St Mary’s crowned
Arklow students secure U19 All-Ireland basketball title
ST MARY’S ARKLOW STELLA MARIS (WD) 39 33
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE, Arklow were celebrating a fantastic victoryin the U-19 School’s Basketball All-Ireland final played at the National Basketball Arena in Tymon Park on this week back in 2010.
The students of St. Mary’s travelled in great numbers, with many of their teachers, to support the girls as they set about capturing this elusive title.
They were supported by parents and many past pupils in their quest and there can be no doubt that the St. Mary’s supporters made their presence felt on the day, competing admirably with the bongo drums of Stella Maris, Tramore, supporters!
The atmosphere was set for a thrilling encounter which, for all involved, will long be savoured and remembered.
For some of the girls it was a case of dejavu as they had been here two years previously to be narrowly defeated by two points.
For the girls involved it was a sweet victory, but one for which they took the circuitous route. They were beaten in the Southeast Regional finals by Stella Maris, and had to play in a runners-up pool to secure a place in the quarter-finals.
Then it was on to the semis and an exciting win over Leixlip saw the girls through to face Stella Maris once again in the All-Ireland final.
The opening quarter was a tense affair with both teams concentrating on their defence and preventing their opponents from gaining any easy baskets.
Heather Murphy opened the scoring for Arklow with a strong drive from the wing to the baseline, a tactic which proved successful for the St. Mary’s side as the Tramore girls struggled to contain Kristina Delahunt in the centre.
Delahunt struck twice in the quarter, from the centre and the free-throw line, showing a strength and maturity seldom seen in school’s basketball. She was ably assisted by the supreme ball handling skills of left-handed Katie McMullen who controlled the Arklow offence masterfully from the top of the key and Niamh Arthur who was a constant threat under the boards, splitting the defence and rebounding strongly for her team.
Katie was supported to her left by Aislinn Mythen and later Samantha Kelly, both of whom showed very cool heads and safe hands in the face of severe pressure from a talented Tramore side.
Tramore’s sharp-shooter Aisling Hennebry also struck twice in the quarter and would always be the one to watch throughout the game.
Eimear Gallagher also scored for Tramore to leave the Arklow girls trailing at the end of the quarter by 5-6.
In the second quarter Niamh Arthur hit two very strong baskets for Arklow.
Delahunt contributed five more points and Samantha Kelly sank two to total 11 points to Tramore’s seven from Hennebry, Gallagher and a three-point shot from Sally Jacob.
Arklow looked to be heading into half-time with a six-point lead but Jacob’s three-pointer reduced the lead to three, 16-13.
The second half began with basket for basket scores from both sides. Murphy, Delahunt and Arthur were again on target for Arklow and Aislinn Mythen hit two just when her team needed the points.
However, Tramore’s Beth Cummins came into the game with a devastating nine points in the quarter and added to this, points from Hennebry and Sally Jacob meant the Arklow lead was cancelled.
It was all square at the end of the quarter, 29-29. Everything rested on the final quarter.
Arklow coaches Eimear Ryan and Rita McMullen continued to play the starting four of Arthur, Delahunt, McMullen and Murphy and ably assisted by Kelly and Mythen they certainly didn’t dissappoint. A three-point shot from Hennebry illustrated the danger she posed but superb person-to-person defence by Heather
Murphy ensured the threat was contained.
Hennebry scored only one more point from the free-throw line for the remainder of the quarter. St. Mary’s held their concentration and baskets from Delahunt, McMullen and Arthur secured an historic win for the school on a final scoreline of 39-33.
Kristina Delahunt was awarded MVP with an impressive 19 points, but from start to finish this was a team performance, with Murphy containing the threat of Hennebry, who undoubtedly had the scoring power to win this game for her school and McMullen controlling the offence flawlessly and of course, Niamh Arthur, a powerhouse in both defence and offence for her team.
Arthur entered the last quarter on four fouls and had she been fouled off the outcome would undoubtedly have been different, so vital was her contribution.
Full credit to her and to Kristina, who was also in foul trouble at the end, for the discipline they showed in the crucial closing stages.
Congratulations must also be extended to Faye Gough, Rachel O’Brien and Rebecca Condren for their contribution to the team throughout the competition.
It was the first All-Ireland title for St. Mary’s and it was hoped that it would be the first of many to come.