There was a full house in O’Loughlin Gaels on Saturday night for the meeting of CluneTech Kilkenny Stars and Dublin Raiders in the Basketball Ireland National Development League.  Having beaten Portlaoise in their first game The Stars were hoping to make it two wins in a row in their first home game of the season.  The crowd in attendance were treated to a very close, tense game with the lead changing hands repeatedly throughout the game.

The teams were testing each other out in the first quarter with The Stars applying their normal full court pressure defence and Dublin Raiders applying a big zone defence to try and stifle the flow in their opponents offence.  Aoibhin Dunphy had a standout quarter hitting some huge shots for the home team to the delight of the crowd. On defence Faye McDonnell and Ava Coogan were excellent while handling the best players from the Dublin Raiders team.  At the end of the quarter there was just one point between the teams with The Stars edging it at 16 v 15.

The second quarter was much the same as the first, a very tight and cagey affair with both defences dominating for the most part. Aimee O’Reilly got her name on the score sheet with some nice scores and Faye Scanlon chipped in with a nice bucket to keep the scoreboard ticking over.  Dublin Raiders were not going to give up easily though and made The Stars work hard for every basket.  At the end of the first half the score was 35 v 31 to the home team.  During the half time break it was fantastic to see so many kids down on the court practicing their moves and taking some shots.  There is a real buzz about basketball in Kilkenny at the moment and The Stars Ladies team are at the forefront of that which is fantastic to see.

The third quarter was physically very tough with Dublin Raiders fighting their way back into the game.  The Stars struggled to find their shooting form but Clodagh O’Neill and Lucy Coomey put in a big effort on defence to stem the flow of scores from Dublin Raiders and Lucy chipped in with 5 points in the quarter too which made a big impact on the game.  At the end of the quarter the game was all tied at 47 v 47 setting up a grand finale in the fourth quarter.

Gemma Lawlor came back into the game and hit a huge three pointer for the home team while Faye Scanlon hit a long range 2 and the crowd really got back into the game getting behind their team as this game really could go either way at this stage.  Faye McDonnell was exceptional at both ends of the floor working hard on the boards and chipping in with some lovely finishes while Aoibhin Dunphy was a cool head marshalling the offence and working hard to get her team mates open.  Down the stretch Aimee O’Reilly made some big plays to pick up scores while Elena Lauhoff had a very solid game also.  In the end it came down to desire, who wanted it more and The Stars did not disappoint finishing the stronger and running in 61 v 57 winners in a hard fought battle.

Coach Puff Summers was very happy with his players picking up the win against a tough Dublin Raiders team who were well coached by Ed Randolph.  He was especially happy with the atmosphere and the input from the crowd throughout the game.  Next up in the BIDL is another home game on Saturday 7th December against Tullamore.

Scorers: Aoibhin Dunphy 19, Aimee O’Reilly 15, Faye McDonnell 13, Lucy Coomey 5, Faye Scanlon 4, Gemma Lawlor 3, Ava Coogan 2, Clodagh O’Neill, Kila Kavanagh, Elena Lauhoff, Aoibhin Timmons.