Brunell suffer huge blow crashing out of the National Cup with home loss to Liffey Celtics

Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell 80 

Liffey Celtics 82 

Heartbreak for Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell as they fell short to the holders Liffey Celtics in a thrilling Domino’s Paudie O’Connor Women’s National Cup quarter final at the GCU Arena on Sunday.

The Cork side didn’t produce their best basketball on the day and when they look back on this loss they will surely rue their poor defending over four quarters.

The Kildare side basically exposed them with unchallenged lay ups and shots that finally killed off the prospects of the northside club advancing to the final four.

The home side missed two easy tips before Katie Williamson posted up and banked a shot in the opening minute before Maddie Cluse responded with consecutive baskets.

In fairness, the game was played at a furious pace with both team’s guilty of missing easy tips but in the sixth minute Brunell courtesy of Brailyn Joseph basket commanded a 16-11 lead.

Brunell’s defence was awful with the Kildare side punishing them with unchallenged lay ups.

In the closing minutes Brunell continued to be slack at both ends of the court and were fortunate to command a one- point lead 18-17 entering the second quarter.

On the restart, Brunell continued to be sluggish finding it hard to break down the Liffey defence and in the 14th minute they were still only in command by the minimum 26-25.

Scoring continued to be a rarity in this period but the reintroduction of Edel Thornton immediately brought a spark to the home team as they raced into a nine- point lead with two minutes remaining to the interval.

Not for the first time Brunell dropped their intensity in defence but they did manage to have the final say of the quarter when Ava Walshe nailed a buzzer beater three pointer that ensured they went in at the break with a nine- point lead 49-40 lead.

Looking at the half time stats Brunell made 16 from 30 inside the paint (53%) but they only attempted seven shots outside the paint making three that gave them a 43% reading.

In the opening exchanges of the third quarter Brunell’s sloppiness returned as they were careless in defence and struggling to score before Thornton nailed a monstrous shot outside the paint in 23rd minute.

In the closing minutes this game was the equivalent of a dogfight but Brunell just edged it and entering the fourth quarter they led by the minimum 58-57.

Coming down the stretch both sides had opportunities to win it and when Thornton made a magnificent drive to the hoop her finish was superb it gave her side a 76-75 lead.

When the game hung in the balance the Brunell defence failed to get the vital stops as the holders held out for a famous win.

Scorers for Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell: E Thornton 20, B Joseph 18, M Cluse 18, A Walshe 11.

Liffey Celtics: D Brusch 24, K Williamson 21, B Kane 19.

Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell: K Sexton, C Downey, L Hannigan, A Walshe, L Homan, M O’Leary, I McSweeney, E Thornton, F Kyamagero, K Walshe, A Lyons, B Joseph, M Cluse, R Bowdren.

Liffey Celtics: B Kane, C Langan, K O’Flaherty, K Bracken, A Doyle, K Williamson, D Brusch, P Cote, C Njonguo, C Boyce, S Tiernan, E Boyce, A O’Connor.

Referees: Emma Perry (Dublin), Ellen Garvey (Portlaoise).