The Address UCC Glanmire moved two points clear at top of MissQuote.ie Super League with win on Wednesday and face Singleton SuperValu Brunell on Saturday
The Address UCC Glanmire are two points clear at the top of the MissQuote.ie Super League after a 90-75 victory at WIT Waterford Wildcats on Wednesday night.
The game, which was a rescheduled Christmas fixture, saw Carrie Shephard hit 28 points for the victors, with Ireland international Áine McKenna landing 13 points and Mia Furlong 11.
The Address UCC Glanmiree head coach Mark Scannell gave his thoughts in the aftermath. “Very happy with the result tonight, 90 points and great all-round team performance. Our defence needs to improve, we allowed way too many open looks, but overall very good win in a tough gym against a very good team.”
For WIT Waterford Wildcats, Jaz Walker hit 26 points, with Rachel Thompson not far behind on 22 points, while Sarah Hickey and Abby Flynn had six points each. Their head coach Tommy O’Mahony said: “Glanmire are an outstanding basketball team. With so many threats, they are hard to contain. We managed to score the ball well, but our defence cost us in the end.”
Next up for leaders The Address UCC Glanmire is a home game with Singleton Supervalu Brunell on Saturday. It’s a repeat of last weekend’s InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup semi-final, which Mark Scannell’s side came out on top, 92-82, and he’s preparing himself for an intense battle. “I am looking forward to playing Brunell at home. We need to be ready for the backlash of the Cup win. Everyone is working hard and pushing each other for minutes and that’s what’s needed right now. We know how tough Brunell are and we must match their intensity.”
Tim O’Halloran, Singleton Supervalu Brunell head coach, is looking to put their recent defeat behind them. “After the disappointment of losing to Glanmire in the Cup last week, we look forward to playing them again in the league. It’s good to get back to it as soon as possible and look it helps when we still have goals we can achieve. Glanmire are a very good team, who are coached excellently and will be hard to beat, but if we can learn from our mistakes last week, hopefully we can get closer to then this time.”
WIT Waterford Wildcats, who also suffered Cup semi-final heartache last weekend, are away at Leixlip Amenities Liffey Celtics on Saturday. “Liffey is going to be another hard battle, they have a great record in their home gym, with some great players all over the court. We need to step up our defence if we are to be in with a shout of winning this game,” O’Mahony said.
Ioannis Liapakis, Leixlip Amenities Liffey Celtics head coach, added: “Saturday’s game is going to be a very difficult for many reasons - first of all we’re playing against one of the best teams in the league. Unfortunately we had big problems with Covid, which didn’t allow us to train and on top of that, we’re going to be with only one American player. Also, we haven’t played any games since December 18th, compared to Wildcats who have played two games in the last week. All the above problems helped us though to bond even more and we’re ready to fight together to overcome them. So it’s going to be a great challenge and we’re really looking forward to it.”
Saturday’s other game in the MissQuote.ie Super League sees Fr. Mathews hosting Team Garvey’s St. Mary’s. Niamh Dwyer, Fr. Mathews head coach, said: “We are looking forward to getting back the court after all the disruptions that have taken place. It will be great to play in the Arena again, when we welcome St Mary’s on Saturday. We will be looking to improve our performances from the first half of the season and it will start on Saturday night.”
Liam Culloty, Team Garvey’s St. Mary’s head coach, is hoping to banish any rust after a long time off court. “We are really looking forward to getting back on the floor, as it's been nearly a month since our last game. Like every team our training over the Christmas period was hampered by Covid, but we feel refreshed now and looking forward to start building some momentum over the second half of the league. Fr. Mathews were playing very well in the lead up to Christmas, so they will provide a very stern test on their home floor. In all, we are just glad to be back on the court and excited by the challenge ahead.”
Sunday’s opening game in the MissQuote.ie Super League sees IT Carlow Basketball host Killester. The Dublin club were 91-63 winners when they met in October and IT Carlow head coach Martin Conroy stated: “It’s going to be a tough game on Sunday. Killester are playing exceptionally well at the moment and know from our meeting earlier in the season just how good they can be.”
Karl Kilbride, Killester’s head coach, hailed Lucy Coogan’s performances this season ahead of the game. “We haven’t played a game in four weeks now, so to say we’re excited for this weekend is an understatement! We finished off the first half of the season with two good wins, and we’re hoping to start the second half of our season on a similar note.
“Carlow is a tough place to go and get a win. While they haven’t managed to come away with a win yet, they’ve shown patches in multiple games of being really effective. They have two good Americans, who can really shoot the ball and one of Basketball Ireland’s brightest underage stars in Lucy Coogan. The numbers Lucy has put up in her first year playing Super League are incredible. We’ll have to do a much better job guarding her this weekend, than we did first time around, if we’re going to start 2022 with the result we want.”
DCU Mercy, fresh off their 68-65 InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup semi-final win over WIT Waterford Wildcats host a Dublin derby against Trinity Meteors at DCU Arena. Trinity Meteors head coach, Vincent O’Keeffe, outlined the task at hand for his side. “DCU are coming off a very impressive Cup semi-final win and will be looking to maintain that good form going into the final next weekend. They have a strong core of players and their American combination is one of the best in the league. This will be our first game in close to a month, but we are slowly getting all our players back to full fitness after a torrid last few weeks.”
Tradehouse Central Ballincollig will put their InsureMyVan.ie Super League unbeaten record on the line when they travel to UCD Marian on Saturday. Head coach Kieran O’Sullivan is predicting a tough encounter, but is eager to return to the court. “The lads are very excited to get back playing after a four week layoff, due to various reasons. UCD are one of the smartest and experienced teams in the Super League - from top to bottom they have players who have played and won in this league for many years and play a cultured brand of basketball. We will need to execute our game plan and bring the energy in order for us to perform on Saturday night.”
Josko Srzic, UCD Marian head coach, hailed their upcoming opponents. “We will be playing against probably the best team in the league, still undefeated. They are in very good form, with group of well experienced players. Their main threat is Andre (Nation), who is doing a lot of good things for them on the court. We are looking forward on being able to play at UCD Sports Complex again this weekend.”
Killester host Garvey’s Tralee Warriors on Saturday and Killester head coach Brian O’Malley admits it’s be a difficult few weeks. “Great to be back playing, it’s been a tough month or so with Covid protocols and procedures dominating and of course you just want guys to be healthy and not be impacted by the virus. Tralee obviously are heading to the Cup final and congratulations to them, it's shows their quality to make it to the showpiece occasion. We've a huge amount of work to do making sure we're ready for the big challenge a team like Tralee bring.”
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors head coach, John Dowling, believes there’s “no bigger task” than a trip to Killester. “Brian and his team have done a great job this year, like most of us they have been up and down with players in and out from week to week. They have shown they can beat anybody at any time, so we will have to be firing on all cylinders to be in with a chance of winning. We are a team very much focused on the game and team we play next and we know that there Is no bigger task than Killester in the IWA.”
The other Pat Duffy Cup finalists in the InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup, C&S Neptune, won’t be in action this weekend, they were due to play at Belfast Star, but that game has been postponed at the request of the Cork club, as they prepare for the Pat Duffy Cup final. Garvey’s Tralee Warriors were also offered the opportunity to sit out this weekend, but elected to play at Killester.
There is one other postponement, North Conference leaders DBS Éanna, having lost to Garvey’s Tralee Warriors in the InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup semi-finals, will have to wait to try and banish those memories, their game at Team 360 Financial Killorglin is postponed due to Covid-19.
On the court, Moycullen, who registered a 67-60 victory at Bright DCU Saints last weekend, their first league win of the season, have another trip to Dublin on Saturday. The County Galway club take on Griffith College Templeogue. John Cunningham, Moycullen head coach, is looking to build on that success. “Delighted to get the win last week, but Templeogue this weekend is a big step up. They’re an experienced outfit, who know each other very well and Lorcan Murphy brings that x-factor through his athleticism that allows him to just go and find a basket when needed. We’ve only beaten them once since I took charge and that was the only time we’ve held them below 80 points. Defence has to be the starting point, as them scoring 80 makes it an impossible task. In our favour, we’ve been improving on that front from game to game. Saturday will tell us if we’ve improved enough.”
Mark Keenan, Griffith College Templeogue head coach, added: “We’re all looking forward to getting back into competition after the Christmas break. Moycullen will be high in confidence after their win last week against DCU Saints. We need to get the second half of our season off to a good start. It will be all about getting the right result on Saturday.”
NUIG Maree are also looking to put their InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup semi-final heartache behind them, they welcome Bright DCU Saints and Charlie Crowley, NUIG Maree head coach has immediately turned his focus on a league playoff spot. “DCU Saints are a very good outfit. They will be tough matchup with their American inside, surrounded by some top notch outside shooters. We look forward to getting back home after being eliminated from the Cup last weekend. It’s normal for the lads to be disappointed, but it’s all about how we react to the tough semi-final loss. Our next goal is securing a playoff berth, and a difficult home game this weekend is the next step towards that goal.”
Gareth Winders, Bright DCU Saints head coach, stated “We will be looking to step up against NUIG Maree this weekend. We know that they will be looking to put last weekend’s Cup loss behind them. It can be hard to switch back to league business after the Cup run they had, but they are a good team and no doubt will be focused on us. It will be important that we are ready to meet them head on. We have a great performance in us and will to see if this weekend we can put it on the floor.”
In InsureMyVan.ie Division 1 there are three games postponed. Two are due to Covid-19 - Drogheda Wolves versus McGowans Tolka Rovers and Scotts Lakers Killarney against IT Carlow Basketball. Issues with venues has forced the Limerick Sport Eagles versus Limerick Celtics, while LYIT Donegal’s game with EJ Sligo All-Stars is in doubt for the same reason.
Unbeaten UCC Demons host Fr. Mathews on Friday night, while on Saturday Abbey Seals Dublin Lions take on Titans and Ulster University play Grand Hotel Malahide. There is one game on Sunday, Portlaoise Panthers versus Killarney Cougars.
In MissQuote.ie Division 1 it is a full round of fixtures, on Saturday there’s a Limerick derby as Limerick Celtics host Limerick Sport Huskies, NUIG Mystics play Tipperary Knights, it’s Ulster University against LYIT Donegal and Portlaoise Panthers versus Marble City Hawks. On Sunday Phoenix Rockets are at home to Griffith College Templeogue.
MissQuote.ie Super League result:
Wednesday 12th January
WIT Waterford Wildcats 75-90 The Address UCC Glanmire, Mercy SS Waterford
Half-time: 41-47
Top scorers:
WIT Waterford Wildcats - Jaz Walker 26, Rachel Thompson 22, Sarah Hickey 6, Abby Flynn 6
The Address UCC Glanmire - Carrie Shephard 28, Áine McKenna 13, Mia Furlong 11
MissQuote.ie Super League fixtures:
Saturday 15th January
The Address UCC Glanmire v Singleton Supervalu Brunell, Mardyke Arena, 1630
Fr. Mathews v Team Garvey’s St. Mary’s, Fr. Mathews Arena, 1700
Leixlip Amenities Liffey Celtics v WIT Waterford Wildcats, Leixlip Amenities Centre, 1800
Sunday 16th January
IT Carlow Basketball v Killester, Barrow Centre, 1330
DCU Mercy v Trinity Meteors, DCU Arena, 1430
InsureMyVan.ie Super League fixtures:
Saturday 15th January
Griffith College Templeogue v Moycullen, Nord Anglia International School, 1700
Killester v Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, IWA Clontarf, 1700
NUIG Maree v Bright DCU Saints, NUIG Sports Centre, 1800
UCD Marian v Tradehouse Central Ballincollig, UCD Sports Centre, 1800
Team 360 Financial Killorglin v DBS Éanna, Killorglin Sports Complex, 1815 POSTPONED
Belfast Star v C&S Neptune, De La Salle College, 1830 POSTPONED
MissQuote.ie Division 1 fixtures:
Saturday 15th January
NUIG Mystics v Tipperary Knights, NUIG Kingfisher, 1500
Ulster University v LYIT Donegal, UUJ, 1700
Limerick Celtics v Limerick Sport Huskies, St Munchins College, 1700
Portlaoise Panthers v Marble City Hawks, St. Mary’s Hall, 1800
Sunday 16th January
Phoenix Rockets v Griffith College Templeogue, Lisburn Racquets Club, 1430
InsureMyVan.ie Division 1 fixtures:
Friday 14th January
UCC Demons v Fr. Mathews, Mardyke Arena, 1830
Saturday 15th January
Abbey Seals Dublin Lions v Titans, Coláiste Brid, 1730
Drogheda Wolves v McGowans Tolka Rovers, 1815 POSTPONED
Scotts Lakers Killarney v IT Carlow Basketball, Killarney Sports Centre, 1815 POSTPONED
Limerick Sport Eagles v Limerick Celtics, UL Arena, 1900 POSTPONED
Ulster University v Grand Hotel Malahide, UUJ, 1930
Sunday 16th January
Portlaoise Panthers v Killarney Cougars, St. Mary’s Hall, 1445
LYIT Donegal v EJ Sligo All-Stars, LYIT, 1500 POSTPONED
