Eagles win top of the table clash!

Last Saturday, it was the turn of Portlaoise Panthers to endure the cauldron of sound and sea of blue that greets all visiting teams at the Virginia Show Centre. It was loud and proud at the Eagles’ home court, with music, horns, drums, mascot Ernie The Eagle, and 500 supporters all letting the Panthers know they were in for a tough day on the court - and so it proved.

The team - who narrowly missed out on promotion to the Super League last season - returned south having endured a 10 point defeat at the hands of the Eagles. This victory, the Eagles’ 12 of the season, would have tasted particularly sweet as the highly regarded Panthers had knocked the McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles out of the National Cup this year, with a dramatic last second buzzer beater, and are sitting second in the league just behind the Eagles.

The contest was a genuine top of the table clash as the Panthers are experienced, well drilled, and with two excellent American players were a real test for the Eagles.

The two Panther Americans are Alyssa Velles (#33) from Connecticut, who has been a dominant offensive force for the Panthers, with a 23-point average this season, and the 6-foot-tall Jessica Fressle (#22), also from Connecticut, who is no less of a threat with a 20-point average.

Watching the Panthers warm up, it was clear that Velles was going to present a handful to the Eagles; defence as she nonchalantly dispatched step back 3-pointers with ease, and athletically finished three-man weaves.

The Eagles were determined to start strong and not let the Panthers get an early lead; this was not a game for the faint hearted.

Both teams began playing a tough man-to-man defence, with the Eagles matching up U-18 international Emma Tolan to defend the American Velles, and former underage international Casey Mulvey on the other American Fressle. The match-ups were testament to the confidence coach Dave Baker has in his Irish players, building a game strategy around their ability to contain the impressive duo of Velles and Fressle.

Quarter 1 was all about defence for both teams, it was physical, fast, and unrelenting as both squads went toe to toe, determined to prevent their opponents gain an early advantage. Some excellent defence from Mulvey saw Fressle go scoreless in the first quarter, with Emma Tolan limiting Velles to just three points (all free throws).

The intensity of the Eagles play was clear and was on show in the aggressive rebounding of Eagle American Mayze, reminiscent of the outrageous Dennis Rodman, the legendary rebounding machine for Chicago Bulls team of the ‘90s. It was not easy for the Eagles offence however, as the Panthers also brought tough physical defence, but with scores from Emma Tolan, Mulvey, and the ever-exciting American Carnethia ‘NeeNee’ Brown, the Eagles finished ahead in a defence dominated quarter, 10-5.

It was looking like a close game and the Eagles sought to improve their offence to ensure they kept the determined Panthers at bay. Indeed, the second quarter began in that fashion, with the Eagles going on a 9-2 run that saw Ciara Tolan, Ciara Brady, Catalonian Eli Lopez-Sagrena converting, along with an excellent three-point play from Aoife Maguire that lifted the Virginia Show Centre roof.

With the Eagles 19-7 up, the Panthers were struggling in offence and appeared rattled. Their animated coach was threatened with a technical foul if he did not settle down.

The Panthers needed to change things up and following a time-out the impressive Fressle upped her physical play.

For a while the game began to look like a war of attrition with players repeatedly hitting the deck and multiple jump balls. Initially this bore fruit, with Fessle scoring the next 7 points for the Panthers.

However Lopez-Sagrena and Mulvey readjusted, and once more made life difficult for Fressle. The quarter finished with a fantastic pair of three-pointers from Mayze and Emma Tolan, extending the Eagles lead to 12 points, 34-22.

The second half began with the Panthers switching up their defensive structure, giving up on the man-to-man approach and moving to a 2-3 zone defence. It was partially successful, preventing the Eagles from extending their lead, but not permitting the Panthers to reduce the deficit.

Velles was kept scoreless for the entire quarter, and while the new Panther defence did frustrate the Eagles, some fine scores from Emma Tolan and a closing three-pointer from Aoife Maguire saw the Eagles keep pace with the Panthers.

The Panthers finished the quarter with some nice scores, including a spectacular conversion from Fressle. Regardless, the Eagles maintained an eight point lead, 43-35.

Quarter four, time for the Eagles to close this one out, but not an easy task against the never say die Panthers.

Niamh Tolan showed the path forward, with another outstanding three-point play to open the quarter, followed by an excellent drive and finish from “NeeNee” Brown. It was beginning to look like it would be the Eagles’ day, with Panthers looking increasingly desperate, throwing up long range three pointers to try to force a way back.

Velles, having not scored since the first minute of quarter 2, drained three long range efforts in a row, including an outrageous step-back three-pointer, but it was too little too late.

The Eagles calmly closed out the win with scores from Lopez-Sagrena, Ciara Tolan, and Brown. It finished in a well executed 10 point win, 57-47.

After the game Assistant Coach Carol Verschoyle said observed it was a, “physical game” with a strong focus on defence, and was delighted to come out on the right side of the encounter.

“We came into the game determined and focused on the win, we matched up well against Panthers strengths and a great collective team effort took the win,” said Verschoyle.

Carnethia “NeeNee” Brown added: “We wanted it more. They beat us by a buzzer beater last match up but we as a team know what we are capable of, and we showed it. Great team win and also great execution on defence and offence.”

It is crunch time in the National League. The Eagles are top of the table, a 12-1 record, with just five regular season games remaining and only two of them at home. This Saturday, February 4, sees the Eagles host the Phoenix Rockets in the Virginia Show Centre.