Abbey Seals Dublin Lions – 55
CluneTech Kilkenny Stars – 63
Another road trip and a victory for The Stars last Saturday against a very tough Dublin Lions team who have struggled to get a victory so far this season. This was a potential banana skin game for the Kilkenny team who put in a professional performance to take the win and put themselves in joint second after 4 games. With a total of 18 league games to play it is very early in the season to pay attention to league positions but Coach Puff Summers has been happy with his team’s steady improvement in each game and their ability to close out close games.
Following on from her powerful performance against Swords Thunder Aoibhin Dunphy has really found her shooting form and along with Lena Zydek the pair hit 4 three pointers in a big first quarter that saw CluneTech Kilkenny Stars take a commanding 8 v 22 lead. Tough defence has been the cornerstone of this team so far this season and this was once again the case with the Stars limiting their opponents to tough shots and struggling to find any rhythm in the game.
The second quarter was similar to the first, with Dunphy and Zydek hitting long range shots and Miah Ryan joining in on the action with a 3 pointer of her own. Caoimhe Timmons was a thorn in the side of the opposition on defence and Ava Coogan was at the heart of the defensive effort. The Stars were cruising at half time with a convincing 19 v 37 lead at the half.
This is a very tough league however with excellent teams that will not stop playing until the final buzzer and Dublin Lions came out fighting in the third quarter with Makenzie Helms and Sinead Keane roaring into the game with a combined 14 points in the quarter and The Stars struggling for form. Up stepped Stephanie Davis to steady and ship and chip in with 6 important points in this quarter to ensure that Lions did not complete their comeback. Nonetheless the lead was halved and it was game on for the final quarter with just 9 points between the teams at 40 v 49.
The final quarter saw big performances again from Aoibhin Dunphy hitting 7 of her 20 points and Caoimhe Timmons hitting 4 of her 6 points when it really mattered. With Stephanie Davis fouling out Gemma Lawlor stepped up and steadied the ship with some nice assists and the game and a safe pair of hands to help quell the comeback from Dublin Lions.
One of the main differences in the game was the fact that CluneTech Kilkenny Stars hit 11 three pointers compared with just 4 for the home team. Coach Summers is hoping that this excellent shooting form will continue into the National Cup game against Cleveland Rockets which is the next opponent for the Stars. This will be a real test against one of the top teams in the league.
As always thanks to our main sponsor CluneTech whose support for this team makes their participation in this league possible. Also, to our home game sponsor Infocus Opticians and our other team sponsors Langtons, Kytelers Inn and Cleeres Bar & Theatre.
