Match Report D3 Tolka Ladies vs Meteors – Away 9th November 2022, Rosemount School Sandyford

Following on from their Intermediate cup victory vs Oblates on Friday last (71-42), the D3 ladies faced a tough top of the league clash against their rivals from D4 last year, Meteors. Both teams started the night with undefeated league records (Tolka 5-0 & Meteors 4-0) but one team was going to go home disappointed.

The game began with both teams playing well organised man to man defence. Tolka started slowly and Meteors took an early lead with their two best players no.13 F Quinn and no.23 K Monaghan scoring early points. As the 1st qtr. moved on Tolka started to find their feet on defence but struggled to execute on offence and finish their opportunities on the fast break. The qtr. finished with Meteors leading 13-10 behind their two main scorers no.13 F Quinn and no.23 K Monaghan. Tolka, as they have done all season, shared their 1st qtr. points across five different players

· End Qtr1: 13-10 Meteors leading

Tolka talked at the break and agreed that they had taken the best of Meteors and it was time to pick up their defence and increase the pace of the game. Tolka started strong behind the energy and defence provided by no.11 Rachael O’Kelly and no.18 Martha Delaney. Tolka focused on stopping the excellent no.13 F Quinn who finished the qtr. without scoring. Tolka controlled their rebounds and got out on the fast break. The qtr. and the 1st half finished with Tolka leading 26-18. Tolka no.11 Rachael O’Kelly had 6 points in the qtr. along with five other scorers.

· End 1st Half: 18-26 Tolka leading

Meteors started the second half by switching to a 2-1-2 zone defence trying to change the pace of the game and control their own rebounds. The game went through an extended spell with defenses on top. Tolka struggled against the zone but started to adjust behind the scoring of no.4 Maedbha NiDhalaigh (4 pts) and no.22 Lea Clerkin (4 pts). Meteors no.23 K Monaghan scored a couple of baskets but again Tolka stopped the excellent no.13 F Quinn who again failed to score. The 3rd qtr. finished with Tolka extending their lead slightly to 10 pts, 26-36.

· End Qtr3: 26-36 Tolka leading

The 4th followed a similar theme to the 3rd with Meteors sitting deep in a zone defence and Tolka trying to pick it apart. The real difference was that Tolka raised their defensive intensity levels forcing Meteors into continued poor shot selection late in the shot clock. Meteors no.13 F Quinn finally scored finishing the qtr. with 4 out of Meteors total of 5 pts. Tolka were led by scoring from no.11 Rachal O’Kelly (4 pts) and no.12 Zsara Uzell (4 pts). Tolka again extended their lead off the back of lock-out team defence, and the game finished with Tolka winning 31-45, extending their undefeated record for the season so far.

· Final Score: 31-45 Tolka win

Top Scorers:

· Tolka - no.11 Rachal O’Kelly - 12 pts, no.22 Lea Clerkin – 9 pts & no.4 Maedbha NiDhalaigh - 8 pts

· Meteors - no.13 F Quinn – 9 pts & no.23 K Monaghan – 8 pts