AVONDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SECURE PLACE IN U19 BASKETBALL REGIONAL FINAL
Tuesday, 29 November, saw the meeting of the U19 Avondale and Grennan College girls' teams in the regional semi- final which took place in Avondale Community College. The home-side had a powerful opening, winning the jump off and scoring the first two points of the game. Two misses followed from the Avondale side, however they recovered well with two free throws followed by a basket. Grennan finally got their name on the scoreboard and made it 8-2. The first quarter finished on a score of 15-5 in favour of Avondale.
The second quarter brought further excitement as after scoring a free throw, the home-side put together a fantastic series of passes to work the ball up the court before finishing with a phenomenal basket. Grennan’s play was being consistently shut down by the hardworking Avondale side who took the ball and made a great run which resulted in another great score. However, Grennan were not fading away and they responded with a great score. After another two pointer for Avondale, the second quarter finished 23-8.
The Grennan’s girls seriously picked up their game in the final two quarters. After scores from both teams, the match entered the final five minutes on a score of 35-29, still in favour of the home-side. The sheer will of these athletes was incredible to witness and the atmosphere in the hall was electric. The away team got another score to make it 35-31 with little time remaining on the clock and the crowd on tenterhooks. The coaches were going wild on the side-lines when suddenly Grennan began moving up the court but a fantastic block by Avondale gave them possession and they worked their way back down the court to finish strongly with the final score. The gap proved too big for Grennan to fill, and the buzzer sounded with Avondale taking the win, 37-31.
TY Sports Journalists; Oscar Stakem, Ellen Byrne, Rebecca McElligott-Ryan and Ciarán Byrne.