Oblate Dynamos 63
Utility Trust St Pauls 66
Report: Enda Walshe
Utility Trust St Paul’s ended the year on a winning note – but only just.
They were made to battle all the way by a vibrant Oblate Dynamos with plenty of drama packed into the final minutes.
Dynamos trailed by seven with little under three minutes left on the clock but a late surge saw them cut the gap to 64-63.
The final minutes were a combination of both good defence and slightly errant free-throw shooting from Paul’s but, crucially, Sofia Paska, drained her two from the line to finally put the seal on the win.
It gives James Fleming’s side their ninth win of the season and they are in a strong position now in the Southern Conference.
With Lynn Jones still rehabbing an injury, Denise Dunlea made the deserved step up to the starting five alongside Paska, Khiarica Rasheed, Rheanne O’Shea and Lorraine Scanlon. Dunlea immediately repaid the faith with a three pointer while Rasheed was also off the mark.
Rasheed and Paska were dominant inside and with Leah McMahon and Meabh Barry bringing freshness they helped St Paul’s into a 15-12 advantage which had increased to 22-19 by the end of the first quarter.
Paska, having her best showing of the season, Dunlea and Lorraine Scanlon made a rousing start to the second quarter and holding Oblate at bay the gap was widened to 34-22 but it was soon cut to six points, 38-32.
Oblate tended to commit fouls in spurts and the opening minutes of the second half were dominated by trips to the free-throw line with Scanlon and Rheanne O’Shea profiting and by the end of the third quarter it a five-point lead, 51-46.
The final quarter was fractured with plenty of stoppages but that didn’t take from the excitement or indeed the tension of the occasion. Again consecutive fouls by the hosts sent Scanlon, Paska and Rasheed to the charity stripe and they duly obliged to extend the lead to 10 points, 58-48.
Undeterred, Oblate’s Sheehan and Ciara White whittled it down to a three-point game but Scanlon netted after a sublime assist from McMahon.
Rasheed and Scanlon drove it on to 64-57 and it looked like St Paul’s were turning the cars for home. Meagher, Mayze and Sheehan put a halt to that gallop and with the game into the final minutes it was down to that solitary point, 64-63. Those fouls early in the quarter almost came back to haunt Oblate but, unfortunately, St Paul’s couldn’t capitalise from the free-throw line.
It set up that nervy finale but credit where it’s due two defensive stops and cool hands from Paska carried the day, on a 66-63 scoreline.
For the victors Sofia Paska and Khiarica Rasheed both had 19, Lorraine Scanlon shot 18, Denise Dunlea finished on seven and Rheanne O’Shea contributed three.
The Oblate Dynamos were best served by Alarie Mayze on 19.
The team has come through a tough run with three trips to Dublins in recent weeks and Rheanne O’Shea sees the benefit in them: “These games will definitely stand to us without a doubt. We have only two home games left and if we stay on top of the Southern Conference we have a great chance of getting a home semi-final in the league which is massive.”
St Paul’s are exactly where they want to be and the visit of Abbey Seal Dublin Lions on January 13 is the next step on the ladder they so desperately want to climb.
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