Killester have won their fourth InsureMyHouse.ie Paudie O’Connor National Cup title, following an impressive 96-70 win over Trinity Meteors. The pacy Chanell Williams was inspirational for the Dublin outfit, scoring 25 points and racking up 13 assists, four rebounds and four steals to earn her the MVP.
There were also big performances from another American, Chyna Latimer, who had 26 points and 13, along with Ieva Bagdanaviciene, who shot five from the three point line, and Killester's talismanic captain Michelle Clarke, to name but a few.
Killester, who last won the trophy in 2020, were fast out of the blocks, their two Americans —Williams and Latimer— in particular making a huge impact, and they were 13-5 ahead with a little over three minutes gone. But Trinity Meteors started to have joy on the boards, with Claire Melia and Celena Taborn among the scorers.
The pacy Williams was dictating play and she drove through traffic and finished with a neat layup in the dying seconds of the first quarter to make it 27-22 to Killester. She also picked up a foul and added the extras from the free throw line.
Ella McCloskey’s three from the corner got Killester off to the perfect start in the second quarter, as they led 31-22. A layup by Robyn Malone and it was 33-22. Killester’s shooting from the three point line was proving fruitful, Clarke got in on the act in the fourth minute of the quarter and they were ahead 36-24. Trinity Meteors closed the gap with Taborn starting to making a real impact inside – she would finish the contest with 25 points.
A layup from Dayna Finn brought Trinity Meteors in front for the first time, 43-42, with a little over a minute left in the second quarter. Killester regained the lead, but it was the narrowest of one’s at the half-time break after Claire Melia’s buzzer-beating three for Trinity Meteors to finish the half, Killester ahead 47-46.
Bagdanaviciene unloaded two big threes for Killester to start the third and it was 63-58 midway through the third. Clarke’s three from the corner with 3’06 left in the third made it 69-60 to Killester, to spark their fans into full voice and Trinity Meteors head coach Niall Berry called a timeout.
A minute later Latimer drained a two point jump shot from the same corner, to make it an 11 point game in Killester’s favour. Clarke landed another three from the top of the arc in the closing seconds and Mark Grennell’s side appeared in control, 74-60.
