'Gritty' Brunell go top but coach Tim O'Halloran sees room to improve

Mon, 25 Oct, 2021 - 20:55

Singleton Supervalu Brunell have moved top of the MissQuote.ie Super League after defeating defending champions DCU Mercy 71-67 on Monday.

Scoring was well shared between Brunell's players, with Kwanza Murray (16 points), Edel Thornton (15), and Kelly Sexton (14) leading the scoring. Bailey Greenburg picked up 25 points for DCU Mercy, followed by Hannah Thornton with 16.

Despite the win, Brunell head coach Tim O'Halloran was critical of his team's performance. "Look, a great gritty win from the girls, we were not at our best today and cannot keep having single-digit quarters, but on the other side it's good to have stuff to improve on."

It completed a fine bank holiday for Brunell, who also registered a 80-67 derby win at Fr Mathews on Saturday.

Another team who secured two wins this weekend was Killester, who followed up Saturday's overtime 84-80 victory over The Address UCC Glanmire, with a 99-93 home success over Fr Mathews on Monday.

Fr Mathews are yet to pick up a win so far this season, but fought to the death in this contest, with notable performances from Gráinne Dwyer (38) and Shannon Brady (25). However, Killester’s offensive trio of Mimi Clarke (29), Shannon Powell (28), and Myah Taylor (22) proved too strong.

Leixlip Amenities Liffey Celtics had just one fixture this weekend, following the postponement of their Saturday fixture against IT Carlow Basketball, but they made sure their presence was known once again in the league on Monday, when they clinched a 77-74 home win over The Address UCC Glanmire.

Ciara Bracken had an exemplary offensive performance, scoring a third of her team's total, with 26 points. Adrienne Jackson had 21 points for Celtics, while Áine O'Connor and Alexis Dillard scored 11 each. Gianna Smith again put in a bright performance for Glanmire with 21 points, while Áine McKenna (19) and Carrie Shepherd (14) also made their presence felt, but it was not to be for the Cork side.

Rounding out this set of fixtures was Team Garvey's St Mary's and Trinity Meteors, with the Dublin-based side snatching the victory in Kerry. Trailing by 12 points after the first quarter, Meteors closed the gap to just four points at half-time. They pushed on in the latter quarters to finish out four ahead, winning 73-69. It was the combined attacking efforts of A'Lexxus Davis (18), Rebecca O'Keeffe (16), Dayna Finn (14) that paved the way for Meteors. Not even the impressive shooting of Le'Jzae Davidson (25) and Lorraine Scanlon (19) was enough to turn the tide back in favour of St Mary's.

The fixture between WIT Waterford Wildcats and IT Carlow was postponed due a Covid-19 outbreak.

It will be a quick turn-around for some of the teams, as they now must gear up for round one of the National Cup next weekend. Killester will again meet The Address UCC Glanmire at home in round one, while Team Garvey's St Mary's host DCU Mercy. All other Super League teams have received a bye to the quarter-finals.