Laurel Hill produce second-half comeback to surmount St. Leo’s in All-Ireland Under 16B Girls Schools League Final

Laurel Hill Secondary School survived a serious wobble in the second quarter to dig out a 46-38 victory over St. Leo’s College and raise this year’s All-Ireland Under 16B Girls Schools League title in the National Basketball Arena on Thursday.

Having led by eight points at the close of the first quarter, the Limerick side was outgunned by 14 in the second, but a much improved defensive display thereafter provided the platform for an impressive recovery, MVP Sarah Horkan playing a big part in that with a game-best 14 points.

Laurel Hill sprung from the blocks in this encounter, chalking up eight points by the time St. Leo’s opened their account by way of a Sinead Tomaszewska bucket.

Deborah Lerato-Mhodi’s deuce just eight seconds in was followed by two superb strikes from beyond the arc by Horkan as the Limerick side made the early running.

Kayla Loughran, Aisling O’Sullivan and captain, Éabha Downey also got in for buckets as Laurel Hill took an eight-point (15-7) cushion into the second quarter.

St. Leo’s, however, remerged all guns blazing as they served up the next five points with Tomaszewska and Amy Wall both getting in for a deuce either side of a Tara Webb free-throw.

The Limerick side tried to steady the ship with a bucket from O’Sullivan, only to see their opponents put together a huge 10-point run that saw them overtake into a five-point advantage with 44 seconds of the first half remaining.

Alejandra Perez, Laia Lopez Torrent, Wall and Webb all contributed to that timely surge as the Carlow side ended the second quarter in front at 24-18.

Webb nudged them further ahead early in the third, but Laurel Hill began to work their way back, as baskets from Amy Treacy and O’Sullivan, along with three successive free throws from Horkan hauled them back on to level terms at 32 points apiece heading into the final period.

And they built on that momentum in the third, with two huge three-pointers from Kayla Loughran and a layup by O’Sullivan that propelled them eight points clear with two-and-a-half minutes remaining.

St. Leo’s were struggling to see their attempts drop at this stage, as Laurel Hill fought ferociously under their defensive board, and while Tara Dowling and Perez managed to halve the Carlow side’s arrears, both Amy Treacy and Downey executed in the paint in the closing minute to ensure the prize made its way to Limerick.

“We usually play high-energy and get a ton of steals, but that didn’t show up until towards the end, whereas I was hoping we would have started that much earlier and had a much more comfortable game” remarked Laurel Hill head coach, Tommy Walsh.

“St. Leo’s beat the hell out of us on the boards and they turned us over a lot, but when Sarah hit the three free-throws and Kayla hit a big three, they started believing in themselves and thankfully it worked out well for us” he said.

 

Quarter Scores: Q1: 7-15, Q2: 24-18, Q3: 32-32, Q4: 38-46

 

St. Leo’s College:

Lucie O’Reilly, Laia Lopez Torrent, Keira Kelly, Tara Webb (capt), Sophie Poole, Lily Mae Byrne, Sinead Tomaszewska (vice-capt), Alejandra Perez, Tara Dowling, Gillian Brennan, Sophia Slattery, Aoife Shields, Shannon Dunne, Emmanuela Adekunle, Amy Wall.

Top Scorers: Amy Wall (10), Alejandra Perez (7), Sinead Tomaszewska (7), Tara Webb (7).

Head Coach: Michelle Burgon

 

Laurel Hill Secondary School:

Jasmine Rasch-Foster, Deborah Lerato-Mhodi, Ruby Kelly, Kayla Loughran, Aisling O’Sullivan, Éabha Downey (capt), Sarah Horkan, Amy Treacy, Emma Murphy, Chelsea Hogan.

Top Scorers: Sarah Horkan (14), Ashling O’Sullivan (10), Kayla Loughran (9).

Head Coach: Tommy Walsh

 

MVP:  Sarah Horkan (Laurel Hill)