Scoil Chríost Rí 18 Crescent Limerick 34
U-14 ‘A’ All-Ireland Basketball Cup Final
The Scoil Chríost Rí U-14 basketball team have fallen short at the final hurdle, losing out to Crescent Limerick in the All-Ireland ‘A’ Basketball Cup decider.
The Portlaoise school were hoping to complete a historic double, with the U-14’s failing to emulate their U-15 counterparts, who won their final earlier in the week.
Scoil Chríost Rí earned the right to play in the final having beaten Dublin champions, Loreto Dalkey on a scoreline of 47-27 in the semi-finals.
In the semi-final, SCR flew out of the blocks to lead 13-3 after the first quarter.
They never looked in trouble for the rest of the game, playing brilliant basketball to win all quarters and had a 20-point lead at the final whistle.
In the final, however, SCR came up against an excellent Limerick team that scored six points in an explosive start and were at the top of their game throughout.
The Laois girls fought with great spirit but found it hard to break down the Limerick zone-defence. and when they turned Crescent over, failed to convert enough in transition eventually losing by a 14-point margin.
“We would expect that these teams will be involved in some great battles in the coming years,” said coach, Pat Critchley.
The girls will have to dust themselves down quickly as the second-year ‘A’ team have a possible League Championship All-Ireland final on May 1.
The first-year ‘A’ team, meanwhile, will play the All-Ireland tournament in University of Limerick Arena on May 11 and 12.
SCOIL CHRÍOST RÍ: Kara Phelan, Sarah Donoghue, Ellen Fitzpatrick, Molly Dempsey, Desire Okonoboh, Mia Delaney, Grainne Coleman, Kara Powders, Rhea Flanagan, Afric Hennessy, Holly Scully, Rosa Conroy, Ceola Hayes, Sophie Burnell, Faye Cleland, Leah Gibbons.
COACHES: Pat Critchley, Kate Jacob, Hannah Bailey, Roisin Poole
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