Women's Super League preview: Impressive Brunell on the road to face Cavan Eagles

Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell will be hoping to build on their derby win over UCC Glanmire when they travel north tomorrow to face newly promoted Cavan Eagles.

The Eagles were competitive in their opening game against Trinity Meteors despite going down to a 65-61 defeat.

Brunell showed flashes of brilliance against Glanmire and despite captain Edel Thornton having a low-key game when only chipping in with three points other players stood up when the game hung in the balance.

For many years Brunell depended on the scoring averages of Thornton but now they have players like Ava Walshe, Kelly Sexton and Lauryn Homan capable of giving them the required numbers.

Another plus for Brunell was the performances of their American duo Brailyn Joseph (26) and Maddie Cluse (24). They look ilke they'll pose opposing teams problems in this league.

Brunell, a club with a renowned fighting spirit, have unearthed good professionals and they will need a similar performance against the Eagles.

Complacency is the only hurdle for Brunell in this fixture but surely, they should have too much in their locker for the league debutants.

UCC Glanmire coach Mark Scannell will have been disappointed with their home defeat to Brunell and they face another test of their character when they travel tomorrow to face Killester.

The Dublin side under coach Mark Grennell travelled to Kildare last weekend and came away with a stunning 89-62 win over highly touted Liffey Celtics.

For long periods, Glanmire looked okay against Brunell but made silly errors at crucial stages of the game. The American duo of Viane Cumber and Jewel Watkins look decent players and despite being on the losing side, they did give their all.

Coach Scannell will be happy with the returning Claire O’Sullivan, who is still a talented player in the twilight of her career.

Killester, led by captain Mimi Clarke, have a serious American in Samantha Haiby and if Glanmire can restrict her they will test the reigning champions.

TOUGH

Catalyst Fr Mathew’s suffered a tough 71-69 home loss to Portlaoise Panthers last week and they face another tough test on home terrain tomorrow when they entertain Trinity Meteors.

It was a baptism of fire for Mathew’s new coach Jamie, Barry who will be hoping for a better shift from his Americans Laila Blair and Lexie Givens.

In the case of Blair, she looks a serious shooter. She finished with a 32-point tally but has to show more energy in defence.

The second Mathew’s American Lexie Givens only contributed 11 points in her 32 minutes on court and will need to pick it up big time for her team to compete with the elite in this league.

Meteors will have the former Glanmire ace Sarah Kenny in their squad with Irish international Hazel Finn also back with the Dublin outfit.

The Mathew’s veteran Grainne Dwyer contributed 14 points in the home defeat to Portlaoise but for Mathew’s to win they will need a bigger contribution from the rest of the squad, or they could end up on the back of two home defeats.