Wins for schools from Waterford, Galway and Dublin
The was double Schools League Cup joy for Galway’s Calasanctius College, winning the U16A Boys and U16A Girls titles at the National Basketball Arena on Thursday. The U19A Girls title was won by Mercy Waterford and the U19A Boys Schools League trophy went to Dublin side Coláiste Éanna.
The U16A Girls Schools League final was a thriller, which Calasanctius College won thanks to two nerveless free throws by Laoise Quinn following a foul on the final buzzer, to claim a 60-59 overtime win.
The game was in the balance throughout, with the lead exchanged multiple times and was level at 29-29 at half-time. Regina Mundi captain Ava Walshe forced overtime when she scored an excellently executed three point jump shot with 41 seconds to go.
The game’s pattern continued in overtime with the lead swapping multiple times. Aisling Coakley’s layup gave Regina Mundi at 59-58 lead with just 15 seconds to go, before a foul on the buzzer handed Calasanctius College a chance to win it and Quinn kept her composure to secure the title.
Quinn finished as her team’s top scorer on 22 points, with Aisling Jordan on 15 and Jessica Ross on 8. The MVP went to Regina Mundi’s Ava Walsh after her 28-point performance, their other top scorers were Aisling Coakley (10) and Lucie Healy (8).
Calasanctius College’s U16A Boys also had a narrow win, defeating Kerry’s SPSL Rathmore 50-48. There was little between the sides in the opening two quarters, just a point at separated them half-time, with the Galway side 29-28 in front.
Calasanctius College opened up a nine point advantage with 2’35 to go in the third quarter following Alvin Olagemi’s layup. An outrageous three point jump shot by John Hughes on the buzzer at the end of the third pulled SPSL Rathmore back into it, as they trailed 41-37 going into the 4th quarter.
With 2’08 to go the game was level at 47-47, following Conor Moynihan’s layup. The winning points came with 6.3 seconds to go with Tiernan Keane’s layup. He also drew a foul and added the extras to go 50-47 up. Kerry’s SPSL Rathmore picked up two free throws, converting one. With 3.9 seconds to go they had one last roll of the dice, John Hughes went for a three point jump shot from the corner, which didn’t land and Calasanctius College clung on to win. Calasanctius College's Alvin Olagemi was awarded the MVP, after his 15 point performance.
In the first game of the day Sarah Hickey inspired Mercy Waterford to success in the U19A Girls Schools League final, beating Loreto Kilkenny 72-54. Hickey, who plays in the MissQuote.ie Super League for WIT Waterford Wildcats, demonstrated her talents with a 30 point haul on her way to picking up the deserved MVP award.
Mercy Waterford, who are coached by WIT Waterford Wildcats head coach Tommy O’Mahony, opened up a 34-19 half-time lead. Loreto Kilkenny failed to make inroads in the second half, despite the best efforts of Lucy Coogan, another player plying her trade in the MissQuote.ie Super League, with IT Carlow Basketball. Coogan, who was also recently named in the Ireland U18 women’s squad scored 26 points, with Ruth Breen contributing 12 and Annah Doheny six for the side coached by Puff Summers, Ireland senior men’s assistant coach.
Caitlin Gloeckner, another in the Ireland U18 squad, scored 13 points for the winners, while Orla Dullaghan had 18 points.
The last game of the day saw Coláiste Éanna overcome St. Joseph’s (The Bish) 56-42.
The sides were level at 10-10 at the end of the first, before a strong second quarter from the Dublin school saw them outscore their opponents by 20-4, to lead 30-14 by half-time. Nathan Comerford’s layup in the closing seconds of the third saw Coláiste Éanna ahead by 20 points, 45-25. St. Joseph’s did narrow deficit in the fourth, but the day belonged to Coláiste Éanna whose supporters flooed the court afterwards in celebration. Shanay Shah picked up MVP after he racked up 20 points, while Comerford finished with 15 points for the victors and Viktor Lovic had 12. For St. Joseph’s their offence was led by Joseph Coughlan (17), Cian Carroll (8) and Rory O’Sullivan 7.
U19A Girls Schools League Final
Loreto Kilkenny 54- 72 Mercy Waterford (HT: 19-34)
Top scorers:
Loreto Kilkenny - Lucy Coogan 26, Ruth Breen 12, Anna Doheny 6.
Mercy Waterford – Sarah Hickey 30, Orla Dullaghan 18, Caitlin Gloeckner 13
U16A Girls Schools League Final
Calasanctius College 60-59 Regina Mundi (HT: 29-29)
Calasanctius College - Laoise Quinn 22, Aisling Jordan 15, Jessica Ross 8
Regina Mundi - Ava Walsh 28, Aisling Coakley 10, Lucie Healy
U16A Boys Schools League Final
Calasanctius College 50-48 SPSL Rathmore (HT: 29-28)
Calasanctius College - Alvin Olagemi 15, Alan Burke 9, Cillian Cannon 10
SPSL Rathmore - John Hughes 11, Padraig Moynihan 11, Conor Moynihan 9
U19A Boys Schools League Final
Coláiste Éanna 56-42 St. Joseph’s (The Bish) (HT: 30-14)
Top scorers:
Coláiste Éanna - Shanay Shah 20, Nathan Comerford 15, Viktor Lovic 12
St. Joseph’s (The Bish) - Joseph Coughlan 17, Cian Carroll 8, Rory O’Sullivan 7.
