Panthers left empty-handed after loss in Women’s Super League curtain raiser
Alyssa Velles scored an impressive 23 points for Portlaoise Panthers in the Women's Super L:eague opening round loss to Cavan Eagles Photo: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
DESPITE an impressive haul of 23 points by Alyssa Velles, Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers came up short in their 2026/27 Domino’s Women’s Super League opener against VSC Cavan Eagles in Barrow Centre on Saturday.
It was new signings, Kilah Freelon and Darrione Rogers who inflicted the bulk of the damage for Cavan, the two Americans combining for a massive 56 points, with the former mopping up a huge 19 rebounds, almost evenly-split under the offensive and defensive boards.
Despite the loss, new Portlaoise head coach, Ger Jago remained upbeat, telling The Laois Nationalist, “It was always going to be a tough game against Cavan. They're a very well-drilled and deep team. They can go 9, 10 deep on the bench and plenty of talent there, with girls who have performed at this level.
“Their two professionals were outstanding and absolutely shot the lights out, despite some really good defence from our team.
“I thought defensively, we were really good at times, but there was a period in the first quarter where we just weren't getting back quick enough and Cavan stretched their lead out.
“Second quarter was tight, but Chinwe [Iwunze] got into foul trouble, so we had to sit her out for the third quarter and again Cavan went on a little run and put another 10 on us.
“But in the fourth quarter, I thought we fought extremely well, with some really important baskets from Alyssa. I thought Bria [Shine] did really well. Katie Rose [Harrison] came in for her Super League debut with seven points off the bench and did a great job defensively.
“Shauna Dooley was our second highest scorer with 11 points and Megan [Dunne] held everything together for us as our captain.
“It's a funny one. I've been reflecting on the game and I'm not upset by the result. I'm upset by the scoreline, because I don't think it reflects how well we did in the game. Overall, I'm quite impressed with how we played and the girls are going to settle in a little bit more.
“I hate losing, but there’s a lot of positives to take away from the game and, going forward, I think we will build and get better week on week, so don't write us off just yet.
“I think there's plenty of great basketball to come from Panthers, and I'd like to thank all the supporters for making the trip to Carlow. It felt like a home game for us, which is all always wonderful” he added.
Shorn the advantage of playing on their home court in St. Mary’s Hall due to continuing work on the gym floor, Portlaoise found themselves 22-12 down at the end of the opening quarter in Carlow, a 12-point surge by their opponents in the closing three minutes of that period leaving them with some ground to make up.
Up until that run by Cavan, nothing more than a bucket had separated the two sides, as the lead swapped hands three times in those early stages, with new recruits Iwunze and Shine, together with Holli Dunne and Velles picking up some important buckets.
But Freelon was quickly making her presence felt in the paint, finishing the opening quarter with a huge 12 points to her name.
Cavan continued on to push their lead out to 16 points as Rogers twice struck from off the arc and once inside, before Portlaoise put together a seven-point run that included an ‘and one’ and treble by Velles which helped bring them back to within ten of their opponents (45-35) by the half-time recess.
But Panthers struggled to make much, if any, in-roads into that deficit and matters only grew worse for them when Cavan went on a 12-point surge that featured big threes from Rogers and Ellie Glavin, propelling the visitors 20 points clear (67-47) as the teams headed into the final quarter.
Portlaoise kept battling, but the loss of Iwunze to foul trouble did not help their cause and they were unable to seriously threaten Cavan’s tight hold on this game over the closing ten minutes.
Next up for this Portlaoise team will be a trip to Cork next Sunday to face off against a UCC Glanmire outfit who, themselves, will be looking for a quick bounce-back in the wake of their narrow 65-63 loss to defending champions, Trinity Meteors at the weekend.
Holli Dunne, Shauna Dooley, Megan Dunne, Katie Rose Harrison, Jasmine Burke, Elaine Kennington, Alyssa Velles, Bria Shine, Chinwe Iwunze.
Top Scorers: Alyssa Velles (23), Shauna Dooley (11), Bria Shine (9).
Kilah Freelon, Emma Glavin, Ellie Glavin, Naomi Farrington, Niamh Tolan, Katie O’Sullivan, Ciara Tolan, Casey Mulvey, Sarah Staunton, Darrione Rogers, Omotese Osunde.
Top Scorers: Kilah Freelon (31), Darrione Rogers (25), Ellie Glavin (9).
