Portlaoise Panthers 80 UCC Glanmire 70
National Basketball Women’s Super League Round 7
Portlaoise Panthers improved their record to 4 and 3 in the Women’s Super League after they battled ferociously to unhinge a UCC Glanmire team looking for a fourth successive win in this season’s campaign when they arrived in St. Mary’s Hall on Friday night.
Keith Conroy’s side were, themselves, hoping to build on their victory away to St. Paul’s the previous week and they were helped in that endeavour by a big 27-point haul by Jessica Fressle and an equally huge defensive display by Amy Dooley who soaked up 15 rebounds on the night.
The temporary loss of Glanmire taliswoman, DelJanae Williams to injury in the closing minute of the third quarter did see the visitors buckle late on as Portlaoise increased their lead from two to eight points during her six-minute absence.
But this was a deserved victory for the hosts who played good aggressive basketball and, like their Cork rivals, finished the game with four players in double figures.
Indeed, they had to work their way back from a six-point deficit (24-18) at the close of the first quarter, Williams quickly making her presence felt as she racked up 19 points by the half-time recess.
Fressle, herself, was proving a real force on the inside for Portlaoise, draining all of her six efforts from the key on her way to a 14-point total by the break.
Indeed, she delivered some big buckets in a seven-point run late in the second quarter, that also featured a big three from Lynn Tunnah, that helped Panthers edge into a one-point advantage (42-41) by the interval.
The two teams continued to wage war in the third quarter, Ciara Byrne landing a three-pointer that helped Portlaoise retain a two-point lead by the time Glanmire lost the services of Williams to an ankle injury with less than a minute to go in that penultimate period.
Sensing blood, Panthers immediately pounced, with Tunnah draining a huge three and Jasmine Burke a deuce to see the homeside open up a seven-point gap (66-59) heading into fourth.
And while Aine McKenna did hit big baskets from both sides of the arc to help reduce the gap to just two, Portlaoise steadied themselves once more with timely buckets from Fressle, Tunnah and Alyssa Velles that helped ensure their side a fourth win of the campaign.
SCORERS – Portlaoise Panthers: Jessica Fressle (27), Alyssa Velles (15), Ciara Byrne (11), Lynn Tunnah (10) Glanmire: DelJanae Williams (25), Aine McKenna (13), Annaliese Murphy (13), Mia Furlong (11).
PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Shauna Dooley, Ciara Byrne, Megan Dunne, Lynn Tunnah, Jasmine Burke, Jessica Fressle, Sarah Fleming, Amy Dooley, Alyssa Velles.
UCC GLANMIRE: Aine McKenna, DelJanae Williams, Sinead O’Reilly, Annaliese Murphy, Mia Furlong, Emer Dunne, Aoife Morrissey.
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