FloMAX Liffey Celtics set the pace while Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers dig out big road win

FloMAX Liffey Celtics may have coughed up significant ground in the fourth quarter, but they still did enough to secure a 72-59 victory over Catalyst Fr. Mathews in their Women’s Super League clash in Leixlip on Saturday night, while Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers carded a hugely valuable 61-58 win on the road against Utility Trust St. Paul’s.

 Despite a disappointing final quarter in which they were outscored by 11, FloMAX Liffey Celtics still emerged 72-59 winners from their clash at home against Catalyst Fr. Mathews on Saturday night to move to 5 and 1 at the top of the Women’s Super League.

A big third-quarter performance that saw them outgun their Cork opponents by 12, helped propel Celtics 26 points clear with just over seven minutes remaining, Alexis Tucker putting up 15 on the night, while Sorcha Tiernan and Hazel Finn weighed in with a further 24.

And, while it was to prove too wide of a gap for St. Mathews to bridge, they will be encouraged by their performance down the stretch, especially ahead of their return to Leixlip Amenities for a date with Celtics in the last eight of the Paudie O’Connor National Cup next month.

“Other than the last four minutes, our defence was really good for the most part, so it’s really disappointing that we finished the game like that” sighed Karl Kilbride, FloMAX Liffey Celtics head coach.

“We did a dreadful job in our transition defence, we did a dreadful job rebounding the ball defensively. I couldn’t be any less happy with how we finished the game, but, at the same time, we won and we held a really good team to 59, so we’ll move on” he said.

Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers bounced back from their heavy loss to defending champions, Killester last week with a thrilling 61-58 road win over Utility Trust St. Paul’s on Saturday evening.

Deadlocked at 21 points apiece at the break, this game saw the hosts continue to snap at the heels of Portlaoise right to the final buzzer, Jessica Fressle and Lynn Tunnah holding their nerve on the free-throw line over the closing minute to help see the visitors prevail.

Both players emerged with 14 points apiece for Panthers, while co-captain Alyssa Velles served up a game-high 18, with Amy Dooley very effective under the boards on 11 rebounds and 10 points.

Every bit of their contribution was essential in fending off a tenacious St. Paul’s who, themselves, had four players in double figures, including Megan Ormiston, who served up 13 points and combined with Lorraine Scanlon for 25 rebounds.

“We knew going down there that there’d be nothing between the sides and that’s the way it turned out” remarked Keith Conroy, Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers head coach.

“I thought some of our execution was good, but they were always going to make a run back at us and they did.

“But we made our free throws and they missed a couple coming down the line and that’s what won us the game” he said.

In Men’s Division One, ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers remained top of the North Conference after carding a big 92-74 win on the road against Scotts Lakers Killarney to move to 7 and 0 in the table.

Titans BC made a return to winning ways in the wake of defeats at the hands of the top two sides in Division One, after they fended off Mater Private Malahide for a 75-72 success in Ballinfoyle Castlegar Centre.

Killarney Cougars finally got off the mark in the South Conference, after they recorded a 93-86 victory away to Carrick Cruisers in Phoenix Centre, while Drogheda Wolves ran out 81-70 winners over Maigh Cuilinn in University of Galway Kingfisher and Team NorthWest carded an 83-76 triumph at home to Limerick Sport Eagles in ATU Donegal.

In Women’s Division One, McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles extended their unbeaten run at the top of the table to four games after they beat Limerick Celtics 69-52 in Virginia Show Centre on Saturday evening.

Cleveland Rockets made it three wins on the bounce after they surmounted Abbey Seals Dublin Lions 87-69 in Coláiste Bríde, while Oblate Dynamos picked up their first victory of the campaign at the expense of Moy Tolka Rovers, seeing off their Dublin rivals 78-60 in Inchicore.

Limerick Sport Huskies inflicted a third straight defeat on Templeogue after they weathered a third-quarter wobble to emerge 64-55 winners in St. Munchin’s College.