THE new basketball season got underway last weekend with action in the two women’s division, and the two men’s divisions see their first games played this Saturday, with four Galway sides in action across the national leagues.

University of Galway Mystics suffered a heavy defeat on their home court last weekend against DCU Mercy in the Women’s Super League, but the 98-73 final scoreline doesn’t do the youthful home side any justice, having trailed by just three points at half-time.

Killannin’s Kara McCleane put in a stunning performance, knocking down 39 points for the college side, the highest individual score across the league on the opening weekend, but the game ended on a sour note for her as she picked up a nasty facial injury in an accidental clash with a DCU player.

It was one of two serious injuries that befell Mystics on the day: the Maree BC trio of Aisling Jordan, Laoise Quinn, and Jessica Ross have all joined the side on a structured link for the season and made their Super League debuts in the game, but Quinn’s lasted just two and a half minutes before she suffered a serious-looking ankle injury.

Head coach Paul O’Brien will hope it is not a marker for the season, having seen his side crippled by injuries last year. They are away to Brunell of Cork this Sunday.

That defeat came at the end of a somewhat tumultuous week for the university, after it confirmed to Tribune Sport that it had severed its ties with Maree BC in the men’s Super League. Mike Murray, Director of Basketball at the university, said the decision was taken due to the lack of game time afforded to students last year.

“It didn’t align with the student practice within the college. Basically, last year we would have had 91% non-student minutes as against 9% student minutes. In our Mystics team, for example, we would have 82 to 18 in favour of students.

“Our finances come from students, it is a student fund for a student team. We loved working with them [Maree], we had great success, massive success, but we simply couldn’t continue. It is really unfortunate, Maree are a super club, we got on really well and we did they business, they did the business, but it just within the college ethos of sport, it didn’t work,” he said.

Pictured: Killannin’s Kara McCleane who scored 39 points for University of Galway Mystics but also sustained a facial injury against DCU Mercy.