WOMEN'S SUPERLEAGUE ROUND UP
18th Jan 2009
Team Montenotte Hotel Cork suffered a shocking loss at home to UL Aughinish, DCU Mercy returned to the summit of the table after their win over Meteors, Wildcats sealed the deal at home to Tolka Rovers and DART narrowly missed their first victory of the season.
Team Montenotte Hotel Cork’s preparations for next Sunday’s final with Waterford Wildcats were dented with a 73-65 defeat at home to UL Aughinish.
The win has given UL a huge boost as they look to make an impact in the closing months of the season.
"We were leading for the whole game and we deserved to win," said UL Head Coach Sasa Punosevac.
"I knew we would play good defense but I’m also proud of the Irish players’ offense. The players followed the tactics we practiced and the game went the way we predicted."
Meanwhile, it was the perfect response for Mercy, who were denied a place in the National Cup final by virtue of a late three from Montenotte’s Niamh Dwyer last weekend and made their statement with a 16 point victory at Meteors’ expense, 77-61.
"We weren’t at our best after what has been a tough week for the side," said Mercy Head Coach Mark Ingle.
"Meteors put up a very spirited performance under their new Head Coach Dave Biggins. Our side were a little drained after last week’s efforts but we got the result and it keeps us going on the league front."
Meanwhile, in Waterford, the Wildcats inflicted more woe on Tolka Rovers as they easily picked up their second victory in a week against the Dublin team, 83-47.
It was a low scoring night for Tolka stars, Eva Cunningham and Jolie Niland who only netted 23 points in a combined effort.
Both teams started strong but Waterford quickly gained momentum with consecutive baskets by Mel Thomas and Michelle Aspell. Tolka fell behind by the 3rd quarter and could not catch the Cup finalists.
Waterford travel to the National Cup final next weekend buoyed by the 83-47 success.
DART Killester’s searched for their first win of the season but fell short by merely one point at the hands of LeisureWorld Churchfield Iona. The heartbreaking loss was aided by Iona standout Rachel Vanderwal’s 25 point contribution