New season begins with stuttering Our Lady’s win

THE 2017-18 basketball season at Our Lady’s College bounced into action last week with a welcome opening-day victory.

This year the school will have 10 teams competing in the league - two Under-19 teams, three at Under-16 level, three Second Year teams and two from the First Year and coach Denise Rice says it will be yet another very busy year, ‘but they will get through it’.

The Under-16 Cadette A team kicked it all off on Thursday when they travelled to St Dominic’s, Cabra. This team are playing in Division 1 and have two club players in the squad.

The first quarter was one that could best be forgotten, with the scores tied at two points apiece at the whistle. The Boynesiders missed five uncontested lay-ups in this quarter and were hoping that would not come back to haunt them by full-time, with Oyin Adelegan responsible for their only score.

Quarter two improved slightly, with Ava Prendergast getting into her stride, and the score was looking a little better from an Our Lady’s point of view as they now led 10-4.

The Drogheda girls continued in the ascendancy and went on to complete a 24-10 victory, with lots still to improve on.

There was some excellent defense and the girls kept going throughout the game, but their failure to finish lay-ups - 39 misses in all - was a worrying trend, particularly for the coach. OUR LADY’S COLLEGE: Catherine Grey 2pts; Oyin Adelegan 4; Leah Bastianelli 2; Shona Bradley; Eimear Clarke; Eimear Faulkner; Holly Garry 2; Bronagh Lane 3; Ruby Matthews 2; Ofu Obhakhan; Ava Prendergast 7; Maia Savage; Lynn Victory 2.