Women’s SuperLeague season comes to a close
This weekend is the final weekend of the regular season in the Women’s SuperLeague. The top six have been decided, but this weekend teams will be playing for place.
Carna Transport Mercy are currently at the top of the table and look favourites for the regular-season crown.
However, Vienna Woods Glanmire are close behind. The Cork side led for most of the season but dropped to second place after two unexpected and consecutive losses against UL Aughinish and Bausch & Lomb Wildcats in recent weeks.
Glanmire and Mercy come head to head this Saturday at 5.30pm and the result of this encounter will decide first and second place.
Carna Transport have the added advantage of home court. Both teams will automatically progress to the semi-final stage on March 18/19.
UL Aughinish will host Bausch & Lomb Wildcats on Saturday at 7pm. Even if Wildcats lose, they will hold onto third place on 18 points, which would mean they would play Mustang Sallys (sixth place) at home in the quarter-finals.
UL look set for fourth place even if they lose this weekend. They are currently joint-fourth with DART Killester but UL have the advantage due to a better scoring percentage against DART.
In the quarter-finals on March 5/6, third place will play sixth, while fourth place will play fifth, with home advantage going to third and fourth place.
In the NIVEA for Men SuperLeague, there are three more weeks of the regular season to play.
Tonight DART Killester will host MDS Star in a Northern Conference clash at 9pm. This is a very important game for both teams.
DART are currently joint-second in the North while Star lie third.
Killester came close to Cup Champions UCC Demons last weekend, losing by just one point, showing they are more than eager for a play-off spot.
New Serbian Aleksandra Lekic has been a strong addition to the team since his arrival. Star will be full of confidence after their unexpected win over Limerick Lions last Saturday and will be hoping for a repeat performance.
Star also come up against Roma St Vincent’s in the North on Saturday. This will be an important encounter for both sides, with Star hoping to take two wins from the weekend to increase their play-off hopes.
UCD will endeavour to end their losing run with two difficult away fixtures this weekend. A Dublin derby versus Shamrock Rovers Hoops on Friday is followed by a trip to Limerick on Sunday.
Continuing to play out the season with one American, Nate Lufkin, they are giving valuable on-court experience to an extremely young squad.
Coach Barron is laying the foundations for a stronger Irish squad for next season by giving youth more opportunity at the end of what is a disappointing season.
The latest blow for the Dubliners is the departure of veteran Ed Randolph, who has decided not to hit the boards again this season.
Limerick also play a second game this weekend. Before meeting UCD on Sunday, the Lions travel to Tralee to face Abrakebabra Tigers.
They need to get results in both games to consolidate their league play-off position.
Limerick’s form has been patchy since they lost the National Cup Final in January, and they will be working very hard to get their game plans right for this weekend.
The trip to Tralee will be a difficult one, and last time in Tralee the home team came out on top.
Limerick have been trying hard to get Jon Steven fit for this weekend but have been forced to change their American once more.
Quincy Moman has left the club to return home after just two weeks. Now Limerick will sign Philadelphia University graduate Brent Welton for this weekend’s clashes and will be hoping the new player settles in quickly and helps get the wins at the weekend.
Merry Monk Ballina also have two games this weekend with Hoops away on Saturday night and Killester on Sunday.
The Monks have lost to both teams away this season. While a win in both games would secure the Northern Conference for Merry Monk, coach Terry Kennedy expects two very tough games.
He said: “Having beaten us in the Arena in recent weeks, Hoops will be quite confident going into this game while Killester are always extremely difficult to beat at home.
“They still have a chance of winning the conference and will be going all-out for a win on Sunday.”
Both Liam McHale (back injury) and Paul Barrett (abroad) are unavailable.
Also on Saturday, UCC Demons host Neptune in a local derby at 8.15pm. Demons will be hoping to improve on last weekend, when they were fortunate to scrape victory by one point over DART in the dying minutes.
There is also a full schedule of Division One men’s and women’s games this weekend.
