24th January 2015
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Women’s National Cup Final
Team Montenotte Hotel 62, Pyrobel Killester 36
Team Montenotte toughed out their fifth Women’s National Cup victory
with a 62-36 win over Killester. Killester were in their first Cup
final in nine years while Team Montenotte had the experience and an
aggressive defence to see them come out on top.
It wasn’t a vintage final, but it was vintage Glanmire.
Both sides saw shots go astray in a cagey opening but Team Montenotte
Hotel used their cup know-how to gain an advantage. Niamh and Grainne
Dwyer attacked the basket whenever they could, if only to draw the
foul along the way – the two sisters were 4/4 from the line for the
first quarter.
Grainne was the full of hustle on both ends of the court with
Killester’s Robin Murphy the victim in defence – after two
unsuccessful spin moves, the American tried a fade away in the face of
the Tipp woman’s aggression. It worked but Jessica Scannell’s
three-pointer kept Glanmire in front.
Killester’s nerves had settled and the shots started to drop soon
after. Olivia Lee grew into the game while Rebecca Nagle and Mimi
Clarke got off the mark with their threes. The lead was Killester’s as
Ali Maguire came in off the left wing for another three to make it
17-15 with 6 minutes to the half.
Mark Scannell’s post-match interviews all season have included the
phrase “It was good to get 12 players on the floor”. It turned out it
was all in preparation for today. Amanda O’Regan and Casey Grace were
sprung from the bench to regain their lead. A floater from
Killester’s Amy Russell kept Glanmire’s lead to the minimum at the
half.
For the players, it’s only a great Cup final if you win it. Both sides
were happy to slug it out and the defences were largely on top. Mimi
Clarke hunted down a Niamh Dwyer break and made a clean swat on the
layup.
Glanmire though were set up to steal. The turnovers started coming
their way and the points followed when Marie Breen started cleaning up
the possession from the rebound. Her kick back to Niamh Dwyer for the
three put Glanmire 11 points in front.
Scannell hit her second three soon into the final quarter and the lead
was unassailable. It allowed Glanmire to freshen things up and bring
injured captain Claire Rockall into the game.
Aggression. Skill. Offence coming from defence. Hallmarks of the
Glanmire game. And big players stepping up. Grainne Dwyer was named
MVP for the second cup final in a row.
“We knew if we could keep the score down, we’d win the game,” she
said. “We kept them to 24 points in the first half. It all came from
there.”
Team Montenotte Hotel, Pyrobel Killester
Killester Starting Five: Aisling Sullivan, Alison Maguire, Mimi
Clarke, Robin Murphy, Olivia Lee.
Killester Top Scorers: Alison Maguire 9, Robin Murphy 9, Aoibeann
Byrne 4, Olivia Lee 4, Mimi Clarke 3.
Team Montenotte Hotel Starting Five: Aine McKenna, Niamh Dwyer,
Grainne Dwyer, Marie Breen, Jessica Scannell.
Team Montenotte Hotel Top Scorers: Grainne Dwyer 21, Niamh Dwyer 11,
Marie Breen 8, Jessica Scannell 6, Aine McKenna 5.
Half Time: Team Montenotte Hotel 25, Pyrobel Killester 24
MVP: Grainne Dwyer