Final Score: Trinity Meteors 65-61 McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles
Half-time: Trinity Meteors 35-34 McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles
Top scorers Meteors: H.Finn 15, S.Kenny 13, K.Horstmeyer 11, A.Learn 10
Top scorers Eagles: S.Barnes 15, A.Mulligan 13, M.Harris 12, C.Tolan 10
Trinity Meteors’ season opener against newly promoted Cavan Eagles was a thrilling encounter that went down to the wire. Seamas Donnelly’s side showcased great defensive tenacity and a well distributed offensive performance with four players reaching double-figures in their 65-61 win on Domino’s Women’s Super League opening night!
The game started off emphatically with Hazel Finn quickly finding Ava Learn underneath the basket to get Trinity on the board within seven seconds. This was followed by a pull-up jump shot cleverly orchestrated by new American signing Kylie Horstmeyer to help Meteors jump out to an early 4-0 lead. Eagles struggled to score early on with Meteors playing extremely good help defence. The duo of Ava Learn and Sarah Kenny had great inside presence constantly altering shots and making life difficult for the Eagles’ forwards. Kenny had an impressive 8 rebounds in the first quarter alone for Meteors. Latvian guard Franciska Treiliha found a cutting Hazel Finn with a beautiful bounce pass as Meteors pounced to an 8-2 lead to start the game. However, the Cavan side would bounce back quickly with a 14-2 run led by their superstar duo Mazatkan Harris and Soleil Barnes forcing Coach Seamas Donnelly into taking a timeout. A step back three from Hazel Finn would end a back-and-forth first quarter with Meteors trailing by one.
The second quarter was an extremely physical affair with both teams showcasing great hustle, diving on the floor multiple times for loose balls. Eagles tried to break away at the start of the quarter, led by the highly energetic O’Sullivan as the newly promoted opened up a seven-point lead. This forced Trinity to step up their game defensively with Learn and Finn all making huge defensive stops for the South Dublin side. The seven-point lead was quickly erased as point guard Aisling Moran tied the game at 29-29 with a crafty layup off a beautiful horns screen action. This was followed up by an incredible wrap-around pass from the baseline from Hazel Finn who found an open Catherine Connaire in the corner for a huge three-pointer as Meteors headed into halftime with a one-point lead.
The third quarter was a low-scoring affair with both teams displaying great defensive efforts. Meteors really picked up the intensity with Helena Keane and Franciska Treiliha leading the way with some extraordinary perimeter defence, putting huge ball pressure on Cavan’s guards and forcing them into making turnovers. Defence led to offence as Trinity would seize a six-point lead highlighted by a big three-pointer by co-captain Sarah Kenny. The recent Trinity PhD graduate recorded a dominant double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds, demonstrating impressive veteran leadership throughout. Meteors went into the final quarter with a narrow four-point lead!
Trinity’s new American postgraduate student Ava Learn would come up huge in the fourth quarter for Meteors. Multiple finishes inside the paint including a crafty hook shot through a fierce double-team highlighted a strong start of the quarter from the former NCAA D1 player. Treiliha continued to be a great spark off the bench for Meteors as her constant energy and tenacity would cause problems for the Cavan side on both ends of the floor. Despite Meteors’ efforts to jump ahead, Cavan would remain in the game through former Meteors and Trinity Sport Scholar Alex Mulligan. Mulligan, with her intelligent basketball IQ would find clever ways to score underneath the basket, scoring six unanswered points to give Eagles a pivotal two-point lead with five minutes to go in the game. Trinity Meteors would respond through their star point-guard Hazel Finn. A strong drive to the basket and a clutch three-pointer from Finn would help Meteors regain the lead. Subsequently, using her experience and elite ball-handling, the Irish International would take control of the game and dictate the pivotal offensive possessions for Meteors in crunch time. Finn and Horstmeyer would connect two times as Trinity took a commanding five-point lead with one minute to go. Despite efforts from Harris to mount an Eagles comeback, clutch free-throws from Sarah Kenny would ice the game for Meteors as they came out on top 65-61.
A strong start to the season for Trinity Meteors. Head Coach Seamas Donnelly will have plenty of positives to take next weekend’s clash against Fr Mathews in Cork. On Saturday, October 18th at 5.30pm, Meteors will take on Waterford Wildcats at Trinity Sports Centre, marking their first game on campus this season.
Quarter Scores:
Q1: 18-19 Q2: 17-15
Q3: 12-9 Q4: 18-18
Game Scores:
Q1: 18-19 Q2: 35-34
Q3: 47-43 Q4: 65-61
Trinity Meteors: #3 Hazel Finn, #5 Caoimhe Gilligan, #6 Catherin Connaire (C), #7 Sarah Kenny (C), #8 Helena Keane, #10 Martina Destro, #11 Ciara Mulligan, #12 Aisling Moran, #13 Franciska Treiliha, #14 Ava Learn, #16 Kylie Horstmeyer, #32 Riodhna McGrath
Head Coach: Seamas Donnelly
Cavan Eagles: #0 Katie O’Sullivan, #3 Mazatkan Harris, #4 Soleil Barnes, #7 Niamh Tolan (C), #8 Casey Mulvey, #9 Sophie Staunton, #11 Caitlin Carroll, #12 Ciara Brady, #13 Ciara Tolan, #14 Alexandra Mulligan, #99 Omotese Osunde Okperan
Head Coach: John Stephens
