Few games attracted more interest this weekend than the ESB Women's League meeting of Tolka Rovers and the Wildcats. The defending champions had already suffered two defeats this season and a fall to the Wildcats would greatly damage their chances of regaining the title.
And like their meetings last season, yesterday's affair didn't disappoint. Tolka's home gym in Glasnevin was packed to capacity and after a game of near-flawless displays from both sides, no one could argue with the result. Tolka had fully earned their 86-79 victory.
They started slowly, allowing the Wildcats to dominate the first-quarter and build up a nine point lead. Rachel and Sharon Kelly then inspired the chase, taking it to 39 points apiece at half-time.
From then on, the lead exchanged hands with almost every offensive - and neither side seemed like they could miss. Catriona White brought the Wildcats level with three minutes remaining but from then on Tolka enjoyed the better possession to steal the crucial points.
In the men's league, it continues to go downhill for the Saints. They slumped to their fourth successive defeat on Saturday - this time against Dublin rivals Killester.
For the first-half the Saints appeared set for one of their better days. Karl Donnelly made a welcome return from GAA duty and helped them stay close. Early in the third quarter, however, Donnelly went over on his ankle, bad news for both the Saints and Na Fianna - who would also be looking towards Donnelly in next weekend's Leinster club championship final. Still, Pierre Shuttlesworth helped push the Saints briefly in front. Very briefly.
Adrian Fulton and John Leahy fired two quick three-pointers and after leading out that quarter 67-56, Killester never looked back. The Saints were now totally out of shape and eventually fell 79-66.
Better news for Waterford. After losing the chance to take sole possession of the lead last Thursday night, they needed a win over Limerick yesterday to steal some daylight on Notre Dame, who were out of the action this weekend.
In the end, their 100-84 win was as comfortable as they could have hoped. Limerick had pulled off a big win over Star of the Sea the night before, but they were totally our of steam here. They held Waterford to one point at the half but then chased in vain - watching Eric Blair finish with a remarkable 49 points. That leaves Waterford two points clear of Notre Dame but with three games in hand, the Dublin team won't be getting too worried just yet.
