InsureMyVan.ie / MissQuote.ie National Leagues Round-up

Ninth InsureMyVan.ie Super League win in a row for Tradehouse Central Ballincollig ; The Address UCC Glanmire have double win week in MissQuote.ie Super League
16/01/22

Full results & upcoming fixtures at bottom of page

InsureMyVan.ie Super League

Kason Harrell, Killester BC

Brian O'Malley, head coach for Killester, had praise for his team following their home win. "Delighted to get the win, we had a really good second quarter and got on top of them. They rallied back in the third which is credit to them, they hit a lot of threes and turned us over a bit but Kason made some huge plays and we were able to move it back out to double digits. The momentum was with us then and thankfully we were able to see it out in the end", voiced O'Malley.

The other fixtures set for this weekend in the InsureMyVan.ie Super League were postponed due to Covid-19 - NUIG Maree v Bright DCU Saints, Team 360 Financial Killorglin v DBS Éanna, Belfast Star v C&S Neptune.

MissQuote.ie Super League

In the MissQuote.ie Super League, it's been an enjoyable few days for The Address UCC Glanmire, as they followed up last weekend's semi-final win in the InsureMyHouse.ie Paudie O'Connor Cup with a pair of Super League victories this week. On Wednesday they defeated home team Waterford Wildcats (90-75), thanks to scoring from Carrie Sheppard (28 points), Áine McKenna (13 points) and Mia Furlong (11 points). Wildcats were well represented by Jaz Walker (26 points) and Rachel Thompson (22 points) in the clash.

Following this win, Glanmire outscored fellow Cork side Singleton SuperValu Brunell in their game on Saturday. It was new recruit Tierney Pfirman who led the scoring this time around for The Address UCC Glanmire, collecting 23 points in the encounter. Áine McKenna was also strong on the board, scoring 21, with Carrie Sheppard (20) and Claire Melia (17) also making their presence felt. Shannon Ryan was impressive for Singleton SuperValu Brunell, scoring 29 points for her side. This effort was bolstered by Kwanza Murray's 20 points, and Edel Thornton's 16, but it was enough in the end and Glanmire achieved the win (92-81).

Praise for both sides came from The Address UCC Glanmire head coach Mark Scannell. "Very good game of basketball - both teams went for it and we are delighted to get out of it with a win. We had great all around scoring again today and a great performance from Tierney who has settled in really well. Our defense can get better and we really need to focus on that next week as we can now prepare for the Cup final.

"The last two games have been brilliant preparation and will stand to us. Brunell are very good and always cause us problems and we learned a lot today. So we can park the league now and get ready for the cup final", said Scannell. The Address UCC Glanmire face DCU Mercy in the InsureMyHouse.ie Paudie O'Connor Cup final next weekend (Sunday 23rd January - 17.20).

Fr. Mathews made it a second Super League win in a row as they overcame Team Garvey's St. Mary's on Saturday (84-79). Trailing by 15 at half-time, Fr. Mathews fought hard in the latter half to draw level and force overtime (70-70). This extra time gave them the space they needed to outlast their visitors, winning by five points in the end. Gráinne O'Dwyer was their leader on the scoreboard along with Shannon Brady, as they both scores 21 points. Trish Byrne (13 points) and Amy Murphy (12 points) also represented well. Lorraine Scanlon was a driving force for Team Garvey's St. Mary's when it came to scoring, adding 30 points herself to the total. Her efforts were reinforced by Deirdre Geaney (12 points), and Rheanne O'Shea & Paris McCarthy (10 points each).

Niamh Dwyer, head coach for Fr. Mathews, was proud of the resilience her side showed in the clash. "It was a tough game today after such a long lay off. Castleisland made us work hard for this win - and credit to them for the way they took on game without an American. We showed a lot of team spirit to come back and take the win, but we will be  looking to improve our performance", voiced Dywer.

Despite the loss, it wasn't a bad weekend for Paris McCarthy of Team Garvey's St. Mary's, who announced committing to East Tennessee State University to further her basketball career on Saturday.

WIT Waterford Wildcats bounced back from their loss to Glanmire during the week, as they beat Leixlip Amenities Liffey Celtics on their home soil on Saturday (98-75). Rachel Thompson was their top shooter in the game, finishing out with a strong 30 points for the game. Sarah Hickey scored 23 of her own for the visitors, and Jasmin Walker had 16. Adrienne Jackson (22 points) and Ciara Bracken (19 points) shot very well for Celtics, but it wasn't enough to outperform the visitors from Waterford.

WIT Waterford Wildcats head coach Tommy O'Mahony was happy with the result, but also saw some areas for improvement in his side. "Overall great team performance, Liffey Celtics have a lot of fire power and we did well to contain them. Our offence has improved over the last two games, but we are not happy with out defence intensity. we will work hard to rectify those mistakes over the next two weeks to be ready for out next game against Trinity Meteors" explained O'Mahony.

On Sunday, Killester proved too much for hosts IT Carlow in their contest, where Killester had a comfortable win (83-58). IT Carlow's Alyssa Velles was top scorer in the game with 28 points. Her teammate Lauren LaPlant (14 points) also represented well on the scoreboard. Killester had some good shooters in the contest, with Myah Taylor (26 points), Shannon Powell (16 points), Michelle Clarke (15 points).

In the final Super League game of the weekend, it was a Dublin derby duked out by DCU Mercy and Trinity Meteors. Following on from achieving their spot in the InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup finals last weekend, DCU Mercy were flying high, and this confidence showed as they beat Trinity Meteors by 19 points in the fixture. Bailey Greenberg shot 16 for DCU Mercy, and Hannah Thornton represented well also with 15 points. The DCU Mercy trio of Rachel Huijsdens, Nicole Clancy & Maeve Phelan had 10 each. Top scorers for Trinity Meteors were found in Takyra Gilbert (15 points), Dayna Finn (14 points) & Ella O’Donnell (6 points).

DCU Mercy head coach Mark Ingle was pleased with the result. "Good win today for us versus Trinity Meteors as they have added a couple of good players to their squad, while we were missing a couple. Good performances from Nicole Clancy, Maeve Phelan, Ciara Mulligan and Hannah Thornton paved the way for the W" said Ingle after the game.

InsureMyVan.ie Division 1

In the InsureMyVan.ie Division 1, UCC Demons continued their winning ways with a victory over Fr. Mathews, after having secured their spot in the InsureMyHouse.ie Presidents Cup Final last weekend. Tala Fam Thiam (26 points) and Tobias Christensen (24 points) led the scoring for UCC Demons. Jonathan Garcia (21 points) and Diego Herlihy (18 points) were strong on offense for Fr. Mathews.

Abbey Seals Dublin Lions had a big victory over Titans on Saturday, winning with a 28-point margin (88-60). The Dublin team had Finn Hughes (21 points) and Jack Maguire (18 points) to thank for much of their tally. Titans had top scorers in Joseph Coughlan (18 points) and Comhghall McCormack (15 points).

Ulster University hosted Grand Hotel Malahide in their fixture, with the northern team taking the points (82-74). Conor O'Sullivan was top gun for Ulster University, notching 28 of their total tally, while Shane O'Connor (17 points) also scored well for them. Trevor Recio (25 points) impressed for Grand Hotel Malahide, and Kevin Foley made his presence felt with his 17 points.

On Sunday, Portlaoise Panthers defeated Killarney Cougars well when they hosted them, winning by 25 points (84-59). There was good scoring from players on both sides; Portlaoise Panthers had their top scorers in Gary Morrissey (18 points), Rian O'Connell (14 points), Liam Kinsella (11 points), while Killarney Cougars scoring came mainly from Andrew Fitzgerald (16 points), Justin Tuason (15 points) and Mark O'Shea (14 points).

Four games were postponed in the InsureMyVan.ie Division 1 this weekend - Drogheda Wolves v McGowans Tolka Rovers, Scotts Lakers Killarney v IT Carlow Basketball, Limerick Sport Eagles v Limerick Celtics, LYIT Donegal v EJ Sligo All-Stars.

MissQuote.ie Division 1

It was a full round of action in the MissQuote.ie Division 1 this weekend. NUIG Mystics got the better of Tipperary Knights in their clash, winning 92-65. NUIG Mystics had Áine McDonagh (17 points) and Hazel Finn (16 points) to thank for their efforts in attack. Tipperary Knights had top scoring from Lilla Szucs (16 points) and Emma Carey (14 points).

Ulster University had a convincing win over LYIT Donegal in their clash, winning by 37 points at the final claxon (92-55). Aoife Callaghan was very effective for Ulster University, scoring 25 points, while her teammate Lexi Posset was next top with 14. Nakycea Boodie (18 points) and Shannon Cunningham (15 points) scored strongest for LYIT Donegal.

In the Limerick derby, it was Limerick Sport Huskies who got the upper hand against Limerick Celtics (93-74). Yulesek Paolo (29 points) was integral to Limerick Sport Huskies' win, and her efforts were bolstered by the scoring of Cathy Grant (15 points) and Sophie Moore (13 points). Danielle O'Leary (27 points) and Sofia Paska (24 points) were top scorers for Limerick Celtics.

Portlaoise Panthers won well against Marble City Hawks as they hosted the Kilkenny based team on Saturday. Sarah Fleming (17 points) and Antigonie Sanabria (14 points) led the way for Portlaoise Panthers in their scoring. Áine Sheehy was top scorer for Marble City Hawks with 15 points.

The final game of the weekend in the MissQuote.ie Division 1 was played out by Griffith College Templeogue and Phoenix Rockets, where it was Griffith College Templeogue who took the win by eight points (65-57). 

Next weekend brings the InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup Finals to the National Basketball Arena in Dublin. The action begins on Friday 21^st January, and runs across the weekend. All games will be streamed live on the Basketball Ireland YouTube channel, with the Super League finals set to be broadcast by TG4.

InsureMyVan.ie Super League Results

Saturday 15th January

Griffith College Templeogue 71 - 68 Moycullen

Killester 102 - 87 Garvey’s Tralee Warriors

NUIG Maree v Bright DCU Saints POSTPONED

UCD Marian 70 - 70 (83 - 84 OT) 

Team 360 Financial Killorglin v DBS Éanna POSTPONED

Belfast Star v C&S Neptune POSTPONED