DCU MERCY CAME out on top by the narrowest of margins in a pulsating Hula Hoops National Cup final this evening, edging five-in-a-row chasing Glanmire 72-71.
It was heartbreak at the death for the Cork outfit. The action was tit-for-tat throughout and came right down to the wire as late misses right up to the buzzer proved costly in the National Basketball Arena, Tallaght.
DCU and Mark Ingle crowned a dream weekend of success as they took the Underage (U18 and U20) Cup and National Cup treble, becoming the first club to do so since Glanmire in 2007.
Sarah Woods put on a glittering display, coming away with 21 points and accepting the trophy as captain of the side. Tiffany Corselli and Rachel Huijsdens completed the DCU scoring, notching 15 and 11 points respectively.
At the other end, Grainne Dwyer starred for Glanmire as per and as did Ashley Primm right up to her gut-wrenching miss on the buzzer, but they just couldn’t get over the line to win the Women’s National Cup final for an unprecedented fifth time in succession.
“Am I dreaming? To win by a point?! Nobody even imagines that in cup finals,” captain and MVP Woods said after, who steered DCU to the title for the first time since 2011.
“We’ll never forget this moment. It’s been a while for the likes of myself and Aisling Sullivan – and for us to lift the cup together was extra special.”
DCU MERCY ARE CHAMPIONS!!!! They have completed a dazzling treble his weekend with a 72-71 win over @GlanmireBBall in an absolute THRILLER 🔥🔥🔥 What a game!!!! What a finish to an incredible weekend #HulaHoopsCup pic.twitter.com/RKuvQCIS2u
— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) January 28, 2018
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