Pres Kilkenny lose out as Crescent take home Under-19 Basketball crown

There would be no Cup double for the Pres as Limerick’s Crescent Comprehensive took the under-19 A Girls’ Schools Cup spoils at the National Basketball Arena.

The Kilkenny side chased hard, getting to within a point of the long-time leaders, but a strong fourth quarter performance saw Crescent home.

A 16-point haul earned Emma Somers the MVP honours. She was flanked by the supporting cast of Megan Hehir and Madelyn Hartigan, who combined for 25 points just a few days after both won with Limerick Celtics in the under-18 Women’s National Cup final last weekend.

The Crescent started the faster of the two sides, with Hehir hitting a corner three to cap off a 9-0 run, to give Crescent a 13-2 lead with three minutes to go in the opening quarter.

Read More- Presentation Kilkenny win All-Ireland Schools Basketball title

Sally Power hit a three of her own to reduce the deficit to five points (11-6) with a minute to go, but Hartigan and Somers hit tough shots inside to give Crescent a 15-6 lead after one quarter.

The early moments of the second quarter saw Crescent’s Hartigan extend the lead after finishing through contact, then hitting a free-throw to push the gap to 12 points inside the opening 90 seconds of the quarter. Robyn Walsh followed up with two free-throws to put Crescent in to a commanding 21-8 lead midway through the quarter.

Presentation rallied well with a Kaitlyn Summers three and a late score from Power again. That kept the Crescent within single digits, Presentation going in 23-14 behind at half-time.

Power and Summers started the third period strongly, responding to two early Crescent score’s by going on a 16-4 run, with every score coming from Power and Summers, bar one from Niamh Mulhall. The crucial score came from Power, who won an offensive rebound from a missed free-throw to bring the Pres within one point (31-30) late in the third.

Crescent took a 32-30 lead into the fourth, and responded to Presentation’s third quarter run in emphatic fashion, winning the fourth quarter 18-3, kicking off the quarter on an 8-0 run, with two big three’s from Hehir and Walsh pushing Crescent to a 40-30 lead three minutes into the final quarter.

Eabha Hayes would finish well to get Crescent to 50 points, which was enough to secure the Cup.

Presentation Kilkenny - Tara Kovarova, Aoibheann Walsh, Niamh Mulhall, Noa Bambrick, Kaitlyn Summers, Katie Holden, Kayla Wall, Katie O’Keeffe, Lucy Coomey, Ruby Egan, Sally Power.

Top Scorers: Kaitlyn Summers (17), Sally Power (12), Niamh Mulhall (2).

Crescent Comprehensive - Sara Mariya Paul, Eabha Hayes, Megan Hehir, Emma Somers, Robyn Walsh, Noella Ryan, Alisha Russell, Madelyn Hartigan.

Top Scorers: Emma Somers (16), Madelyn Hartigan (14), Megan Hehir (11).