Preview: Enda Walshe
Liffey Celtics will provide the opposition for St Pauls on their return to the upper echelons of women’s basketball next Saturday.
The Kildare side visit the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre for the season’s opener and will no doubt give James Fleming’s side a gut check for what lies ahead.
They went toe-to-toe with Killester for the league title last season with a play-off needed to separate the sides in the end and they have a rich heritage in the competition winning two in a row in the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 season.
They added a national cup to that league title in 2019 to make it a memorable year and they are a durable and battle hardened side at this stage. They possess a squad with a very even scoring spread with quality in all departments.
Sorcha Tiernan is a member of James Weldon’s senior international squad where she is joined by the highly experienced Aine O’Connor. Ciara Bracken has also figured with her country having spent her formative years playing College basketball in America.
They also have Hazel Finn, a Mayo native who was a leading light for the Irish under 20 team in 2023. Alongside all of those mentioned, Kate O’Flaherty has figured prominently in pre-season where they faced Waterford Wildcats and Killester.
They have recruited well during the summer months with Alexis Tucker and Eboni Williams signing. Tucker was a member of the Florida State University side last season, enjoying a busy college career where she played with three different sides. Williams, standing at 6 ft, had an injury hit year in 2023 but will be looking to rediscover her mojo at this level.
Having made the return to national league basketball in 2022, St Pauls have made rapid progress to ascend to the Superleague. Season one saw them just fail to make promotion, pipped by Portlaoise Panthers but the promised land was reached last term when they romped to the Southern Conference and ultimately the league title.
Star turns Khiarica Rasheed and Sofia Paska have found pastures new – Paska is now plying her trade with the Dublin Lions – but James Fleming has not sat on his hands in the meantime.
Megan Ormiston comes with a similar profile to Paska and has been most impressive in preseason with her work inside.
Gracen Kerr, a graduate of Kentucky State University, is a quick silver point guard and her link up with Ormiston has been seamless.
Anja Marinkovic had a star studded college career and her status as a European player gives the Killarney side some serious arsenal.
Of course the bulk of the promotion winning squad is still in place and crucially comes with Superleague experience. Rheanne O’Shea, Meabh Barry and Lorraine Scanlon have all dined at the top table with other teams while the wily Lynn Jones was on board with St Pauls when they last competed at this level.
Simone O’Shea has crossed the county bounds from a title winning Glanmire side, her mother being the famed Caroline Forde.
Another O’Shea, Siofra, has shown remarkable resilience to bounce back from injury, although her involvement initially alongside Scanlon will be dependent on GAA commitments.
Leah McMahon has international strings to her bow and will relish the opportunity to test herself against the country’s best.
The team will be captained this year by Denise Dunlea who, no doubt, will be determined to build on her fine form last season.
Queralt Almirall has come to Kerry on work experience as she studies online and she has linked up with the squad, having played competitively in her native Spain.
James Fleming and his coaching team of Shane Horgan, Brian Clarke and Christina Bartlett have prepared the team well with a series of friendlies but they will know the real action starts this weekend.
Glanmire and Killester are also coming to town this month and with what will be a huge home support behind them it promises to set the tone for the season ahead.
Its Utility Trust St Pauls v Liffey Celtics as Killarney welcomes superleague basketball back to town.
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