Utility Trust St. Paul’s Killarney have lost in the ¼ final of the Dominos Women’s Super League.
They went down 71-63 to FloMAX Liffey Celtics.
Enda Walshe reports
Weekend review:
FloMAX Liffey Celtics pulled off the upset of the weekend in the Domino's Women's Super League playoffs, defeating second seeds Utility Trust St. Paul's Killarney, 71-65, in Aura Killarney. Brooke Kane and Destinee Bursch led the charge for Celtics, with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Top seeds Killester were 61-50 winners over McEvoy's Cavan Eagles, third seeds UCC Glanmire edged Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell 82-78, while Trinity Meteors narrowly got past SETU Waterford Wildcats, 72-69.
Utility Trust St. Paul's Killarney made a fast opening to their quarter-final against FloMAX Liffey Celtics with a Tara Cousins score helping them to an early 12-4 lead. Celtics closed in on them late in the quarter, with Brooke Kane hitting a three to reduce the lead to 21-17 at the end of the first. The second quarter was a very back-and-forth affair, with every score by Killarney being responded with a score from Celtics. Áine O'Connor and Sorcha Tiernan hit free-throws inside the final minute of the first-half, to cut the deficit to three points with St. Paul's up 35-32 at the interval.
Celtics managed to start the third quarter brightly and were rewarded for their efforts when Bursch and Kane made a 5-0 run together to give Celtics a 43-42 lead midway through the period. They continued to show resolve and hold firm on their lead to take a two-point advantage into the final quarter. With just under two minutes left, the sides were tied at 63-63, when Celtics' O'Connor hit a three to make it 66-63, which was then followed by a Sorcha Tiernan three to give Celtics a six-point lead, which would be held onto after a pair of free-throws from Katie Williamson to pull off a shock victory.
Liffey Celtics will now travel to Cork to take on UCC Glanmire, who managed to overcome local rivals Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell, in an 82-78 triumph. Jewel Watkins kept her team-leading form going with a 26-point performance, alongside 33 points from the supporting duo of Annaliese Murphy and Viane Cumber.
The Cork derby kicked off as cagey as expected, both sides cancelling each other out on the court, with seven fouls in the first quarter between the teams in a quarter that ended 13-12 to Brunell. The second period was a lot more open on the offensive end, with Glanmire scoring 30 points, with Watkins scoring 15 in the second quarter, to open up an 11-point lead at 42-31 going into the break.
Brunell came roaring back after the break, with tough finishes from Kyaja Williams and Brailyn Joseph, along with a big three from Francesca Kyamagero, bringing Brunell to within four points at 49-45 midway through the third. The final quarter went down to the wire, with Irish international Edel Thornton scoring Brunell’s final five points inside the final minute of play to bring the score to 80-78. However, a score from recent Ireland international debutant Emer Dunne for Glanmire iced the game in the final seconds, to give Glanmire the four-point triumph.
Top seeds Killester advanced to the playoff semi-finals, after a 61-50 win over McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles in the IWA on Saturday evening. Samantha Haiby had her strongest game since her return from injury, scoring 18 points, grabbing seven rebounds and five assists.
Killester put pressure on from the jump, letting in just three points in the entire first period, going into the second quarter leading 18-3. Eagles came roaring back in the second quarter, with Niamh Tolan scoring 10 of her 17 points in the quarter before the half-time break. Following a late flurry that included scores from Sophie Staunton and Ciara Tolan, Eagles reduced the deficit to eight at half-time, with the score 32-24 to Killester. Killester held firm after the interval, shooting a relatively promising 6-14 from the field in the third quarter on their way to 18 points, which extended their lead to 50-39. Following a tight fourth quarter, Killester held on to secure the 11-point triumph.
Killester will welcome Trinity Meteors in the semi-finals. Trinity Meteors fended off a late comeback from SETU Waterford Wildcats to book their place in the last four, with a 72-69 victory at Trinity Sports Centre. Irish international Hazel Finn and Franciska Treiliha scored 30 points between them, along with a strong game from Ava Learn. She scored 11 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for Meteors. For Wildcats, Irish international Sarah Hickey led the way with 25 points, along with 16 points from Alyssa Frescas and 12 from Tiarra Brown.
Despite the fightback from Wildcats, they never managed to take the lead at any point during the game. They managed to cut Meteors largest lead of the game to 18 points, down to just one point with a minute to go. Finn managed to weave her way through the core of the Wildcats defence for a good finish at the rim to score, in what would prove to be the decisive basket and book Meteors' place in the next round.
