Basketball: DCU Mercy face tough test against Glanmire

Women's Super League leaders DCU Mercy face a tough top of the table clash in Dublin this weekend as they face off against second placed Glanmire on Sunday afternoon.

Mercy dropped their first game of the season two weekends ago as they fell by two points to Maree in Galway, and despite bouncing back well with a dominant Cup quarter-final win over IT Carlow Basketball at home last weekend, they will be hoping to get back to winning ways in the league.

Yet this weekend's game will not be an easy one for the Dubliners as they face a Glanmire side who currently boast a seven-game winning streak. Mercy will need Americans Meredith Burkhall and Ashley Russell to be in top form this coming weekend, and will also need a big defensive display to lock down Glanmire's Shrita Parker, who currently leads the league in point scoring, averaging over 23 points per game.

Looking ahead to the clash, Mercy's Sarah Woods said: "We're really looking forward to this weekend. It's always a really tough game against Glanmire, and this weekend will be no different. They are coming in off seven wins in a row and are playing well.

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“We obviously had a loss against Maree, but that has fired us up. We had a good win last weekend in the Cup, and are looking to continue that momentum. We’re looking forward to a fight on Sunday and a very good game.”

Elsewhere around the league, joint second place Maree will be hoping that they can stay up with the league leaders when they travel to IT Carlow Basketball this weekend.

They will need to close down the threat of Carlow’s Kaitlyn Slagus under the boards, as she currently leads the league with 15 rebounds per game, but Maree’s Carly McClendon is hot on her heels averaging 12 rebounds per game, which should make for an interesting match up inside.

Meanwhile, down in Cork Fr Mathews will be out for revenge this weekend as they welcome Killester to their home court. Killester knocked Fr Mathews out of the Cup in a ding-dong quarter-final battle in Clontarf, and Fr Mathews will be hoping to avenge that loss this coming Saturday.

Bottom side Marble City Hawks, meanwhile, welcome reigning league champions Liffey Celtics to Kilkenny on Saturday night. Brunell have a tough road game ahead of them this weekend as they travel across to Waterford to face Wildcats.

Double header

It is a double-header weekend for two teams in the Men’s Super League as both Templeogue and UCD Marian face into two tough clashes. They go head-to-head against each other this evening [Thursday], with Templeogue needing a win here to avoid dropping to a 5-5 record.

Marian, meanwhile, sit in joint second place on a 6-3 record, but could find it tricky at their rivals’ home ground having already lost there earlier this season in the Cup.

Templeogue then go on to face joint league leaders DBS Éanna, who sit with a 7-2 record and will be one of the big match ups of the weekend, while UCD Marian host Killester on Sunday afternoon.

Elsewhere, all eyes will be on Kerry for a top-of-the-table clash as Tralee Warriors welcome Neptune to Tralee on Saturday evening. This is set to be one of the big games of the weekend, with both sides carrying momentum into the clash off the back of two big Cup wins last weekend.

DCU Saints, meanwhile, will welcome Belfast Star to Dublin on Saturday evening. Both sides come into the game off the back of two tough Cup losses last weekend, Saints losing out to Neptune and Star going down to Éanna at home.

Winning ways

Killorglin will be also hoping to get back to winning ways after dropping to UCD Marian in their last league clash. They come into their game with Moycullen this weekend with the benefit of having last weekend off, while the Galway side lost their Cup clash with Templeogue.

A big battle is also in store in Galway as Maree host bottom side Dublin Lions in what is set to be an extremely fast-paced and high-scoring affair. Lions are without a win in the league, but have pushed a number of top teams close. They will be hoping to change that this weekend. However, Maree are tricky customers in their home court, so it will be a tough game for Lions.