Preview: Women's Division One Week 3

There’s another action filled weekend of Women’s Division One to look forward to this weekend in the National League.  

Cleveland Rockets v Templeogue BC, Saturday, 15:00

Both these teams enter the weekend without a win (Rockets 0-2/Templeogue 0-1), but they have lost by a combined 13-points in their three ties to date. 

Rockets found their scoring touch a week ago as the returning Jessica Fairweather and SETU Waterford Wildcats transfer Caitlin Gloeckner combined for 48 points in their 97-94 defeat to Limerick Celtics.

Templeogue BC began life without Lynn Tunnah with a 77-71 defeat to iSecure Swords Thunder in their opening game of the season. Hannah Murphy and Joelle Johnson-Burnley did their best to step up in her absence and if they continue in that form, it won’t be long before the Dublin side are off the mark. 

Both teams excelled from beyond the arc in their last outing. Cleveland Rockets shooting 48% (16/33), while Templeogue weren’t too far behind on 40% (12/30).

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 Limerick Sport Huskies v McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles, Saturday, 16:00

There’s a meeting of unbeatens on Saturday afternoon in Limerick, with McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles making the 200km trip South West to take on the Scout Frame and Delia Moore led Huskies. 

The duo have started the season on fire, combining for 64% of Huskies points in their first two games (113/175). They kept the momentum of their Tip-Off Weekend derby victory over Limerick Celtics going by accounting for Oblate Dynamos comfortably last weekend.

McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles will be fresh for their trip, having sat out last weekend’s set of fixtures. They look set to be a tough defensive team after holding Cleveland Rockets to just 47-points on the road in gameweek one. 

As ever, Irish underage international sisters Emma, Niamh and Ciara Tolan look to be the heart of the Virginia side. They will be looking for more output from pros Rahmena Henderson and Lanetta Williams to complement their energy, as they get used to playing in this league. 

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iSecure Swords Thunder v Oblate Dynamos, Saturday, 17:30

Many will expect this to be a comfortable win for iSecure Swords Thunder given both team’s start to the season (Thunder 2-0, Dynamos 0-2), but if the Women’s Division One has proven anything so far, it’s that anybody can beat anybody on a given day.

iSecure Swords Thunder overcame a sluggish first quarter to defeat Templeogue a week ago on the back of a double-double form new recruit Makayla Miller, with telling contributions from Kate Kelly and the returning Jasmine Walker. Their defensive effort exemplified by the fact they led the division in blocks (5) in Gameweek two.

Oblate Dynamos have relied heavily on Irish underage international Sophie Staunton in the opening weeks of the season and she has been stepping up to the mark admirably. They upset iSecure Swords Thunder to dump them out of the Women’s Division One National Cup last season, so their supporters will be hoping for more of the same on Saturday evening.

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 Abbey Seals Dublin Lions v Limerick Celtics, Saturday, 17:30 

There’s an early meeting of many people’s picks for promotion to the Women’s Super League in Clondalkin.

Stephanie McBride came up clutch with four successive free-throws at the death to gain Limerick Celtics their first win of the campaign against Cleveland Rockets seven days ago. Fellow professional Shelby Harmeyer was an impressive 55% from three-point range in the win. Their starting lineup played just under 34-minutes of the contest on that occasion, a stat that will be hard to maintain during the course of the season. 

Abbey Seals Dublin Lions lost their undefeated tag against Moy Tolka Rovers. Despite dragging themselves in front to start the fourth, they were unable to close it out in an 83-79 defeat. There was plenty of positives though. Four players (Miah Ryan, Ciara Wheeler, Sofia Paska and Jessica Fressle) reached double-digits in scoring and they marginally out worked their opponents on the boards. 

The Dubliners will need to reduce their number of turnovers (25) as the season progresses though, if they are to achieve their goals.

Women's Division 1 24-25