AN amazing week of basketball success for national powerhouse Oranmore-Maree ended in further glory on Tuesday when Calasanctius won the Girls Under 19A Schools Cup. The previous Tuesday, Calasanctius had taken both the Boys Under 19A and Girls Under 16A Cups.

On Saturday, Maree Basketball Club won the Under 20 Men’s National Cup. All kinds of records were broken on the way. Four local players picked up National MVP awards; Ailish O’Reilly (Schools Cup Under 16A), Ken Hansberry (Schools Cup Under 19A), Liam Conroy (National Cup Under 20) and Claire Rockall (National Cup Under 20 with Glanmire).

Calasanctius 57
Mounthawk 41
Calasanctius’ extraordinary run of success in the Under 16 Cup continued when they beat Mercy Mounthawk of Tralee convincingly in this year’s decider in Tallaght. In front of the green and red wall of sound that is the now-famous school travelling support, Calasanctius took the title with a fantastic display of team basketball against a taller Kerry side. Dynamic and unstoppable Captain Ailish O’Reilly lifted the Cup and took the MVP award.

In the first quarter, Calasanctius jumped into the lead with a Caitríona Finn basket and then a three. Mounthawk were taller, and in Laura Hoffman, had a 6-footer who was threatening to cause all kinds of trouble to the Calasanctius zone defense, with high screens and strong rolls to the basket.

However, right from the start, there was a defiance to the Calasanctius defense, and a wonderful and well-honed unity, that augured well. It was a measure of the team performance that four different players scored in the quarter, with Aileen Crowley and Finn hitting further threes, and Aoife Fogarty and Sarah Reynolds also notching scores. At 16-5, Calasanctius looked to be cruising, but the Kerry girls stormed back in the last two minutes to end the quarter just 16-12 down.

In the second quarter, Calasanctius again asserted themselves in defense, and moved the ball confidently in attack, with O’Reilly the orchestrator. Finn and Fogarty hit further threes, and Reynolds and O’Reilly also chipped in. However, it was a quarter dominated by an awesome Calasanctius defense. It was five players playing as one, talking, encouraging each other, rotating to fill gaps, concentrating and organised.

Mounthawk got a mere three points and Calasanctius went in 31-15 ahead at the half, looking good. In truth, it was the second quarter that was ‘moving time’ and it was going to take a slip from the leaders, or Mounthawk to get back in the game.

Mercy Mounthawk went flat out in the third, with Hoffman hitting ten.
For more, read page 49 of this week's Galway City Tribune.