Portlaoise women bow out after thrilling playoff battle with Trinity
Despite a huge performance by Jessica Fressle that saw her card a double double on the night it was not enough to see off the Trinity Meteors challenge Photos: Paul Dargan
TRINITY METEORS 80
MIDLANDS PARK PORTLAOISE PANTHERS 73
DESPITE a dogged performance in Donnybrook on Saturday night, Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers saw their 2024/25 Domino’s Women’s Super League campaign draw to a close after they were edged out down the stretch by Trinity Meteors in an enthralling playoff quarter-final.
While they did fall seven points adrift by the close of the first quarter, Portlaoise remained very much on the heels of their hosts throughout this game.
Indeed, they reeled their Dublin rivals back in late in the third quarter, setting the stage for a nail-biting final 10 minutes, during which the two sides found themselves deadlocked on three occasions before Meteors delivered crucial buckets down the stretch to clinch a win that sets them up for a date with Utility Trust St. Paul’s in the last four.
Saturday’s game marked the fourth encounter between these two teams this season, Portlaoise having emerged six-point winners in their previous clash just two weeks before.
But it was not to be for Peter O’Sullivan’s side on this occasion, despite a huge performance by Jessica Fressle that saw her card a double double on the night with a game-best 31 points and 12 rebounds.
Alyssa Velles also made a significant 23-point contribution to Panthers’ cause but it was not enough to help see them level up their head-to-head record against Trinity, who prevailed, thanks in no small measure to the combined 43 points that Grace Prenter and Morgan Lenahan served up for them on the night.
It was tit-for-tat throughout much of the opening quarter as both sides found themselves deadlocked on four occasions before Trinity served up six unanswered points by way of buckets off the three-point line by Franciska Treiliha and Lenahan.
That helped see them up 22-15 by the close of the first quarter, Portlaoise remaining in touch thanks largely to the combined 14 points that Velles and Fressle pocketed in that period.
It remained very tight throughout the second quarter, Fressle’s bucket being cancelled out by Prenter’s deuce in the opening minute.
The visitors did manage to close the gap to three following a six-point run that included a full return for both Fressle and Ciara Byrne when they went to the free-throw line.
Yet Meteors remained out in front as Prenter took her tally to 12 by half-time recess, while both Ciara and Alexandra Mulligan landed big efforts from downtown.
That helped see the hosts maintain their seven-point first-quarter cushion, as they carried a 40-33 lead into the second half.
Portlaoise did close in on their hosts in the third as Fressle drained all five of her shots from the free-throw line in that period while also landing buckets from both sides of the arc.
Lynn Tunnah followed suit to help level it up at 51 points apiece with just over two minutes to go in that penultimate phase.
Velles pocketed a further two points from the free-throw line to nudge the visitors in front, but Trinity accounted for the final four points of that quarter through Lenahan and Catherine Connaire to take a narrow 55-53 lead into the fourth.
A seven-point run, that include an Amy Dooley deuce and three-point bucket from Tunnah, saw Panthers overtake by three, and apart from a couple of brief spells when the two sides were deadlocked, they remained out in front for the next four minutes.
Another big three from Ciara Mulligan had Trinity back in front, and while Fressle responded for Portlaoise from the free-throw line, the hosts moved back into, what proved, an unrelinquished lead thanks to buckets from Prenter and Alexandra Mulligan.
While Saturday’s reversal will, no doubt, be a tough one to swallow for Panthers, this group of Portlaoise players can take huge comfort in a campaign that has seen them go from simply surviving in the top flight to finishing fifth in the regular season.
TRINITY METEORS: Morgan Lenahan, Catherine Connaire, Sarah Kenny, Lisa Blaney, Ciara Mulligan, Alexandra Mulligan, Franciska Treiliha, Grace Prenter, Emma Merriweather.
Top Scorers: Grace Prenter (23), Morgan Lenahan (20), Sarah Kenny (9).
MIDLANDS PARK PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Holli Dunne, Shauna Dooley, Ciara Byrne, Megan Dunne, Lynn Tunnah, Jessica Fressle, Amy Dooley, Alyssa Velles.
Top Scorers: Jessica Fressle (31), Alyssa Velles (23), Lynn Tunnah (10).
