Wildcats prevail in thriller

Just when you think the noise level in the National Basketball Arena can't possibly get any louder, Mary Fitzpatrick fires Avonmore Snowcream Wildcats back in front for the last time. Seconds left, and everybody knows it's too late for Meteors to fight back. It's a few minutes before you can hear yourself think again.

For Meteors, there's time for one more free throw and then it sinks in. For most of the Sprite Cup final yesterday they were the team on top, the one making all the big plays. To lose by a point is as a dramatic heartbreak as one can imagine. But every year, that's exactly what this weekend is guaranteed to throw up.

The Wildcats, whose only other cup win came two years ago, will be a long time celebrating. The defending Superleague champions have already surrendered that crown to Tolka, so this at least sends some of the silverware back to Waterford. And for coach Katy Delaney, it concludes a memorable weekend that also saw her lead the under-19 side to the Junior Cup title earlier in the day.

"That was as hard and as tough a game as we could have got," said the American. "I'm so proud of the way everybody played today, especially their never-say-die attitude. They showed incredible will to win, but we needed all of it to come back like we did."

For the most part, though, Meteors didn't do anything wrong. It was a tense and dramatic game throughout, with Karen Hennessy superb in maintaining their advantage for long periods. Sinead Harvey was covering the court better than anyone, and Gillian Morris and Ann Marie Kyne offered support whenever it was required.

What kept the Wildcats in the match was their ability to keep the score close. They lead 9-8 after the first quarter, but only after Michelle Aspel claimed the first three-pointer just before the buzzer. Before that, they were ragged and unsettled in all areas as Meteors were particularly effective in controlling their forwards.

The free-throwing of Morris and Keane put the Dublin side back in front 25-23 by the end of the half, and for sure memories of their 1996 upset over the Wildcats would have come to mind. They then moved eight points clear midway through the third quarter, only for the Wildcats to fight back again through Jillian Hayes and Kim Fitzpatrick to level it 40 apiece going into the final quarter.

Again they were slow off the mark, Meteors enjoying a four-point lead going into the final minutes. All the while, Hennessy was most impressive in keeping her head high to make sure that those around her didn't fall. One sensed another upset similar to their dismissal of league leaders Tolka Rovers on Friday night.

When Christine Kiely came up with the crucial three-pointer to level the Wildcats with less than three minutes left, however, the luck seemed to be on their side. Mary Fitzpatrick gave them the lead, Audrey Kearon missed a couple of free-throws, and suddenly the Wildcats were champions.

"It's hard for us, being such a young team, to lose like that," said Hennessy, deservedly voted the game's MVP. "We were so focused throughout, but had that one low patch at the end of the third quarter. That brought them right back into it and there was never going to be much in it after that."

Avonmore Snowcream Wildcats: E Griffen, J Hayes (19), O O'Reilly (7), M Fitzpatrick (5), K Fitzpatrick, C White (5), J Coady, K Maher, C Kiely (3), C Kissane (2), O Dempsey (2), M Aspel (9).

Meteors: S Harvey (6), M Kelly, C Doyle (5), A Quinn, G Morris (11), A M Kyne (3), C Harvey (6), C O'Sullivan, O Nolan (2), K Hennessy (18).

Junior Women: Avonmore Snowcream Wildcats 60 (J Cody 12, F Lynch 12, K Fitzpatrick 19), Meteors 43 (C Doyle 15, N Furey 8, A Quinn 6, E Lynday 6).