Hazelwood Nets First Senior Basketball Title
Hazelwood College beat Castletroy, the powerhouse of Limerick Schoolgirls’ basketball, to claim their first county senior basketball title in front of a packed house at the UL Arena. The Hazelwood girls have come off second best to Castletroy for the past two years and the signs were again ominous after a lacklustre campaign this year. However a good showing against St. John the Baptist School, Hospital, four days prior to the final rekindled the spark that had been missing since the defeat in the All-Ireland final of the previous year.
Castletroy took an early lead in the first quarter as Hazelwood struggled to cope with the excellent inside play of Castletroy’s tall post players. Celia Cremin kept Hazelwood in touch with two good baskets before Victoria Harnett and team captain Ciara Meaney leveled the score with a basket each.
Hazelwood took to the floor for the second quarter, confidence boosted, and attacked the Castletroy defence. Never before have I witnessed these girls attack a quality defence with such skill and vigour. A combination of lightning fast breaks by Maire Flanagan and Vickie Harnett, aggressive drives by Celia Cremin and gritty defence by everyone saw Hazelwood outscore Castletroy by eleven points to two before Ciara Meaney nailed a three pointer with two seconds on the clock in the second quarter.
The dreaded nerves appeared at the beginning of the third quarter. Loose shots from outside gave the ball back to Castletroy too easily. Solid defence from Emma Purcell and Miriam Noonan in the centre of the key and Aoife Leahy in the corner made it difficult for Castletroy to capitalise on Hazelwood’s limping offence. A quick timeout settled the team and the girls went back on court and took control. Baskets from Cremin, Meaney and Flanagan gave Hazelwood a commanding 29 – 14 lead with one quarter to play.
The final quarter was played at a frenetic pace. Castletroy applied an aggressive full court press in an attempt to force quick turnover ball. Hazelwood, playing just one post and four perimeter players, easily broke the press and repeatedly scored from the fast break. Castletroy were reluctant to give up their title and dug deep to outscore Hazelwood by 18 points to 16 in the last quarter. The final action of the game saw Deborah Daly seal victory with a classy layup from a fast break by Suzanne Sheehy and Anita Lucey.
It was a special day for all concerned but especially so for four Leaving Cert students who were playing their last game for the school after many years fighting in the trenches with no reward. Best wishes for the future to Aoife, Ciara, Miriam and Vickie.
Photo
Back Row L-R : Desmond Lambe, Miriam Noonan, Suzanne Sheehy, Emma Purcell, Deborah Daly, Celia Cremin
Front Row L-R : Anita Lucey, Aoife Leahy, Ciara Meaney (Captain), Vickie Harnett, Maire Flanagan
