Killester won their fifth Domino’s WSL National Cup, defeating FloMAX Liffey Celtics 70-64, avenging last season’s defeat in the final to the same opponents. Samantha Haiby picked up the MVP with 30 points, followed closely by 20-point performance from Killester captain Michelle Clarke.
Clarke certainly led by example in the opening minutes, landing two three’s, as she grabbed eight of Killester’s opening 11 points, to help the Dublin side into an early 11-7 lead. FloMAX Liffey Celtics were back level at 11 apiece, following two Brooke Kane free throws midway through the quarter. A nice step-back jump shot from Sorcha Tiernan put Liffey Celtics 13-12 up with a little over three minutes to go in the quarter and they’d be 17-14 up by the end of it.
Another Clarke three brought Killester level at 19-19 two minutes into the second quarter. But FloMAX Liffey Celtics built a lead once more, back-to-back scores from Destinee Bursch had them 33-26 ahead. A Haiby rebound and additional free throw reduced the deficit not long afterwards. The gap would be just two by the break, 36-34, following a Laura McFarland jump shot and a Hannah Thornton free throw for Killester in the final minute.
Clarke’s fourth three at the start of the third quarter brought her tally to 16 at that stage and put her side back in front, 37-36. Haiby downed a three and picked up an extra free throw, to put Killester 41-38 ahead two and a half minutes into the quarter.
A Brooke Kane putback basket and additional free throw saw Liffey Celtics trail 47-46 with four minutes to go. But within 30 seconds Killester were up by six, 52-46, following a Haiby basket and a corner three by Ieva Bagdanavicience. Clarke followed with a jump shot and the momentum was with Mark Grennell’s team. Tiernan landed a big three, to reduce the deficit to four, 54-50, with two minutes left, but a Thornton layup in the final seconds made it a six point game, 56-50 to Killester.
Haiby had clicked into gear and her driving layup and additional free throw had Killester 59-51 ahead in the early stages of the fourth quarter. Liffey Celtics needed a response, midway through the quarter a corner three by Clara Boye made it a five point game, they trailed 61-56. An Aine O’Connor layup with 2’20” on the clock and the Liffey Celtics captain had her side trailing by four, 62-58. The Kildare side lost Kane to her fifth foul shortly afterwards, which was a huge blow to their hopes of a comeback. That was further dented by a corner three from the electric Haiby, Killester led 67-58 with 1’40 to go. Liffey Celtics’ Tiernan wasn’t going to go down without a fight and back-to-back three’s made it a three point game 67-64 with 26.6 seconds left. The last word went to Haiby, three free throws in the closing seconds got Killester over the line.
Killester captain Clarke, who picked up her third Paudie O’Connor Cup, said: “It has been so hard-fought for, it didn’t happen overnight, we’ve been through the lows of lows and building on the highs of highs at the moment and enjoying every minute of it, so thrilled with the win.”
Asked about whether last year’s final defeat was a motivator, she added: “It’s incredible, to be honest it really left a bitter taste in our mouth, because that performance we put in (last year) wasn’t us, it can happen to anyone on Cup finals day and we’re so happy we were able to right that wrong today. The first half wasn’t our best basketball and I just kept saying throughout the game, imagine when they start going in, imagine when we start putting these plays together and finishing them, and we did that down the stretch and I am so happy.”
Quarter Scores:
Q1: 17-14, Q2: 19-20, Q3: 14-22, Q4: 14-14
Game Scores:
Q1: 17-14, Q2: 36-34, Q3: 50-56, Q4: 64-70
FloMAX Liffey Celtics:
Brooke Kane (7), Crea Langan (DNP), Kate O’Flaherty (0), Sarah Brady (DNP) Aoibhinn Doyle (0), Katie Williamson (13), Destineee Bursch (15), Carley Njonguo (DNP), Clara Boyce (3), Sorcha Tiernan (23), Erin Boyce (DNP), Aine O’Connor (3).
Killester:
Michelle Clarke (20), Samantha Haiby (30), Leilani Turner (0), Sarah Courtney (DNP), Sarah Power (DNP), Audrey Roden (3), Laura McFarland (2), Ieva Bagdanaviciene (8), Hannah Thornton (7), Maeve O’Seaghdha (0).
Limerick Sport Eagles defeated Drogheda Wolves 83-67 to lift the Domino’s MD1 National Cup at the National Basketball Arena on Sunday. Ryan Leonard earned MVP for his 24-point performance.
Drogheda Wolves made a good start to the game, showing strength in the paint with Chima Obikwelu getting a tough putback score to make it 4-2 to Drogheda four minutes into the game.
Eagles rallied well and managed to go on a run, which was capped off with a Darragh Horkan three to give them a 15-8 lead midway through the opening quarter. Francisco Dias nailed a very difficult contested three to cut Eagles lead to five points, 18-13, the momentum started to shift as Wolves went on a 5-0 run through scores from Jackson and Franiciszek Chmielecki to make it a one-score game, 20-18, with just under a minute to go in the first.
In the opening moments of the second quarter, Dimitrios Theocharis drilled a three in front of the Wolves bench to bring them within a point, trailing 24-23. Leonard and Alex Carlisle added points for Eagles to extend the lead to eight points at 35-27 with six minutes left in the quarter.
Momentum started to shift in favour of Drogheda Wolves, as Vernon Jackson’s basket and free throw cut the deficit to five points, 35-30. Dias then came up with a huge block which led to a fast-break score for Dimitrios Theocharis. He then hit a three himself to tie up the game at 35-35 halfway through the period.
Limerick Sport Eagles managed to nudge themselves back in front before the break, with Carlisle and Tobias Christensen hitting free-throws in the final two minutes, to hand Niall McDermott’s side a 47-44 lead.
Drogheda Wolves again made a strong start to the quarter, Chmielecki getting a handful of early baskets, including a big score through contact at the rim to keep Eagles in touching distance hallway through the quarter at 54-50. Eagles came roaring back with two Leonard three’s and a Carlisle and-one inside the final two minutes to send Eagles into the final quarter ahead by ten points, 66-56.
Wolves reduced Eagles lead to six points following two Theocharis scores in the opening 30 seconds of the fourth to make it 66-60. Eagles then really started to apply pressure, going on a 13-0 run, with Darragh Horkan getting five of those points, including a big three with four minutes to go, to cap off the run and push Eagles to 79-60.
Wolves managed to reduce the lead down to 15 points at 79-64, but that was as close as they got, with the Eagles holding out and winning the contest by 16.
Quarter Scores:
Q1: 24-18, Q2: 23-26, Q3: 19-12, Q4: 17-11
Game Scores:
Q1: 24-18, Q2: 47-44, Q3: 66-56, Q4: 83-67
Limerick Sport Eagles:
Ronan Cregan (0), Jake Moore (0), Danny Shahab (0), Kirill Yakovlev (0), Ryan Leonard (24), Fred Klimas (2), Colm Hackett (2), Darragh Horkan (16), Ajay Ryan Walsh (0), Sean Ryan (3), Alex Carlisle (21), Toby Christensen (15).
Drogheda Wolves:
Cian Crowley (2), Dimitrios Theocharis (18), Robert Sullivan (0), David Sedeno (0), Chima Obikwelu (8), Vernon Deshaun Jackson (16), Thibaut Njuguna (0), David Oputa (4), Lukas Saltmeris (0), Franiciszek Chmielecki (10), Simon Horkan (0), Francisco Antonio Cruz Dias (9).
Limerick Sport Huskies secure Domino's WD1 National Cup after 73-65 win over Cleveland Rockets
Limerick Sport Huskies beat Cleveland Rockets to win the Domino’s WD1 National Cup,with MVP Clara Gomez getting a double-double of 25 points and 18 rebounds, while therewas a 23-point game from Shelby Harmeyer.
In the first quarter, Rockets started the stronger of the two sides with Alyssa Jimenez getting a big block and turning it into a score on the fast-break to give Rockets an early 4-2 lead. Midway through the first quarter, Jimenez then hit a three to open up a 12-6 lead for Rockets.
Huskies started to slowly work their way back into the game through the work of Hannah Cremin. Cremin hit free throws with 90 seconds left in the quarter to cut the lead to just two points at 12-10.
In the early moments of the second quarter, Cremin kept the Huskies momentum going with a tough finish inside, to keep Rockets within touching distance at 14-12. Rockets then instantly responded with a Jimenez three to make it 17-12.
Rockets managed to build a gap through a corner three from Eimile Rogers-Duffy to make it 22-14 with six minutes left in the quarter. Huskies came roaring back late in the second, and their efforts were rewarded with just under two minutes remaining when Cathy Grant scored a floater to give Huskies a 28-27 lead and they’d have narrow 30-29 advantage at half-time.
Huskies opened the third quarter with a big three from Harmeyer to put them 33-29 up. But it was instantly pushed back through another Jimenez three to give Rockets some momentum.
Both sides began to exchange scores, with Rockets finding more success through a Charley McGrath three from the wing to give them a 41-37 lead with four minutes gone in the third. Caitlin Gloeckner then made two big three’s in a row to give Rockets a commanding ten-point lead midway through the third at 47-37.
With less than ten seconds left on the clock, Harmeyer drilled a massive three at the top of the key to nudge Huskies in front, 53-52, going into the fourth quarter.
Both teams came out in the final quarter making baskets and playing at high-pace.
Jimenez nailed her fifth three of the afternoon to tie the game up at 59-59 with two minutes gone in the fourth. Gomez stepped up with two tough finishes at the rim in a row, to give Huskies a four-point lead at 69-65 with a minute to go. Harmeyer would follow up with free-throws to ensure that Huskies secured the Domino’s WD1 National Cup title.
Speaking on the win, Shelby Harmeyer said "After last year I felt like I let everyone down so I was very excited to play in the Arena again".
After receiving the MVP award, Clara Gomez said "I am so proud of this team. they are the reason I have got this. They push me every day and have been really welcoming for me with this team".
Quarter Scores:
Q1: 14-10, Q2: 15-20, Q3: 23-23, Q4: 13-20
Game Scores:
Q1: 14-10, Q2: 29-30, Q3: 52-53, Q4: 65-73
Cleveland Rockets:
Charley McGrath (6), Maeve Deery (0), Aoibheann Donnelly (0), Eimile Rogers-Duffy (8), Lucy Sherlock (0), Joanna Ryan (0), Caitlin Gloeckner (10), Alyssa Jimenez (26), Georgie McGrath (13), Niamh O’Leary (2), Ruth Gallagher (0).
Limerick Sport Huskies:
Orlaith Woods (8), Fiona O’Connell (0), Tori Spencer (0), Hannah Cremin (9), Cathy Grant (2), Simone O’Shea (2), Emilie Hamel (0), Clara Gomez Santa (25), Sophie Moore (4), Shelby Harmeyer (23).
Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell win Ken Clarke U20 Women's National Cup
Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell lifted the Ken Clarke U20 Women’s National Cup, following a 59-46 win over Templeogue. Abbie Lyons claimed the MVP after her 13 point and seven rebound performance, but there were a number of players that stood out for the victors, chief among them was Francesca Kyamagero, who finished with 15 points and 18 rebounds.
It was a tight opening quarter, Templeogue edging it 15-14. Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell opened the second quarter with five unanswered points, thanks to Ava Walsh’s three and a Lyons basket. Templeogue snapped that run with a nice turnaround jumpshot from Victoria Tinubu, to trail 19-17 two and a half minutes in. Brunell responded immediately with a three from Jean Aherne. A long three by Grace Miley and a putback by Tinubu and it was 22-22 each at the midpoint of the quarter.
Templeogue edged ahead at the end of the second, back-to-back three’s from Keeva Byrne put them 29-24 up with two and a half minutes to go. Down the stretch a driving layup from Eabha Booth and a Miley free throw helped the Dublin club into a 32-27 half-time lead.
Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell started the third with a nine point run, to put their noses in front, a layup by Lyons and a Walsh free throw finishing that sequence and they were 36-32 ahead. The Cork side were ahead by five with a little over two and a half minutes to go, following a Lyons three and it was 41-36. It would be 44-38 after Kyamagero was given far too much space to land a three in the closing seconds of the quarter.
Brunell were up by nine, 51-42, when Aherne landed her third three of the contest with six minutes to go. Templeogue kept themselves in contention, a layup by Emma Johannson and they were 52-46 behind with 2’12 to go.
Ireland underage international Kyamagero wasn’t going to let this one slip for Brunell, she drained a three and followed it with a driving layup, to put them 59-46 up with 42 seconds remaining to help them get over the line.
Speaking afterwards Kyamagero said: “It was really good, it was my first National Cup, so it was great to win it, my first year with Brunell, so I am really glad we won. After last night (in the U18’s Cup final) we had to make sure we won today.”
Asked what was key to victory, she added: “I think we moved the ball really well, we all took part and we all had our part in it and I think our defence was really good as well.”
Quarter Scores:
Q1: 15-14, Q2: 17-13, Q3: 6-17, Q4: 8-15
Game Scores:
Q1: 15-14, Q2: 32-27, Q3: 38-44, Q4: 46-59
Templeogue:
Victoria Tinubu (6), Maia Cromer (0), Liliyah Waters (0), Sophie Gallagher (2), Sarah Gallagher (2), Sarah Garvey (0), Keeva Byrne (6), Grace Miley (12), Katie Behan (4), Sophie Dempsey (4), Eabha Booth (8), Emma Johannson (2), Lauren Bradshaw (2).
Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell:
Jean Aherne (9), Clodagh Downey (6), Sophie O’Keeffe (DNP), Abbie Lyons (13), Rachel Bowdren (0), Laura Hannigan (0), Francesca Kyamagero (15), McKenzie Lucey (DNP), Ava Walsh (16), Mia Lynch (0), Lilli Hughes (DNP), Bolu Ugwah (0).
