Donegal Town B.C. do the Cup Double

DONEGAL DO THE DOUBLE

Donegal Town recorded their first ever cup double last Saturday defeating LYIT in both the men’s and ladies finals. The ladies ran out convincing winners to retain their trophy, the men recorded their first cup final victory in over a decade.

Donegal Town Ladies 56 LYIT 37

Donegal dominated right from the start, captain Charlene McHugh opened the scoring, then the fast breaking Tara Kahn and Julianne Murphy immediately stretched out the lead. Maeve Liston has been a real find for Donegal this year and was a constant thorn in IT’s side. Donegal were well in command 17-7 at the end of the first. LYIT failed to make inroads in the second quarter, Brid Murphy and Rosa Devaney kept the score board ticking over for Donegal, then Tara Kahn took over, making 6 points to cancel out the efforts of Sinead Gallagher and Feena McAteer.

The game was effectively over as a contest at the end of the third. Donegal stretched out their lead to 46-25. Kahn, Liston, Murphy  doing the damage. Donegal’s ongoing underage policy is clearly paying off, a very young side played the majority of the fourth quarter, and with young players like Claire Brady, Ruta Belezentyte, Lauren Mc Sharry, Kelly Harron and Michaela Breslin the future looks very bright. Charlene McHugh must now be one of the most decorated players in the history of the game, probably second only to her brother John in terms of trophies won. MVP for the final was Tara Khan who was a real threat going forward and in 'D'while Rosa Devaney pushed her all the way in a fine performance.

Panel; Charlene Mc Hugh 1, Maeve Liston 6, Tara Khan 22, Julianne Murphy 10, Rosa Devaney 6, Brid Murphy 4, Claire Brady, Kathryn Martin, Ruta Belezentyte 2, Michaela Breslin 2, Michelle Bennett, A Gillespie, Kelly Harron, Libby Duffy, Lauren Mc Sharry,

Coach Kevin Sinclair   - Ass Coach, Sheila Campbell

Donegal Town 89 LYIT Ravens 82

Donegal got off to an electric start with captain Jordan Carty and Dillon Muldoon attacking the basket to surge into a 6-0 lead. LYIT took a little time to settle, Mark Cannon and Billy Banda eventually started finding holes in Donegal’s zone defense to keep things tight. The opening quarter was played at a blistering pace, no one was faster than Ryan Malley, he repeatedly pushed the ball up the court, making 7 points. The inside battle between Dillon Muldoon and Cannon was riveting, Muldoon edged it, outscoring Cannon 9-7 to help Donegal to a 28-20 first quarter lead.

LYIT looked more settled in the second quarter, Cannon scored 6 in a row forcing Donegal into changes. Both sides began to run their benches, Leo McHugh was easily the most influential change. His athleticism caused IT all sorts of problems, his 6 points, coupled with another 6 from Malley kept Donegal in front 44-41 at half time.

Donegal really upped the pace in the third quarter. Muldoon hit a big three to stretch out their lead, then Malley and Carty took over, pushing the ball up the court. At one point the lead was 15. IT just about hung in there, thanks mainly to the very impressive Conor Boyle. He and Conor Reid reduced the gap down to 5, before John Kennedy made two trademark baseline jump shots to settle Donegal nerves going into the last.

The final 10 minutes saw some of the best Basketball played in AVS gym in a long time. It was score for score, with Malley and Carty showing the way. Zak Balgoun made a huge impact, including a three point play off Zak’s first ever fast break. The Cannon brothers, Boyle and Billy Banda were keeping IT in it. Every time it seemed Donegal were pulling away to victory IT hauled them back. With four minutes remaining and winning by 3 Ryan Malley took over. In a virtuoso performance he scored 7 points in a row, bringing the crowd to their feet. A very young Donegal team were particularly impressive down the stretch. IT had to foul to stop the clock, Donegal’s veterans Gareth Britton and John Kennedy wanted all the glory and made sure they got to the free throw line. (Britton scored both of his; Kennedy didn’t). It was a nice end that the only remaining links to Donegal’s last cup winning team finished the scoring. Coach Kevin Sinclair should be extremely proud of the achievements of this young team, it bodes well for the future of Donegal Basketball. MVP was the hugely impressive Ryan Malley while Dillon Muldoon showed his class in a terific all round display.

Donegal: Jordan Carty (10), Ryan Malley (29), Gareth Britton (6), Jason Duignan (8), Dillon Muldoon (14), John Kennedy (7), Zak Balgoun (5), Leon McHugh (8), Kelvin Slowey, Conal Sweeney (2), Ray Balgoun, Daire Quinn, Paddy Molloy. Coach: Kevin Sinclair, Sheila Campbell.

LYIT: Mark Cannon (25), Stephen Cannon (10), Conor Boyle (19), Billy Banda (13), Troy Morris (2), Cian Walsh (6), Connor Reid (7), Shaun Wogan, Conor Dorrian, Gilbert Castillo. Coach: Kieran Walsh.

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