WOMEN'S BASKETBALL:DCU MERCY head coach Mark Ingle hailed a "team effort" as his side earned successive national cup titles at the expense of Team Montenotte Hotel Cork on a scoreline of 61-47 in front of a sell-out crowd at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght yesterday.
The Dubliners collected their first title last January when they defeated Montenotte and they inflicted more misery on the Cork outfit, greatly helped by an MVP display from Suzanne Maguire.
“For 12 years people have been expecting her to play like that,” said Ingle.
“Everyone knows she can. She has had some disappointing performances in finals over the years, but today she was brilliant and we’re delighted for her.”
The third quarter provided Mercy with plenty to worry about, as they failed to score in the opening eight minutes.
However, Ingle was full of praise for his side’s response. “I was praying some of our shots would drop in the third quarter,” he said.
“I’ve been telling the girls all year, especially the ones on the bench that they had to be ready when called upon. Today we needed them to be in the third because our starting five weren’t firing. They got us through it. I’m delighted that it was such a team effort.”
DCU Mercy began like a side determined to retain their title, with a fine opening quarter which seemed to catch Team Montennotte off guard. Mark Scannell’s side were surprisingly slow out of the blocks, with DCU’s Lindsey Peat predictably carrying the fight for DCU. It wasn’t to stay that way for long, however, Montenotte blasting back thanks to the dynamic work of Clare Rockall and shooting from Clodagh Scannell in the second.
Rockall quickly began to assert herself on proceedings, and added a verve to her side’s play that had been absent in the opening stages. Gráinne Dwyer got on the end of a Rockall pass to convert just before the buzzer, to give her side the lead for the first time in the game (29-28).
The second quarter was a very low-scoring affair, and Ingle will be grateful for the shooting prowess displayed by Shauna O’Connor and Maguire, who shot back-to-back three-pointers to level the game (34-34).
Maguire’s influence was growing by the minute for DCU, as the game began to swing towards DCU. Dwyer did her best to keep Montenotte in range. Christina Newton made it an eight point game with four to go. Mercy were comfortable in the final minutes, extending their lead through Peat and the irrepressible Maguire. The game finished (61-47) as DCU piled more cup agony on Mark Scannell’s side.
Montenotte coach Scannell was clearly disappointed with the defeat, believing his side were capable of performing much better. “I don’t want to make excuses, but that wasn’t us that showed up today,” he said. “Too many things were wrong with our game. They did a good job on Clare and things just didn’t click with our players. Defensively we were poor. Suzanne Maguire got too many rebounds from us. But credit Mercy, they played very well on the day.”
WOMEN’S SUPERLEAGUE NATIONAL CUP FINAL: Team Montenotte Hotel Cork 47 (29) (C Scannell 14, G Dwyer 11, C Rockall 10); DCU Mercy 61 (28) (S Maguire 22, L Peat 13, S O’Connor 8). MVP – Suzanne Maguire (DCU Mercy).
