Brunell in MissQuote.ie Super League - Preview

The Address UCC Glanmire moved two points clear at top of MissQuote.ie Super League with their win on Wednesday, and face Singleton SuperValu Brunell on Saturday.

The Address UCC Glanmire are two points clear at the top of the MissQuote.ie Super League after a 90-75 victory at WIT Waterford Wildcats on Wednesday night.

The game, which was a rescheduled Christmas fixture, saw Carrie Shephard hit 28 points for the victors, with Ireland international Áine McKenna landing 13 points and Mia Furlong 11.

The Address UCC Glanmiree head coach Mark Scannell gave his thoughts in the aftermath. “Very happy with the result tonight, 90 points and great all-round team performance. Our defence needs to improve, we allowed way too many open looks, but overall very good win in a tough gym against a very good team.”

For WIT Waterford Wildcats, Jaz Walker hit 26 points, with Rachel Thompson not far behind on 22 points, while Sarah Hickey and Abby Flynn had six points each. Their head coach Tommy O’Mahony said: “Glanmire are an outstanding basketball team. With so many threats, they are hard to contain. We managed to score the ball well, but our defence cost us in the end.”

Next up for leaders The Address UCC Glanmire is a home game with Singleton Supervalu Brunell on Saturday. It’s a repeat of last weekend’s InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup semi-final, which Mark Scannell’s side came out on top, 92-82, and he’s preparing himself for an intense battle. “I am looking forward to playing Brunell at home. We need to be ready for the backlash of the Cup win. Everyone is working hard and pushing each other for minutes and that’s what’s needed right now. We know how tough Brunell are and we must match their intensity.”

Tim O’Halloran, Singleton Supervalu Brunell head coach, is looking to put their recent defeat behind them. “After the disappointment of losing to Glanmire in the Cup last week, we look forward to playing them again in the league. It’s good to get back to it as soon as possible and look it helps when we still have goals we can achieve. Glanmire are a very good team, who are coached excellently and will be hard to beat, but if we can learn from our mistakes last week, hopefully we can get closer to then this time.”

WIT Waterford Wildcats, who also suffered Cup semi-final heartache last weekend, are away at Leixlip Amenities Liffey Celtics on Saturday. “Liffey is going to be another hard battle, they have a great record in their home gym, with some great players all over the court. We need to step up our defence if we are to be in with a shout of winning this game,” O’Mahony said.

Ioannis Liapakis, Leixlip Amenities Liffey Celtics head coach, added: “Saturday’s game is going to be a very difficult for many reasons - first of all we’re playing against one of the best teams in the league. Unfortunately we had big problems with Covid, which didn’t allow us to train and on top of that, we’re going to be with only one American player. Also, we haven’t played any games since December 18th, compared to Wildcats who have played two games in the last week. All the above problems helped us though to bond even more and we’re ready to fight together to overcome them. So it’s going to be a great challenge and we’re really looking forward to it.”

Saturday’s other game in the MissQuote.ie Super League sees Fr. Mathews hosting Team Garvey’s St. Mary’s. Niamh Dwyer, Fr. Mathews head coach, said: “We are looking forward to getting back the court after all the disruptions that have taken place. It will be great to play in the Arena again, when we welcome St Mary’s on Saturday. We will be looking to improve our performances from the first half of the season and it will start on Saturday night.”

Liam Culloty, Team Garvey’s St. Mary’s head coach, is hoping to banish any rust after a long time off court. “We are really looking forward to getting back on the floor, as it's been nearly a month since our last game. Like every team our training over the Christmas period was hampered by Covid, but we feel refreshed now and looking forward to start building some momentum over the second half of the league. Fr. Mathews were playing very well in the lead up to Christmas, so they will provide a very stern test on their home floor. In all, we are just glad to be back on the court and excited by the challenge ahead.”

Sunday’s opening game in the MissQuote.ie Super League sees IT Carlow Basketball host Killester. The Dublin club were 91-63 winners when they met in October and IT Carlow head coach Martin Conroy stated: “It’s going to be a tough game on Sunday. Killester are playing exceptionally well at the moment and know from our meeting earlier in the season just how good they can be.”

Karl Kilbride, Killester’s head coach, hailed Lucy Coogan’s performances this season ahead of the game. “We haven’t played a game in four weeks now, so to say we’re excited for this weekend is an understatement! We finished off the first half of the season with two good wins, and we’re hoping to start the second half of our season on a similar note.

“Carlow is a tough place to go and get a win. While they haven’t managed to come away with a win yet, they’ve shown patches in multiple games of being really effective. They have two good Americans, who can really shoot the ball and one of Basketball Ireland’s brightest underage stars in Lucy Coogan. The numbers Lucy has put up in her first year playing Super League are incredible. We’ll have to do a much better job guarding her this weekend, than we did first time around, if we’re going to start 2022 with the result we want.”

DCU Mercy, fresh off their 68-65 InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup semi-final win over WIT Waterford Wildcats host a Dublin derby against Trinity Meteors at DCU Arena. Trinity Meteors head coach, Vincent O’Keeffe, outlined the task at hand for his side. “DCU are coming off a very impressive Cup semi-final win and will be looking to maintain that good form going into the final next weekend. They have a strong core of players and their American combination is one of the best in the league. This will be our first game in close to a month, but we are slowly getting all our players back to full fitness after a torrid last few weeks.”

In MissQuote.ie Division 1 it is a full round of fixtures, on Saturday there’s a Limerick derby as Limerick Celtics host Limerick Sport Huskies, NUIG Mystics play Tipperary Knights, it’s Ulster University against LYIT Donegal and Portlaoise Panthers versus Marble City Hawks. On Sunday Phoenix Rockets are at home to Griffith College Templeogue.

MissQuote.ie Super League result:

Wednesday 12th January 

WIT Waterford Wildcats 75-90 The Address UCC Glanmire, Mercy SS Waterford

Half-time: 41-47

Top scorers:

WIT Waterford Wildcats - Jaz Walker 26, Rachel Thompson 22, Sarah Hickey 6, Abby Flynn 6

The Address UCC Glanmire - Carrie Shephard 28, Áine McKenna 13, Mia Furlong 11

MissQuote.ie Super League fixtures:

Saturday 15th January

The Address UCC Glanmire v Singleton Supervalu Brunell, Mardyke Arena, 1630

Fr. Mathews v Team Garvey’s St. Mary’s, Fr. Mathews Arena, 1700

Leixlip Amenities Liffey Celtics v WIT Waterford Wildcats, Leixlip Amenities Centre, 1800

Sunday 16th January

IT Carlow Basketball v Killester, Barrow Centre, 1330

DCU Mercy v Trinity Meteors, DCU Arena, 1430

InsureMyVan.ie Super League fixtures:

Saturday 15th January 

Griffith College Templeogue v Moycullen, Nord Anglia International School, 1700

Killester v Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, IWA Clontarf, 1700

NUIG Maree v Bright DCU Saints, NUIG Sports Centre, 1800 POSTPONED

UCD Marian v Tradehouse Central Ballincollig, UCD Sports Centre, 1800

Team 360 Financial Killorglin v DBS Éanna, Killorglin Sports Complex, 1815 POSTPONED

Belfast Star v C&S Neptune, De La Salle College, 1830 POSTPONED

MissQuote.ie Division 1 fixtures:

Saturday 15th January 

NUIG Mystics v Tipperary Knights, NUIG Kingfisher, 1500

Ulster University v LYIT Donegal, UUJ, 1700

Limerick Celtics v Limerick Sport Huskies, St Munchins College, 1700

Portlaoise Panthers v Marble City Hawks, St. Mary’s Hall, 1800

Sunday 16th January 

Phoenix Rockets v Griffith College Templeogue, Lisburn Racquets Club, 1430

InsureMyVan.ie Division 1 fixtures:

Friday 14th January 

UCC Demons v Fr. Mathews, Mardyke Arena, 1830

Saturday 15th January 

Abbey Seals Dublin Lions v Titans, Coláiste Brid, 1730

Drogheda Wolves v McGowans Tolka Rovers, 1815 POSTPONED

Scotts Lakers Killarney v IT Carlow Basketball, Killarney Sports Centre, 1815 POSTPONED

Limerick Sport Eagles v Limerick Celtics, UL Arena, 1900 POSTPONED

Ulster University v Grand Hotel Malahide, UUJ, 1930

Sunday 16th January 

Portlaoise Panthers v Killarney Cougars, St. Mary’s Hall, 1445

LYIT Donegal v EJ Sligo All-Stars, LYIT, 1500 POSTPONED