National League

Mar 17 2024

FloMAX Liffey Celtics and Pyrobel Killester both refuse to blink in title race while Maree clinch South Conference crown

Home wins for both FloMAX Liffey Celtics and Pyrobel Killester on Saturday mean the two sides remain deadlocked at the top of the MissQuote.ie Super League ahead of their final round of regular season fixtures on Monday, while in the InsureMyVan.ie Super League, Maree secured top seed in the South Conference after they earned an 80-72 victory on the road against Pyrobel Killester.

It’s looking like neither FloMAX Liffey Celtics nor Pyrobel Killester can afford a slip-up in their respective closing games to the regular season on Monday after the two sides remained deadlocked at the top of the MissQuote.ie Super League table following home wins on Saturday.

FloMAX Liffey Celtics keep the race for the https://t.co/lDZHntGfas Super League crown wide open 🏆

All to play for tomorrow 👀 pic.twitter.com/gCAvP02R5c
— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) March 17, 2024

Eleven points in the first quarter by Claire Melia helped Pyrobel Killester open up a 16-point advantage over Trinity Meteors by the end of that period, which laid the groundwork for a 73-63 victory.

A 21-point haul by Jiselle Thomas went a long way to seeing them push that lead out to 24 by the close of the third, although the combined 31 from Sarah Kenny and Morgan Lenehan, if nothing else, helped Trinity close the gap to 10 by the final buzzer.

Killester Head Coach, Mark Grennell

“It was a very good first-half performance from us” said Pyrobel Killester head coach, Mark Grennell. “In the second half we were solid enough to put the game away.

“We came away with no fresh injury worries and we now can look forward to Brunell on Monday” he added.

🎞️ Killester vs Trinity Meteors

Killester secure a 73-63 win to put the pressure on FloMAX Liffey Celtics.#BISL | 📸 Martin Doherty Photography pic.twitter.com/t9efunRkCX
— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) March 16, 2024

FloMAX Liffey Celtics were forced to weather a far more severe test by play-off hopefuls, Ulster University, fighting back from 12-0 down early on to edge a 75-72 victory in Leixlip on Saturday night.

Alexandra Navarette was instrumental in this comeback win, top-scoring on 28 points, while Tianna Ayulo and Áine O’Connor also provided some great inside work against a dogged Ulster outfit that was fuelled by some heavy scoring from Trinity Oliver (21) and Ance Aizsila (19).

“I said to the girls that these are the games that champions win” said FloMAX Liffey Celtics head coach, Karl Kilbride. “It doesn’t need to be pretty, you’ve just got to get over the line at this stage of the season.

“We’ve one game to go now, and we know that if we play like that against Waterford Wildcats we won’t win. We need to be better” he insisted.

An 80-55 defeat at the hands of Waterford Wildcats at home in the Kingfisher Sports Arena means University of Galway Mystics will face iSecure Swords Thunder in a Super League promotion/relegation battle.

Victory on Saturday evening would have seen Galway leap-frog Portlaoise Panthers at the death, but instead, they were left rooted to the foot of the table by a Waterford side that refused to allow their hosts a way back after opening up a 26-point advantage by the half-time break.

Jade Compton enjoyed another colossal outing for the visitors, amassing 33 points and 24 rebounds, while the newly-acquired Alaire Mayze also made a significant impact with 21 points and 14 rebounds.

A narrow 86-84 defeat away to Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell means Catalyst Fr. Mathews will have to beat Trinity Meteors on the road on Monday if they are to secure the last remaining Champions Trophy spot.

In what was a repeat of this season’s InsureMyHouse.ie Paudie O’Connor Cup Final, the visitors just missed out on some measure of revenge for defeat in that decider despite opening up a 12-point lead early in the second quarter.

Indeed the cup winners battled back and finished with five players on double figures, including top-scorer Danielle O’Leary on 22 points and both Jayla Johnson and Katie Walshe on 17 apiece.

The Address UCC Glanmire will be wondering what might have been had they managed to produce, over the first half of their MissQuote.ie Super League campaign, the level of consistency they have demonstrated throughout the closing weeks of the regular season, which they completed with a convincing 80-56 win on the road against DCU Mercy.

Yasriyyah Wazweerud finished up top scorer with 19 points, while Amy Dooley and Cheah Whitsitt totalled 33 points and 14 rebounds to help see last season’s champions to their seventh win on the bounce.

Maree held firm in the face of a fourth-quarter surge by Pyrobel Killester to win out 80-72 in Clontarf on Saturday night and subsequently clinch the InsureMyVan.ie Super League South Conference title.

With five players finishing up on double digits, among them Terence Lewis (17) and Tahmir Gadsden and Tom Dumont on 16 apiece, the visitors were able to successfully counter Killester’s big hitters in the likes of Kason Harrell who chalked up 28.

"We're delighted to secure the win against Killester and it's an added bonus that we get the first seed in the conference for a second year running” said Maree head coach, Charlie Crowley.

“Both the players and the coaching staff put in a lot of work so far to get to where we wanted to be.

“But now it's time for us to fully lock in for the playoffs. It’s a new competition and records don't matter. We come up against one of the form teams in the country in Sligo” he added.

Despite Che Yasin turning in a game-high 27 points and Conor O’Sullivan and Nil Sabata combining for 42, Energywise Ireland Neptune still suffered a 95-85 reversal at the hands of Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU in Neptune Stadium on Friday night.

A haul of 26 points by Shawndale Jones Jr, coupled with the 23 that Andre Nation put up, went a long way to seeing the visitors open up a 17-point advantage heading into the final quarter, during which Dylan Corkery and Keelan Cairns totalled 15 to help stave off a late surge by Neptune.

Griffth College Éanna recorded a huge third-quarter run to ultimately inflict a rare defeat on Belfast Star in what was a North Conference top-of-the-table encounter in Newforge Sports Complex.

 Griffith College Éanna player, Sean Jenkins

While there was a nice spread of scoring among the Éanna line-up on Saturday night, Sean Jenkins enjoyed another particularly big game for the Dubliners, top scoring on 28 points to help ensure second place in the conference for his side, and with it, a home quarter-final in the play-offs.

Despite a gritty fight back in the second half of their clash with EJ Sligo All-Stars in Mercy College on Saturday, Ulster University still suffered an 86-78 defeat, consequently missing out on the chance to avoid relegation that Bright St. Vincent’s loss to Templeogue had offered them.

Christian Williams delivered big for the in-form Sligo with 32 points and 13 rebounds that went a long way to seeing them make it six wins in their last seven outings of the regular season.

Templeogue finished their campaign on a high note by way of a 95-90 victory on the road against Bright St. Vincent’s, Vernon Jackson proving the most prolific of the five players to reach double figures for the visitors as he amassed 29 points.

St. Vincent’s William Jenkins was just a bucket short of that total as the home-side failed to make a full-recovery of the ground they coughed up to Templeougue in the opening half, at the end of which they trailed by 10.

The other relegated side, Maigh Cuilinn worked hard to try and sign-off on their time in the top ranks with a win, but ultimately suffered an 85-79 reversal at home against Garvey’s Tralee Warriors in the Kingfisher Sports Arena.

Despite a combined 57-point total from Ivan Basic and Grant Olsson, the hosts came up short against their Kerry rivals, who were inspired by the 30 points and 12 rebounds that Elijah Weaver put up on the night.

In the InsureMyVan.ie Division One, UCD Marian secured Number One seed in the North Conference following their 91-73 victory at home against Kavanagh’s Portlaoise Panthers, while Drogheda Wolves missed out on a home quarter-final in the play-offs after they lost 102-99 away to Killarney Cougars in Presentation Gym which meant they finished third. South Conference champions, Limerick Celtics dished out a 116-83 defeat to SETU Waterford Vikings in Crescent College after Titans earned a big 89-81 on the road against Limerick Sport Eagles in UL Arena. Scotts Lakers Killarney returned to winning ways at the expense of SETU Carlow whom them beat 89-83, while there were home wins for Moy Tolka Rovers against Team NorthWest (78-72) and Mater Private Malahide over Joels Dublin Lions (91-80).

UCD Marian secure the 𝐖 🔥

UCD Marian 91-73 Kavanagh's Portlaoise Panthers#BID1 | #BITV pic.twitter.com/pzQVTBUeyP
— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) March 17, 2024

In the MissQuote.ie Division One League Trophy quarter-finals, Super-League bound St. Paul’s Killarney ran out 81-68 winners over Abbey Seals Dublin Lions in Duagh Sports & Leisure Centre, while iSecure Swords Thunder saw off Moy Tolka Rovers 79-45 in ALSAA and Limerick Celtics beat McEvoys Cavan Eagles 81-64 in Crescent College.