Cork Basketball: Glanmire and Brunell hit the road as Fr Mathew's host Liffey Celtics

As we are deep into the business end of the Men’s and Women’s Super League it will be turn of the latter to strut their skills as their male counterparts are involved in International duty.

It will be an interesting weekend for all three Cork clubs with two on the road and Catalyst Fr Mathew’s hosting championship-chasing Flomax Liffey Celtics at the Fr Mathew’s Arena.

The Kildare side were in Cork last Sunday and enjoyed a hard-earned 77-68 win over Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell. When the going got tough for Liffey they found a match-winner in American Alexandra Navarrete who finished with a game-high 29 points.

Navarrete is a quality player but her professional partner Eboni Williams didn’t impress finishing with a mere four points in 16 minutes of action.

Reports from Mathew’s derby loss against Glanmire suggested the Model Farm Road were comfortably disposed of by a dominant Glanmire side.

The Dwyer sisters Grainne and Niamh have had wonderful careers in the sport but time waits for nobody and now after two decades playing in the top tier they are now coming off the bench with coach Keith Daly opting to use his younger guns.

The Mathew’s American Kyra White has underachieved all season and her six points contribution in 34 points of action against Glanmire summed up a poor day at the office.

The original Mathew’s American Shannon Brady picked up an injury over a month ago and Makeda Clarke-Nicholas was brought in to replace her.

Nicholas chipped in with 14 points against Glanmire but looking at their Irish players they lack experience and quality to make an impact in this league.

Aine O’Connor is a powerful post player and she will pose Mathew’s problems if she doesn't get the attention in defence she warrants. When you lose the bragging rights in a derby game there is no better way to bounce back than to take a bigger scalp in your next game and although Mathew’s are capable of testing the Kildare outfit huge improvement will be needed.

There will be a change in the guard when The Address UCC Glanmire travel to play Killester at the IWA Clontarf tomorrow.

Callie Cavanaugh the Glanmire American has parted ways with the club for personal reasons and there will be a debut for Trinity Oliver.

Oliver played in the league last season with the University of Ulster and will be a good addition to Mark Scannell’s side for the remainder of the campaign.

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The second Glanmire American Deljane Williams had a season-best against Mathew’s finishing with a game-high 26 points. Williams is a talented player and highly-rated by her coach and it will be interesting how her new partnership with Oliver plays out.

Captain Aine McKenna continues to excel following her recent injury and had another impressive game against Mathew’s with a 13-point tally.

The recent return of Claire O’Sullivan has been welcomed by the Glanmire faithful as she brings a wealth of experience and class to the side.

Looking at the Women’s Super League this season there is no standout side and if Oliver is a good fit for Glanmire they will be a test for any side in the play-offs.

Killester had a double-header last weekend winning against at home to Portlaoise Panthers but they went down on Sunday in overtime to Waterford Wildcats. The Clontarf side are not as strong in depth as they have been in recent years but they do possess some quality players in American Samantha Haiby and Leva Bagdanaviciene.

A tough game to call but Glanmire are capable of causing an upset.

Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell are also on the road as they travel to Trinity Meteors. Brunell only played in snatches in their home defeat to Liffey Celtics but had chances to win.

Americans Trinity Hudson and Deaja Richardson haven’t set the league alight in this campaign and once again the former missed easy tips in their latest defeat.

Edel Thornton without being back to her best following her 12 months on the sideline with an ACL injury is still showing great spirit. Meteors are tough opposition on their home court and Brunell will be made work hard if they are to secure a win.