History made as Kilkenny Stars lift U18 Girls All-Ireland League title

Kilkenny Stars overhauled a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to win the first edition of the U18 Girls All-Ireland League, as they edged Gurranbraher Credit Union Brunell 61-59 in a thrilling encounter at the National Basketball Arena on Saturday.

The win was a first ever national title for Kikenny Stars, which was formed in 2011.

Aimee O’Reilly put in a huge performance for the victors, with 22 points and 20 rebounds, to inspire her side to victory and claim the MVP award.

It was a low scoring affair in the opening exchanges, a fastbreak and layup from Caoimhe Timmons had Kilkenny Stars 7-2 up midway through the first quarter. A Lena Zydek three and a Kayla Wall free throw followed to put Kilkenny Stars 11-2 up with three and a half minutes to go and they’d lead 14-7 by the end of the quarter.

Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell reeled in their opponents and baskets from Francesca Kyamagero and Abbie Lyons helped bring parity at 23-23 with just under three minutes to go in the second quarter, prompting a timeout by Kilkenny Stars. They came out of it with a 11-point run, finished off by O’Reilly’s layup and a Zydek free throw to lead 34-23 at half-time.

Brunell dominated the third quarter and set the tone in the opening minute of it, rattling off eight quick-fire points and when McKenzie Lucey landed a three to make it 34-31 there was a swift timeout called by Kilkenny Stars head coach Puff Summers.

Brunell were relentless in the quarter, back-to-back layups from Abbie Lyons layup and a steal and layup from Francesca Kyamagero had them 41-36 in front just before the midpoint. The Cork club hadn’t finished yet, back-to-back three’s by Lucey and Jean Aherne, followed by Kymagero’s fastbreak and layup saw Brunell 49-36 ahead with 4:11 to go and they’d lead 50-39 by the end of the quarter.

Kilkenny Stars got themselves back into contention and three minutes into the fourth quarter it was back to a six-point game, 53-47, following O’Reilly’s layup. Brunell’s hopes were dealt a major blow when they lost Abbie Lyons with 3:49 to go, after she picked up her fifth foul, she finished with team-high 20 points, along with 10 rebounds. A long two -point shot jump shot by Aoibhean Walsh followed shortly afterwards and Kilkenny Stars trailed 55-53. They got it back level at 55-55 after free throws from Timmons and O’Reilly.

Brunell then carved out a four point lead once more, following Lucey’s three, but Kilkenny Stars responded with back-to-back layups from Timmons and O’Reilly, to leave it poised at 59-59 with 1:39 to go. The winning points would come from MVP O’Reilly in the final minute and Brunell couldn’t bring matters level once more.

Kilkenny Stars: Amie Leigh, Sally Power (4), Sarah Burke (1), Juno Vanhengel, Kayla Wall (3), Jill Dempsey, Aoibheann Walsh (5), Niamh Mulhall (4), Aimee O’Reilly (22), Lena Zydek (10), Caoimhe Timmons (12). Head Coach: Lawrence ‘Puff’ Summers

Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell: Jean Aherne (6), Sophie O’Keeffe (0), Abbie Lyons (20), Megan Cowhey, Millie Murphy (7), Francesca Kyamagero (10), McKenzie Lucey (16), Sarah Sheehan (0), Ava O’Mahoney (0), Abbie Power, Saoirse O’Driscoll (0), Saoirse Lyons (0). Head Coach: Kieran O’Leary.