A huge 31 points and 13 rebounds for Samantha Haiby went a long way to seeing defending Women's Super League champions Killester prevail 83-79 in a nail-biting opening-night headliner against SETU Waterford Wildcats in the Oblate Hall on Saturday.
In what was a repeat of last season's Champion’s Trophy decider, the two sides were neck and neck throughout, with Ashia McCalla and Sarah Hickey combining for 47 points for the visitors.
Both Chelsea Cain and Hickey made their presence felt under the boards with a total of 21 rebounds for Wildcats, but even that was not enough to deny the Dublin side, who edged three of the four quarters, with Ieva Bagdanaviciene chalking up 18 points and eight rebounds.
"It’s as tough a start as you can have in this league" insisted Killester head coach, Mark Grennell. "Wildcats are really tough and play great basketball.
"I thought we were resilient in our play without being particularly fluid or in-sync. Sam Haiby was really excellent and controlled the big moments for us" he added.
FloMAX Liffey Celtics flexed their muscles from the second quarter on to record an emphatic 98-65 victory away to newly-promoted Utility Trust St. Paul’s on Saturday evening.
Sorcha Tiernan hit a game-high 25 points, while new signing, Alexis Tucker weighed in with 19, and captain, Áine O’Connor and Eboni Williams totalled 18 rebounds.
Catalyst Fr. Mathews had effectively bagged the points by the half-time break in their Super League opener against University of Galway Mystics on Saturday night, having carved out a massive 27-point lead on their way to a 96-57 victory in Fr. Mathews Arena.
Kyra White spearheaded their attack with 25 points, while Niamh Dwyer also made a significant contribution of 18, as last season’s Paudie O’Connor National Cup finalists stormed to a comfortable win.
Midland Park Portlaoise Panthers certainly turned heads with their performance against Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell, Keith Conroy’s side beating the defending Paudie O’Connor National Cup champions 90-71 in St. Mary’s Hall.
In what was the second of two WSL fixtures on Sunday, the hosts outscored their opponents by 17 in the second quarter to lay the ground work for a huge win that featured 13 buckets from beyond the arc, with six of those coming from Alyssa Velles on her way to game-high 28 points.
Amy Dooley was massive under the boards for Portlaoise, carding a phenomenal 19 rebounds, while another of the team’s new signings, Lynn Tunnah mopped up a further 10 and also hit 22 points.
The Address UCC Glanmire edged a thriller with Trinity Meteors 84-82, Miriam Loughrey holding her nerve from the line to drain two decisive free throws with just over a minute remaining.
Callie Cavanaugh, DelJanae Williams and Aine McKenna did the heavy hitting for Glanmire, accounting for 63 points between them that went a long way to countering the 20 apiece for Trinity’s Sarah Kenny and Emma Merriweather.
Women's Super League results
Saturday 5 October
Ultility Trust St. Paul’s 65-98 FloMAX Liffey Celtics
Killester 83-79 SETU Waterford Wildcats
Catalyst Fr. Mathews 96-57 University of Galway Mystics
Sunday 6 October
The Address UCC Glanmire 84-82 Trinity Meteors
Midland Park Portlaoise Panthers 90-71 Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell
