Team Montenotte Hotel Cork defeated UL Aughinish 89-75 in a pulsating final in the National Basketball Arena to claim the Women's SuperLeague National Cup, writes Fran Burke.
MVP Marie Breen top scored with 29 points for the Glanmire side as they saw off UL in a game that swung both ways.
The win completes a hat-trick of successes for the Glanmire club and coach Mark Scannell as the title adds to the Under-18 and Under-20 victories achieved in Tallaght over the weekend.
Spoils were shared in the opening exchanges before baskets from Michelle Fahy, Marie Breen and Maverley Nettles helped open up a nine point gap over the Limerick side.
UL hit back, first through Fiona Scally and then Marie Guiney who netted five points in quick succession.
Montenotte's top scorer Marie Breen contributed seven more points before the break however, and the sides entered the second quarter with the score 21-13 to the Cork side.
Team Montenotte Hotel upped the pressure at the beginning of the second quarter.
Michelle Fahy, Amanda O'Regan and Donna Buckley combined to score 19 points between them in the first five minutes of the quarter.
There now stood 20 points between the sides as UL Aughinish trailed 43-23.
However, the Limerick side then clocked up ten points before the break, with only a single point from Montenotte's Jessica Scannell by way of a response, as UL launched a tremendous comeback to enter the third quarter only eleven points behind.
Aughinish were in the ascendancy, and top scorer Dearbhla Breen netted first in the third quarter with a three pointer to cut the gap to eight.
Jillian Ahern cut the gap further still and back-to-back scores from Marie Guiney and Lisa Palmer ate into Montenotte's lead once more.
Five more points without reply and the gap was down to three points.
April Cahalane steadied the ship for the women from Glanmire, but the scoring from UL's Breen and Lisa Palmer added impetus to Aughinish, and when Ahern shot two points midway through the quarter, the Limerick side took the lead, 51-50.
Breen and Scally helped stretch the lead, which was to grow to five points before the quarter was out.
UL Aughinish's lead was to be short lived however, as Montenotte flew out of the traps in the final quarter.
Seven baskets to UL's two inside the first four minutes saw them regain the lead, 68-61.
Scally and Courtney McDaniel took UL to within two points, but the shooting of Montenotte, including Donna Buckley who contributed 19 points over the course of the match, soon put daylight between the sides.
With the Cork side's lead at 80-69, Guiney and Breen looked to instigate another comeback, but their scores sparked a response from Montenotte, as six points were added to their tally without reply.
The gap was now thirteen and the game was inside the last minute.
McDaniel cut the deficit once more but time wasn't on UL's side.
Three more points from Montenotte followed, the last two in the dying seconds were netted, fittingly, by Montenotte's top scorer Marie Breen.
The final score read Team Montenotte Hotel 89, UL Aughinish 75, in what completed an incredible weekend for the side from Glanmire.
MVP: Marie Breen, Team Montenotte Hotel Cork
Top Scorers:
Team Montenotte Hotel Cork
Marie Breen 29
Donna Buckley 19
Michelle Fahy 14
Amanda O'Regan 10
UL Aughinish
Dearbhla Breen 17
Courtney McDaniel 15
Fiona Scally 15
Marie Guiney 12
