LAUREL Hill overcame St Leo’s College, 46-38, to capture the All-Ireland Under-16 Girls Schools League at the National Basketball Arena.
Tommy Walsh’s team, however, survived a serious wobble to collect the title.
Having led by eight points at the close of the first quarter, the Limerick side was outgunned by 14 in the second, but a much improved defensive display thereafter provided the platform for an impressive recovery.
MVP Sarah Horkan playing a big part in that with a game-best 14 points.
“We usually play high-energy and get a ton of steals, but that didn’t show up until towards the end, whereas I was hoping we would have started that much earlier and had a much more comfortable game,” remarked Laurel Hill head coach, Tommy Walsh.
“St Leo’s beat the hell out of us on the boards and they turned us over a lot, but when Sarah (Horkan) hit the three free-throws and Kayla (Loughran) hit a big three, they started believing in themselves and thankfully it worked out well for us” he said.
Laurel Hill Secondary School: Jasmine Rasch-Foster, Deborah Lerato-Mhodi, Ruby Kelly, Kayla Loughran, Aisling O’Sullivan, Éabha Downey (capt), Sarah Horkan, Amy Treacy, Emma Murphy, Chelsea Hogan.
Top Scorers: Sarah Horkan (14), Ashling O’Sullivan (10), Kayla Loughran (9).
