Hoops heartbreak for Bandon school

Col na Toirbhirte 28

St Joseph’s CC (Mayo) 30

BANDON school, Coláiste na Toirbhirte, were denied glory late in the final quarter of their All-Ireland Schools League U19 C Girls’ final at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght last week.

The West Cork school held the upper hand for the majority of this final against St Joseph’s Community College of Charlestown – the Mayo school finishing strongly from the free-throw line to snatch a two-point win. 

Mark Scannell’s Bandon charges were in control of proceedings early on, driving into a 9-3 lead over St Joseph’s with Sinead Dart O’Flynn and Niamh McGrath proving to be two pacey players that were hard to get to grips with. 

The second quarter saw St Joseph’s find their feet a bit more, but Coláiste na Toirbhirte certainly looked that bit more comfortable at both ends of the court to hold the lead at half time, 13-8.

Quarter three is really where St Joseph’s found their feet though, as superb running by Chelsea Doherty, Sarah Burke and MVP Kellee Crean soon had the scoreboard ticking over nicely for the Mayo team, and with three minutes left to play in the quarter, the scores were tied on 15 apiece. 

The Bandon side kept a cool head though, and managed to eke out some more scores to hold a 21-17 lead going into the last, but momentum had slowly started to swing in favour of Charlestown and it was well and truly game on for the fourth quarter. Good work by Elisha Duffy of St Joseph’s got their last quarter off to a good start, and soon it was back to a draw game as Crean netted another great score to level it at 24 apiece. 

The game stayed neck-in-neck as the clock ticked down, with Niamh McGrath bagging some crucial scores for Coláiste na Toirbhirte, but in the end, it was from the free-throw line where the damage was done, as Charlestown’s last six points came from the line to hand the Mayo school a narrow two-point win.

Coláiste na Toirbhirte: Alison Murphy (2), Danielle Murphy, Gráinne Dart O’Flynn, Niamh Hurley, Kate Wall (2), Nicole Quinn (2), Sinéad Dart O Flynn (5), Niamh McGrath (15), Emma Crowley, Elaine O’Leary (2), Ciara O’Sullivan, Ella Stack.

MVP: Kellee Crean (St Joseph’s Community College).