Killester 70-64 FloMAX Liffey Celtics
In a Domino's Women's Super League National Cup final which bore all the hallmarks of the edginess which so typically characterises these types of duels, Killester prevailed narrowly in an attritional contest by six points against FloMAX Liffey Celtics.
The victory at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght ensured that they finally gained a measure of redemption after losing so tamely a year ago against the same opposition and at the same stage.
Given the history between the teams, it was no surprise that the opening exchanges were tight, almost respectful and there were never more than four points between the teams early on as Celtics reached the end of the first quarter with a 17-14 lead.
They had grown into the game after an early flurry of scores for Killester, which was fuelled mainly by their captain Michelle Clarke, who put eight points on the board in the first three minutes.
The second quarter saw the Kildare women's advantage stretch to seven points but there was never a sense that it would turn into a dominant lead and Killester burrowed their way back within a single score trailing 34-36 at half-time.
The first-half outside shooting percentages from both sides were poor enough and the match, at that point, had the texture of war of attrition - not untypical of cup finals.
That changed early in the second half as Killester landed back-to-back three-pointers from Clarke and Sam Haiby to nudge in front for the first time since the first quarter.
Those two players would continue to drive the Killester offence and both moved their personal tallies onto 20 points by the end of the third period at which point the Dublin side had turned the scoreboard in their favour by 56-50.
By contrast, here was no mystery as to what was faltering in the Celtics offence as their shooting accuracy from the three point arc rarely got past 10% at that point of the game.
While Killester’s defence had a lot to do with that, there was also a sense that the Kildare women were rushed and forcing their plays.
It was a theme that would continue to play-out in the final quarter and Celtic’s fortunes were further hampered when their American Destinee Bursch fouled out with more than four minutes remaining.
And yet it still went to the wire as Killester headed into foul trouble of their own as Hannah Thorton and Audrey Roden had to leave the game while Clarke’s influence was diminished somewhat as she teetered on four.
It all culminated in an extraordinary flurry of scores, errors and frantic end to end plays. Sam Haiby’s three-pointer with 1:38 left on the clock put Killester nine points ahead only for Sorcha Tiernan to land back-to-back 'threes’ to claw Celtics back to a three-point deficit with 26 seconds remaining.
It had the makings of a storied comeback, but Killester toughed it out with Haiby landing two late free throws to ensure a fifth cup success for the Dubliners and personal match-high tally of 30 points, enough to earn the MVP golden ball.
