'Pretty perfect' Glanmire complete treble with win over Brunell

2 April 2022; The Address UCC Glanmire team celebrate with the cup after the MissQuote.ie Champions Trophy Final match between The Address UCC Glanmire, Cork and Singleton SuperValu Brunell, Cork, at the National Basketball Arena in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

The Address UCC Glanmire have completed the domestic treble with a 82-68 MissQuote.ie Champions Trophy victory over Singleton SuperValu Brunell in the all-Cork final at the National Basketball Arena.

An outstanding first-half performance from Ireland international Claire Melia put  Glanmire in control. The forward converted all four of her three-point attempts on her way to a 24 point haul in the first half alone. Melia would finish with 26 in total, on the way to picking up the MVP.

Brunell were without Ireland co-captain Edel Thornton, who injured her MCL in their semi-final win over WIT Waterford Wildcats. Thornton is often the player who dictates the tempo for Brunell and her absence was keenly felt. It meant that more responsibility shifted to their two Americans, Shannon Ryan and Kwanza Murray. They duly led stepped up, registering 16 and 10 points by half-time, however they trailed 60-35.

2 April 2022; Claire Melia of The Address UCC Glanmire in action against Kwanza Murray of Singleton SuperValu Brunell during the MissQuote.ie Champions Trophy Final match between The Address UCC Glanmire, Cork and Singleton SuperValu Brunell, Cork, at the National Basketball Arena in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Brunell kept plugging away and had a strong third quarter, outscoring Glanmire 16-7, with Ryan scoring half their points and they trailed 67-51. Ryan would finish the game with 26 points.

A Kwanza Murray three-pointer just after the midpoint of the fourth quarter instigated a run. Katie Walsh followed with a layup and a three-point jump shot of her own to make 74-66 with 3’45” to go. 

Another Murray layup and it was a six-point game. Four points from Glanmire’s Tierney Prifman stemmed the tide and they led 78-68 with a minute and half to go and would eventually win it 82-68.

Glanmire head coach Mark Scannell said: "We haven't been perfect today, but we've been pretty perfect all year. Played really good basketball, so I'm delighted with them. To win three trophies is an unbelievable achievement. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of focus and a lot of hard work. They deserve all the credit that they should get tonight."

Top three scorers:

The Address UCC Glanmire - Claire Melia (26), Tierney Pfirman (16), Casey Grace (14) 

Singleton SuperValu Brunell - Shannon Ryan (26), Kwanza Murray (17), Katie Walsh (10) 

THE ADDRESS UCC GLANMIRE: Áine McKenna, Lesley Ann Wilkinson, Casey Grace, Annaliese Murphy, Mia Furlong, Abbey Furlong, Louise Scannell, Miriam Loughrey, Claire Melia, Tierney Pfirman, Carrie Shephard, Amy Dooley 

Head coach: Mark Scannell 

SINGLETON SUPERVALU BRUNELL: Mia Finnegan, Shannon Ryan, Lauryn Homan, Avril Braham, Kelly Sexton, Edel Thornton, Simone O’Shea, Alex Macheta, Kwanza Murray, Katie Walsh, Lauren Crean Hickey, Sinead O’Reilly 

Head coach: Tim O'Halloran