Preview: Enda Walshe
One of the biggest game in St Paul’s history comes this Saturday when they face Killester in the semi-final of the Paudie O’Connor National Cup at Neptune Stadium in Cork (6.00pm).
The competition is, of course, named after one of Killarney’s greatest sporting sons, the pioneering Irish international and European Player of the Year who changed the face of Irish basketball in the late 1970s.
It was Paudie who introduced the first American players to the country and started a revolution in the game with the benefits are still being felt today. Outside of that, he has also been lauded as one of the best Irish basketball players ever.
He grew up only a stone’s throw away from where St Paul’s current trainer James Fleming was reared and that gives the cup run some special reticence.
They find themselves in the last four alongside the top three in the league at this juncture and despite being ranked lower in the league, they are there on merit.
They face Killester, a formidable unit who sit third in the Superleague table with a 70 per cent win record. They accounted for UCC The Address Glanmire in a low-scoring quarter-final tussle, trailing heading into the final quarter but a Samantha Haiby inspired charge got them over the line.
Haiby has been outstanding this season for the reigning league champions averaging 23 points per game and will be a big influence in this clash.
Irish international Michelle Clarke is another serious operator, second only to Haiby in the scoring stats while Destiny Strother gives her US compatriot strong support.
Hannah Thornton returned to the squad in mid-November and her performance levels are steadily climbing. One area of concern for Killester has been the fitness of Ieva Bagdanaviciene who has sat out the last two weeks and they will be moving heaven and earth to give her a chance of playing.
For James Fleming, the season has been a mixed bag. There have been huge cameos of quality that show they can compete with the country’s best and the league clash with Killester is probably the best example of that.
They put in a tremendous performance for 35of the 45-minute clash and led by five, but they just fell short in the end, a trend that continued against the Liffey Celtics and Waterford Wildcats.
In their quarter-final win over Trinity Meteors they brewed up the perfect storm of defensive intensity and offensive efficiency to grab an epic win. The squad he has assembled gives him flexibility with Alex Wittinger, Megan Ormiston and Gracen Kerr handing him a selection headache.
The influence of Lorraine Scanlon is still huge and alongside Denise Dunlea, Siofra O’Shea and Meabh Barry they are the heartbeat of the squad.
Mathilde Diop will give Killester a different conundrum as she didn’t face them in that league clash. The lionhearted Lynn Jones stood up to the plate against Glanmire at the weekend and alongside Meabh Barry, they are the ultimate team players.
It remains to be seen if the weekend has come too early for Rheanne O’Shea and Leah McMahon but either player’s availability would be a huge boost.
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