Eagles swoop on Oblate
By Daire Walsh
DESPITE the best efforts of Emily O’Callaghan and Heather Meagher, Oblate Dynamos fell to a 78-53 defeat against McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles in the MissQuote.ie Women’s Division One league at Virginia Show Centre on Saturday afternoon.
Back in national league basketball following a six-year hiatus, Oblate had begun the term with a narrow 53-50 reversal to Swords Thunder. They then won their first game of the new season at the expense of Limerick Sport Huskies at their home patch of Oblate Hall, Inchicore on October 8 and were hoping to continue on an upward trajectory in this second-tier competition.
However, they were facing formidable opponents in the shape of the unbeaten Cavan Eagles. While Terry Staunton’s side had an extra day to prepare for battle – Oblate were in action on Saturday during week two, whereas the Eagles took the court on Sunday – this was their first time to hit the road at this grade since 2016.
Although Meagher’s five-point haul was supplemented by contributions from Claire Quinn Nealon (two) and O’Callaghan, Oblate were 22-8 in arrears by the end of the opening quarter. Alarie Mayze and Emma Tolan were in outstanding form for Cavan and the home team subsequently brought a convincing 45-22 cushion into the half-time break.
There was some solace for the travelling Oblate faithful in the performances produced by Jennifer Sheehan and Megan Aho during this period – their tallies of five and four points respectively ensuring that Cavan Eagles couldn’t completely rest on their laurels.
Impressive baskets from O’Callaghan, Samantha Massey and Quinn Nealon kept the Oblate spirits up on the resumption, before Aho unleashed a magnificent three-pointer through the Cavan hoop. The Ulster side were relentless, however, and held an unassailable 68-37 advantage with 10 minutes left on the clock.
To their credit, Oblate managed to outscore the Eagles 16-10 in the final-quarter of the game. O’Callaghan was particularly prominent in the closing moments, contributing three baskets to bring his final haul up to 11 points.
Meagher chipped in with 10 points over the course of the play and with no fewer than nine players getting their name on the scoresheet, head coach Staunton does have plenty of raw materials at his disposal.
Next up for eighth-place Oblate is a duel with Moy Tolka Rovers at 5pm this Saturday in Tolka Rovers SC.