Paudie O’Connor National Cup semi-final
Utility Trust St Paul’s 69
Killester 70
Report: Enda Walshe
Defeat can be a bitter pill, losing by the bare minimum making it worse.
The big crowd in the cathedral of Cork Basketball, the Neptune Stadium, may have paid for their seats on Saturday evening but they spent the majority of this blockbuster sitting on the edge of them.
Not for the first time this season, Utility Trust St Paul’s went toe-to-toe with a heavyweight and gave as good as they got. The result was still in doubt as the clock ticked down to its final seconds but James Fleming’s side just came up short and, despite defeat, they can still look themselves in the mirror and know that they gave it everything they had .

Killester are the reigning league champions with a host of Irish internationals and they were the first to admit that it took all that they had to edge past the Killarney side.
Their talismanic figure, Michelle Clarke, said as much afterwards when she acknowledged that her side needed every morsel of grit, determination and experience to get them over the line. It really was that close.
St Paul’s were outstanding, especially in the first half where their game plan was perfectly executed. Alex Wittinger and Gracen Kerr were scoring freely, Mathilde Diop was finding her range while, defensively, they worked hard on shutting down the influence of Samantha Haiby.
You could argue that they probably deserved more than a six-point lead at half-time and with a bit of temerity questioning a few of the refereeing decisions that saw the foul count at 8-2 at the end of the first quarter. But Killester roared back into the game in the third quarter and St Paul’s grip on the game was never as strong thereafter.
You’d have to factor in the absence of Rheanne O’Shea and Leah McMahon also as when you take these teams on you need every tool in your armoury.

Straight from the tip-off Gracen Kerr skipped in a basket but Destiny Strother replied with a three. St Paul’s were diligent on defence and that helped them run into a 13-8 lead. Kerr and Mathilde Diop were the architects of that advantage with accurate outside shooting and it was left to Ieva Bagdanaviciene to light the Killester fire.
St Paul’s intensity though was starting to get pockmarked by fouls, perhaps with some in the debatable category. Lorraine Scanlon and Paris McCarthy ran into early trouble but the introduction of Lynn Jones, Siofra O’Shea and Denise Dunlea didn’t weaken the cause. Dunlea hit five points and Wittinger was heating up and at the end of a high quality first quarter it was St Paul’s in front at 27-25.
Wittinger struck early in the second followed by a Kerr three as Haiby was trying to pull the Killester strings. Hannah Thornton was starting to be a handful for the Paul’s defence but the offence was really clicking into gear.

Diop and Wittinger hit threes and Killester called a timeout trailing by 40-33. Paris McCarthy picked up her third foul but Lorraine Scanlon offset that blow with great work inside. With a 44-35 lead the game was about to enter a critical stage, either side of half-time.
Firstly, Haiby finished the half with a three and exchanged free throws with Dunlea to close the gap to six.
But even crucially, Killester emerged from the dressing room a different team and hit 12 points without reply. Strother, Haiby, Michelle Clarke and Bagdanaviciene were rampant and it necessitated a St Pauls’ timeout to clear the heads.
It had the required impact as Wittinger and Kerr steadied the ship and even though Thornton netted again the recovery saw St Paul’s 56-55 ahead, heading into the final period.
You could cut the tension with a knife as there was never more than the width of a cigarette paper between the two sides. It made for huge excitement as they traded blows with Wittinger, Diop and Scanlon answering the efforts of Haiby, Strother and Thornton.
Both sides seemed thankful for the time out with 5.27 to go and Wittinger pounced to put her side one clear again, 64.63. I
n what looked like a decisive move Thornton and Haiby put the Metropolitans three clear but in the blink of an eye Kerr reeled them in with a three.

St Paul’s were now on team fouls but a combination of solid defending and errant Killester free-throw shooting lessened the effect. Kerr was most unlucky when her three-point shot bounced out but when Diop wriggled in to put her side 69-68 ahead one wondered was it going to be their night?
But Haiby was fouled as Killester searched for redemption. She was nerveless from the charity stripe to give her side the lead. St Pauls’ tried in vain for a winner, their best moment when McCarthy weaved into the paint with seconds on the clock, only to see her effort blocked.
With that went St Paul’s hopes of a first National Cup final appearance but they certainly died with their boots on.
Alex Wittinger netted 24, Gracen Kerr had 20, Mathilde Diop 13, Denise Dunlea scored six as did Lorraine Scanlon and also involved were Paris McCarthy, Lynn Jones, Siofra O’Shea and Meabh Barry.
For the winners Samantha Haiby had 20, Hannah Thornton scored 13, Ieva Bagdanaviciene managed 12 and Destiny Strother shot 11.
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