Cleveland Rockets reach Domino's WD1 National Cup final for first time since 2023

Cleveland Rockets will contest the Domino’s WD1 National Cup Final for the first time since 2023, following a 65-49 win over Templeogue BC in Parochial Hall on Saturday evening.

Georgie McGrath and Caitlin Gloeckner dovetailed in the right moments for Cleveland Rockets, while Niamh O’Leary was particularly strong defensively in her duel with Sofia Paska in the paint. The Templeogue star still managed to reach a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds, but without any secondary scoring, the Dublin side were just outgunned in key areas.

A cagey start saw Rockets open up an early 11-5 lead through good work inside by O’Leary and McGrath. Templeogue were moving the ball well and creating plenty of open looks for shooters like Hannah Byrne, who duly converted both her shots in the first quarter. Their biggest threat was held scoreless however. Sofia Paska couldn’t find a route to the basket until 8:45 remaining in the half and by this point her side were trailing 21-14.

Irish international Caitlin Gloeckner proved to be a thorn in the side of Templeogue head coach Mark Byrne throughout the contest. A controlled performance at the point allowed her to lead the team with an efficient 12 points in the opening half, giving Rockets a 36-27 lead at the interval. Ominously for Templeogue as they returned to the dressing room, that nine-point lead had been built with Cleveland shooting just 15% (2/13) from beyond the arc. 

Templeogue began the second half needing their outside shooters to catch fire to overturn the deficit, but they never really came close to igniting the touch paper. Hannah Murphy was the only player other than Paska to reach double-digits. Cleveland Rockets were able to tidy up their three-point efficiency in the closing 20-minutes and despite missing Aoibheann Donnelly, advance to contest the decider in two weeks’ time against either Limerick Sport Huskies or Moy Tolka Rovers.

Quarter Scores: 

Q1: 12-19, Q2: 15-17 Q3: 15-19, Q4: 7-7 

Game Scores:

Q1: 12-19, Q2: 27-36, Q3: 42-55, Q4: 49-65

Templeogue BC:

Katie Behan, Ava McCleane, Niamh Sherlock, Aoife O’Connell, Keeva Byrne, Sinead Byrne, Hannah Byrne, Lauren Darcy, Aoife Whelan, Hannah Murphy, Laura Byrne, Sofia Paska.

Cleveland Rockets:

Aoibheann Donnelly, Ciatlyn Gloeckner, Charley McGrath, Alyssa Jimenez, Emma Gilginn, Clare Chambers, Eimile Duffy, Georgie McGrath, Joanna Ryan, Laura McCann, Maeve Deery, Niamh O’Leary, Ruth Gallagher, Lucy Sherlock, Clare McGregor, Juste Rauluseviciute.