Portlaoise Panthers 69 SETU Waterford Wildcats 55
Women’s Basketball Super League
Portlaoise Panthers clinched fifth seed for the Women’s Super League playoffs following a 14-point victory over table toppers SETU Waterford Wildcats in St. Mary’s Hall on Saturday evening.
This result, coupled with defeats for Glanmire and Brunell later that night, meant the Laois side jumped from seventh to fifth in the Women’s Super League table on the final weekend of the regular season.
That late surge now means Panthers will take on Trinity Meteors away in the playoff quarter finals, hoping to make it a fourth win on the bounce.
The Laois side had four players in double digits by the final buzzer on Saturday, among them Lynn Tunnah on 15 points, as they ignited the tie with serious intent, racing 11-0 up following buckets from Alyssa Velles, Jessica Fressle and a sublime three from Tunnah.
Waterford, who were without the services of Ashia McCalla, did finally get off the mark when Maria Lucia Rodriguez served up a deuce almost four minutes in.
Yet Portlaoise led 21-9 by the close of the first quarter and continued on to enlarge the gap to 18 points almost four minutes into the second, as Shauna Dooley, Ciara Byrne and Velles all hurt Wildcats from downtown.
Panthers, however, hit a wall on offence, failing to card another score for the remainder of the second quarter and for the opening three minutes of the third, by which point the visitors had reduced their arrears to just two.
Sarah and Kate Hickey, Helena Rohan and Cain all played their part in that revival, but a Velles bucket did keep Portlaoise just out in front before Fressle and Tunnah also added to their tallies to help leave their side up 45-36 heading into the fourth.
Waterford did threaten another serious push, but Panthers were quick to thwart them in that endeavour, as they strung together a timely seven-point run, compliments of Holli Dunne, Tunnah and Byrne that left them 10 clear with just under six minutes remaining.
And they managed to stay out of reach down the stretch thanks in no small part to two big three-point strikes by Byrne either side of a deuce from Fressle.
SCORERS – Portlaoise Panthers: Lynn Tunnah (15), Ciara Byrne (14), Alyssa Velles (14), Jessica Fressle (13). SETU Waterford: Chelsea Cain (16), Kate Hickey (15), Sarah Hickey (13).
PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Holli Dunne, Shauna Dooley, Ciara Byrne, Megan Dunne, Lynn Tunnah, Jasmine Burke, Jessica Fressle, Amy Dooley, Alyssa Velles.
SETU WATERFORD WILDCATS: Kate Hickey, Orla Dullaghan, Helena Rohan, Sarah Hickey, Aoife Brett, Ardiana Shallci, Maria Lucia Rodriquez, Chelsea Cain.
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