National League

Mar 27 2022

The Address UCC Glanmire and Singleton SuperValu Brunell to play in MissQuote.ie Champions Trophy final

The Address UCC Glanmire maintained their push for the treble with a 76-66 win over DCU Mercy at the Mardyke Arena on Sunday. They will play Singleton SuperValu Brunell in the final, who edged WIT Waterford Wildcats 78-75.

As with the InsureMyHouse.ie Paudie O’Connor National Cup final, the game between The Address UCC Glanmire and DCU Mercy was another keenly contested affair, with the home side ahead 24-20 by the end of the first and by a single point at half-time, 37-36.

A strong third quarter from Mark Scannell’s team propelled them to a 10 point lead, 56-46, and that was to be the margin of victory at the end too, as it finished 76-66.

Two of The Address UCC Glanmire’s Americans proved pivotal once more, Tierney Pfirman scored 20 points while Carrie Shephard had 16. Carlow’s Amy Dooley also contributed 13 points.

 Tierney Pfirman top scored for The Address UCC Glanmire on 20 points

For DCU Mercy, their two Americans again showed their class, Alarie Mayze top scored with an impressive 29, followed closely by Bailey Greenberg, on 25.

“We had a really tough game today huge respect for DCU (Mercy), they’ll always make it difficult and throw lots of different things at you. Their Americans were fantastic and have been all year. I’m delighted with how my team responded and with Claire (Melia) unwell and not having trained all week, we needed others to step up and they did. Amy Dooley was super as was Tierney (Pfirman) and down the stretch Áine (McKenna) and Carrie (Shephard) showed their class. I want to pay tribute to them all for their dedication and especially to those who don’t always get as many minutes as maybe they should. They work so hard every night and they push us forward. We now have one more game and we’ll prepare properly and be ready for that next week.” - Mark Scannell, The Address UCC Glanmire head coach

Singleton SuperValu Brunell overcame WIT Waterford Wildcats 78-75 in another closely fought game at Parochial Hall.

There was little between the sides throughout, WIT Waterford Wildcats were 23-20 ahead at the end of the first quarter, but it was Singleton SuperValu Brunell who were in front at half-time, 43-36. They held on to their seven point advantage by the end of the third, 63-56, before WIT Waterford Wildcats narrowed the deficit to a one-score game.

Singleton SuperValu Brunell head coach, Tim O’Halloran, was relieved to advance to the final.

“An unbelievable performance and an amazing win. A great way to cap off a good year, but still one more game left. The girls kept coming back from their runs and showed a lot of heart.” - Tim O'Halloran, Singleton SuperValu Brunell head coach

Shannon Ryan top scored for Singleton SuperValu Brunell on 27, while Katie Walsh had 15 and Kwanza Murray 14. For WIT Waterford Wildcats both Rachel Thompson and Sarah Hickey notched up 23 points apiece, while Stephanie O’Shea picked up 8.

Shannon Ryan, left, top scored for Singleton SuperValu Brunell with 27 points.

"Really disappointed with the loss. There was nothing between the teams, Brunell got the lead on us and we were playing catch up for a lot of the game. With outstanding grit and determination we managed to get it back to a one point game. Unfortunately shots didn't drop and Brunell hung on. We had good performances for large stretches of the game, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to get us over the line." - Tommy O'Mahony, WIT Waterford Wildcats head coach