[caption id="attachment_70065" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Orla O’Reilly."]
The collegiate basketball careers of Orla and Sinead O’Reilly ended with something of a whimper in West Hartford, Conn. on Sunday. The Binghamton University seniors from Cork and their teammates were eliminated from the America East Tournament by Albany, 58-50, in a semifinal game. The Albany defense did a good job of handcuffing Orla O’Reilly, who got off only six field goal attempts, making a lone 3-pointer to account for her total offensive output for the game. She did manage six rebounds, while Sinead O’Reilly went scoreless with one rebound in a reserve role.
The Bearcats advanced to the Albany showdown after a 48-45 upset victory over Hartford on Saturday. Orla O’Reilly was the game’s high scorer with 21 points on nine of 13 shooting from the floor, including two of four from long range, and one of three from the foul line. Binghamton finished the season with a 13-18 record.
Hannah Thornton came off the bench to score six points for Northern Colorado, 75-63 winners over Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Ariz. last Monday. Thornton, a junior from Dublin, hit on three of four shots from the floor. The Bears are 19-10 overall and 11-5 in the Big Sky Conference.
MEN'S HOOPS
Penn’s Keelan Cairns got in for three minutes at the end of the Quakers’ 68-47 thrashing of Yale in Philadelphia on Saturday. The 6-10 freshman from Belfast launched one 3-pointer and watched it descend through the rim. Penn (19-11, 11-2 Ivy League) is looking towards the postseason, which will have become clearer after Tuesday evening’s match with Princeton.
GOLF
Alabama’s Stephanie Meadow tied for 16th place in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate at English Turn Country Club in New Orleans. Meadow, a sophomore from Jordanstown, Co. Antrim, carded a 6-over-par 222 (76-72-74), which left her 11 strokes off the winning number posted by Colorado’s Alex Stewart.
Alabama then headed to Hilton Head, S.C. for the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at Long Cove Golf Club, where Meadow scored a 3-stroke victory over teammate Brooke Pancake, with 79 more names below. Meadow opened a 3-stroke lead after a first-round 67. She won the 36-hole event with a second-round 70 that left her five strokes under par. The Crimson Tide also won the team crown by 11 strokes over North Carolina.
Bethune-Cookman’s Matthew McKnight tied for second place in the Gary Freeman Invitational at the LPGA’s Champions Course in Daytona Beach, Fla. McKnight, a sophomore from Lisburn, Co. Antrim, finished one stroke over par at 217 (73-71-73), which was five strokes off the winning number posted by Florida Atlantic’s Clint Wilhelm. Bethune-Cookman won the team crown by six strokes over Florida Atlantic.
North Florida’s Kevin Phelan shared sixth place in the John Hayt Collegiate at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. A junior from Waterford, Phelan’s 215 (73-72-70) was one stroke over par and four off the winning 211 posted by Texas Christian’s Julien Brun. UAB’s Paul Dunne, a freshman from Dublin, finished joint-22nd at 222 (74-71-77). North Florida finished third among the 15 teams on course, five strokes behind victorious Arkansas. UAB tied for 10th place, 20 strokes behind.
Holly Robinson of UAB shared 20th place in the USA Women’s Invitational at Azalea Golf Club in Mobile, Ala. A freshman from Sligo, Robinson finished 12 strokes over par at 156 (80-76), and was nine strokes off Lina Lagergren of Louisiana-Monroe, the medalist.
TRACK & FIELD
Iona’s Jake Byrne, a freshman from Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, got fifth place in the men’s 5,000 meters at the IC4A Championships in Boston. He ran the race in 14:11.41; first in was Josh Hardin of William & Mary in 14:04.12.
Patricia Barry of Stony Brook was ninth to finish in the women’s 3,000 meters at the ECAC Championship meet in Boston. A senior from Co. Tipperary, Barry needed 9:50.28 to finish. Connecticut’s Shauna McNiff won the race in 9:41.28.
Brown’s Kevin Cooper had the 16th fastest time in the men’s mile among 47 finishers sent out in multiple heats at the Columbia Last Chance Meet in New York. Cooper, a Waterford junior, reported in at 4:06.23 in a race won by Columbia’s Kyle Merber in 3:59.44.
TENNIS
Fresno State sophomore Tanya Murtagh swept through all three opponents she faced over last weekend playing sixth singles. Murtagh, from Portmarnock, Co. Dublin, began with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Georgia State’s Chaimaa Roudami. The Bulldogs just eked out a 4-3 win here. On Sunday, they hosted and defeated both Northridge State, 6-1, and Santa Clara, 4-3. Murtagh handled Northridge’s Lorraine Cheung, 6-4, 6-1, and Santa Clara’s Brittany Warly, 6-0, 6-3. She also teamed with Marianne Jodoin for an 8-6 win at first doubles over the Santa Clara tandem of Katie Le and Jessica Agra.
