It was a mixed day for Maree Basketball Club on the national stage on Saturday, as the senior men went down to a third consecutive defeat in the Superleague, but the club’s senior women made it two wins from two in division one.
The women’s side took on Ulster University Elks in Calasanctius College in Oranmore, and in a real ding-dong battle, Joe Shields’ side claimed a 76-68 win.
Claire Rockall top-scored for Maree for the second consecutive week, finishing with 24 points, and she was followed by Carol McCarthy, who hit five three-pointers in her personal haul of 17 points.
Maree trailed 19-17 at the end of the first quarter, but had managed to get their noses in front at half-time by the tightest of margins, leading 39-38.
There was never more than five points between the sides right up to the end of the game, when Maree’s greater fitness levels shone through.
Elks led by that five-point margin at the end of the third quarter, but Maree outscored them 23-10 in the final 10 minutes to claim the win.
Maree : Carol McCarthy (17 ), Dayna Finn (12 ), Claire Rockall (24 ), Maggie Byrne (2 ), Fiona Scally (9 ), Colleen McInerney (4 ), Alison Blayney, Catherine Connaire (8 ).
There was no such joy for the club’s men’s Superleague side as they went down 82-69 to Griffith College Swords Thunder in Dublin.
Similar to the previous game against Templeogue, Maree were quick out of the blocks and led 24-16 at the end of the first quarter.
However, the home side, who, like Maree, has lost their first two games of the season, found their groove in the second quarter to lead 42-39 at half-time.
Maree kept battling, and the game was there for the taking at the end of the third quarter, with Swords leading 58-53, but the home side blitzed their visitors in the final 10 minutes to win 82-69.
This weekend sees the men on the road again, when they travel to the Mardyke Arena on Sunday to take on UCC Demons, while the previous night, the women’s side host St Mary’s Castleisland in Oranmore at 7.30pm.
