What a finale we had to our basketball leagues which were played on Friday 7th February in the school hall in front of a very excited attendance of over 100.
Girls’ Play Off
Jaw Breakers 8
Crazy Basketeers 4
Before the girls’ final could be played, the Jaw Breakers and the Crazy Basketeers, who had finished tied 2nd in the league, had to take part in a play off. This proved to be a thrilling, end to end affair with the Jaw Breakers coming out on top in the end.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: JESSICA OKAKPU

Girls’ Final
Jaw Breakers 8
Jelly Babies 4
There was no rest for the Jaw Breakers as they had to immediately face into the final where their opponents were the unbeaten Jelly Babies.
Again, this was a marvellous game of basketball with chances galore at each end. Rather than being exhausted by their play off efforts, The Jaw Breakers seemed to be energised. Driven on by their inspirational captain, Isabella Fay, with Chi Chi dominating in defence and with Juliette Borton putting in some great blocks, the Jaw Breakers played their best game of the league. With Ioana and Sarah Porumb scoring on the break they raced into an early lead. The Jelly Babies stormed back, led by birthday girl Aoibheann Higgins and with Hannah Moore and Emma Martin piling on the pressure it looked like it was only a matter of time before they would catch up . However some great defending by the Breakers along with some bad luck for the Babies resulted in a surprising but well deserved win for Jaw Breakers.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH:CHI CHI UBAEKWE

Boys’ Final
Ultimate Team 10
Batmen 4
Despite the scoreline, this was a very closely contested final with both teams showing why they had finished at the top of the league .
The opening exchanges were very cagey as the teams were like two prize fighters easing themselves into the game and there was no score for the first three minutes. However, once the dribbling section came along, the Ultimates went into overdrive , with Cian Buckley displaying his silky skills to score some lovely baskets. This was not a one man show- The Ultimates played as a team and Glen Conroy, Darren Keogh, Conall Chambers and Ryan O Dowd all played out of their skins to help capture the title.
The Batmen never stopped trying. Luke Finnerty was an excellent captain and he was ably supported by Dean White, Harry Day, Stanko Lazarevic, Thomas Kelly and Adam McGarry.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: CIAN BUCKLEY

You can catch highlights of the finals on the February edition of Scoil Mhuire News. There will also be post-match analysis by our panel of experts and interviews with some of the players.