Enda Walshe reflects on what has been a magnificent season for St Paul’s senior women’s side despite the superleague decider loss to Killester at the weekend when they paid a high price for a relentless third-quarter blitz by the Dublin side
Contrasting fortunes in the third quarter made all the difference in the Women’s Super League final. At the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght on Sunday.
For Utility Trust St Paul’s, unfortunately, they were at the receiving end of a blitz from Killester who outscored them 24-4 in that period and effectively put the game to bed.
Pictures: Eamonn Keogh
But, credit to coach James Fleming, they played to the final buzzer and as they have done all season long never threw in the towel. The damage of that third quarter was clearly visible in the scoring stats, however, as St Paul’s retained parity with the Metropolitans in the other three periods.
While Samantha Haiby’s contribution to the cause was well signposted before the game, it was the accuracy of her compatriot, Destiny Strother, that caught the St Paul’s defence off guard.
Strother is renowned as a superb defender and her scoring average is 10 points per game but she doubled that in this encounter and all her outside efforts were well timed.
Michelle Clarke was another thorn in the Killarney sides as were the twin threats of Ieva Bagdanaviciene and Hannah Thornton.
It had started so brightly for St Paul’s as they ran into an early 9-2 lead and were well in the game at half-time but the nagging feeling was that they had given Killester some easy points with some costly turnovers.
Had they cut them out and led as their performance deserved they would have been in a much better position to counteract any Killester purple patch. As it happened Haiby and co grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck in that moving quarter and clinched their third league title on the trot.
The fact that St Paul’s are being spoken about in the same context as Killester tells you all you need to know about the magnificent season they have had.
St Paul’s settled into the game quickly with Lorraine Scanlon, Mathilde Diop and Denise Dunlea all netting. Michelle Clarke had replied for Killester but it was scoreboard error that halted St Paul’s early gallop. There was a lengthy delay while repairs were carried out but it didn’t seem to deter Diop who was attacking the basket with gusto. She helped to put her side 9-4 ahead but Killester went to work with Haiby, Clarke and Strother putting them in the driving seat to push 16-11 clear.
Callie Cavanaugh was unlucky with some efforts but Scanlon and Gracen Kerr kept their side in the conversation, despite another Strother three.
The second quarter saw St Paul’s spring out of the traps as Kerr and Diop squared up the game at 21 apiece. But coach Fleming had to call a timeout soon after Bagdanavicene, Haiby and Clarke opened up their box of tricks to go on a 9-0 scoring run.
It served to steady the ship after some outstanding defence by Leah McMahon inspired her side. Cavanaugh, Diop and Kerr got their side back up and running, while Dunlea and Scanlon made sure the game was manageable with a five point half-time deficit, 38-33.
Nothing would have prepared St Paul’s though for what was coming. Haiby went on the rampage, with assistance from Hannah Thornton, and they helped their side’s total rise to 51 before Scanlon got her side’s first reply.
MVP Strother then started throwing them in from everywhere and anywhere and not even the introduction of Siofra O’Shea could arrest the slide.
Sara Lopez then joined the party with two mid-range jumpers and the lead was suddenly stretched out to 25 points, 62-37. It was a hard watch for the huge travelling support to see the rhythm of the game go against their side as nothing seemed to go right in this quarter.
Even though their heads must have been spinning, Kerr made a flying start to the final quarter, hitting two threes as they looked to restore pride. But as was their want all evening Strother and Haiby replied in kind.
One thing one can never accuse St Paul’s of is that they lack heart because they still gave everything to the cause. Cavanaugh and Kerr started to make some shots but Killester were tipping away as needed.
Lynn Jones exemplified the St Paul’s commitment as she fought tooth and nail for every ball and if this was to be the ageless wonder’s last appearance in the club vest she certainly went down fighting.
But in what many supporters will see as a nod to the future 18-year-old Leah McMahon, who sat her Irish Oral Leaving Certificate Exam on Saturday, scored her side’s eight closing points and left the scoreboard looking healthier at 63-83.
So the dream is over for another year but coach Fleming can point to a season of huge progress. To reach the final in their first year in the division is some achievement, not to mention the hours of entertainment and fun they have given to their loyal group of supporters.
And while they will, of course, be disappointed with the result, they can hold their heads high, safe in the knowledge that they are a match for any team in the country.
The stats will point out that they recorded wins over every team in the division, bar one, Liffey Celtics, and they went down by a single point to the National Cup champions. The players can be proud of their season because the club faithful certainly are.
St Paul’s: Callie Cavanaugh (18), Gracen Kerr (16), Mathilde Diop (10), Leah McMahon (8), Lorraine Scanlon (5), Denise Dunlea (4), Rheanne O’Shea (2), Siofra O’Shea, Lynn Jones, Kate Healy, Cloadagh Clancy, Abby Doherty.
Killester: Samantha Haiby (25, Destiny Strother (20), Michelle Clarke (14), Ieva Bagdanaviciene (10), Hannah Thornton (7), Sara Lopez (4).
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