Wildcats claim opening weekend win over Glanmire
ON THE DRIBBLE: Amaya West tries to go around Wildcats Sarah Hickey during the match between The Address UCC Glanmire and SETU Waterford Wildcats at Neptune Stadium, Cork. Pic: David Creedon
SETU Waterford Wildcats picked up an 80-75 win at defending MissQuote.ie Super League champions The Address UCC Glanmire on the opening weekend of the new season. Ireland international Sarah Hickey was to the fore in their victory with 23 points, while their new signing Myia Clark hit 18 points in their victory on Sunday.
Wildcats head coach, Tommy O’Mahony, said: “Delighted to get the win, beating a team of Glanmire’s calibre is never easy. Being the first game of the season, it was scrappy affair, but I thought our girls dug deep to get us over the line. I thought we had a lot of big performances today and they stood up when it was needed, which is always nice. We understand we have things to improve on and we will work really hard to get them right for our next game.”
After finishing second last season, DCU Mercy got off to a flying start on Saturday against University of Galway Mystics at the Kingfisher Sports Arena, winning by a 25-point margin, 98-73, the largest of this weekend’s games. Ireland international Hannah Thornton put in a big performance, top scoring with 31 points, along with 11 rebounds and five assists.
Ulster University narrowly edged out newly promoted Portlaoise Panthers by four points, 81-77. Alex Mulligan and Aoife Callaghan, who returned to the side after one-year studying stints in the USA, scored 23 and 18 points respectively for Patrick O’Neill’s side. Jessica Fressle scored a game-high 33 points for Portlaoise Panthers.
Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell picked up an impressive 99-74 road win over Trinity Meteors. Ireland captain Edel Thornton and new signing Kayja Williams were in fine form for the Cork outfit, both scoring 25 points.
FloMAX Liffey Celtics raced to an 36-7 first quarter lead against Pyrobel Killester and were 65-29 ahead by half-time, before the InsureMyHouse.ie Paudie O’Connor National Cup champions launched a second half fightback, however, FloMAX Liffey Celtics hung on for a 78-75 win.
