After a ground out first half, Domino’s Women’s Super League champions Killester eventually romped to victory against Glanmire.
Killester, the reigning Irish women’s champions, eventually romped to a convincing win over Glanmire on Saturday. The Dublin club however took its time getting going in what was a grind it out affair for large stretches.
Once the hosts were able to open things up, the dynamic changed swiftly. Sam Haiby’s class was telling, as was the sheer depth of Mark Grennell’s side.
A start for the purists
The game opened with Killester getting by far and away the lion’s share of better looks. The problem was with their execution, where they failed to turn their superiority in the opening minutes into a lead of note.
Once both teams had settled, the quality of play rose considerably. The biggest impact however was clearly on the defensive side of the ball. Mark Scannell’s Glanmire ceased being generous with space and both teams struggled mightily to get even half-decent looks.
It made for a real grind it out affair. That’s fine for the purists but it kept the scoreboard from lighting up. A Sam Haiby bank shot to close the quarter ensured the hosts held a 16-14 lead after 10 minutes.
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Taking things up a notch
A lovely falling corner three by Glanmire’s Jewel Watkins opened the second quarter as both sides aimed to take the level up a notch. The game was clearly flowing more as Watkins followed up with a step inside to score over Haiby.
Execution issues continued to plague Killester. The hosts almost seemed more comfortable with tough looks than gimmes. A big fast break three for Glanmire from Viane Cumber piled on the pressure on the home side.
Michelle Clarke and Haiby however steadied the ship. A three from the former in response to Cumber led a rally. The defending champions led by the minimum at the half.
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Just shut them down
The second half was a completely different game entirely. It was nip and tuck early in terms of scoring. The game quickly opened up however with Haiby making the most of the extra space to torment Glanmire.
Killester held a 52-43 lead at the end of the third and only stepped up from there. Haiby’s drives kept on hurting Glanmire and the Cork side just didn’t have any answers. The lead stretched to 14 before Glanmire registered their opening score of the final quarter, an Áine McKenna three.
So, of course, Haiby immediately scored a three in response and the rout was well and truly on. A Clarke pass inside found Ieva Bagdanaviciene for the finish to push the lead to 20. The hosts briefly led by 30 points thanks to free throws from Leilani Turner before finally taking a 78-50 win.
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