Abigail Rafferty posted a double-double, her third of the season, as DeSales trounced Delaware Valley, 74-37, in Center Valley, Pa. on Wednesday in women’s basketball. The junior from Dungannon, Co. Tyrone scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 from the foul stripe. She rounded that out with 11 rebounds, a game-high five steals, five assists and four blocked shots. On Saturday, DeSales treated visiting Immaculata to an 88-54 whipping. Rafferty came two rebounds shy of another double-double. She scored 12 points (5-of-13 from the floor, 2-of-2 at the foul line) and handled eight boards. The Bulldogs are 22-1.
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Katie Williamson led Southern Connecticut State with 18 points in Saturday's 67-54 win over Adelphi in New Haven. The Dublin junior sank nine of 16 field goal attempts to go with five rebounds and three assists. On Wednesday, the Owls (15-8) got out of Albany with a 60-54 win over St. Rose. Williamson contributed 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. She also had six rebounds and three steals.
Bronagh Power-Cassidy was her typical offensive self as Holy Cross split a pair of games last week. In Wednesday’s 67-49 road win over Lafayette, the Dublin sophomore scored 22 points, hitting nine of 14 shots from the floor and four of her six free throws. She also assisted on four buckets. On Saturday, the Crusaders got tripped up in overtime by visiting American, 67-65. Power-Cassidy led Holy Cross (18-6) with 16 points, clicking on five of 14 shots from the field (three of nine from long range) and three of four at the foul line. She also got credit for five rebounds and four assists.
Eoin Nelson.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
C.J. Fulton led Lafayette past Boston University, 70-67, on Saturday in Easton, Pa. with a team-high 20 points and a game-high seven assists. The sophomore guard out of Belfast hit six of 11 shots from the field, including three of six from long range, and five of six from the foul line. Before that, on Monday, the Leopards (9-18) defeated Holy Cross, 72-58, in Worcester, Mass. Fulton had a game-high five steals to go along with nine rebounds and six points.
Double-doubles have become commonplace for James Beckom. The John Brown University senior from Cork had two last week. In Monday’s 70-69 road win over Southwestern Assemblies of God, he scored 18 points and took down 11 caroms. He shot 7-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the foul line. Beckom then scored a team-high 15 points and brought down 11 boards in Thursday’s 70-67 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State. He drained five of 10 shots from the floor and five of eight from the foul line. The Golden Eagles are 10-15.
Sean McCarthy scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds as Felician lost, 86-81, to Dominican in Orangeburg, N.Y. on Thursday. The sophomore from Cork hit eight of 13 field goal attempts, including three of four from long range, and all four of his free throws. The Golden Falcons (5-18) then dropped a 70-62 verdict at home to Georgian Court on Saturday. McCarthy had team highs in points (14) and rebounds (8). He connected on six of 15 shots from the floor and both free throws afforded him.
Eoin Nelson posted a game-high six rebounds as North Alabama defeated Lipscomb, 80-70, in Florence, Ala. on Saturday. Nelson is a 6-11 junior from Dublin. The Lions are 16-11.
Sam Alajiki drained a trio of three-point shots in the final three minutes of California’s game with Arizona State in Berkeley on Saturday to force overtime. The Sun Devils dominated in the extra period, however, to leave with a 70-62 victory. Alajiki finished with 11 points and four rebounds. On Thursday, the Bears fell to Arizona, 85-62, as Alajiki led his side with 12 points. He nailed four of nine shots from the floor, including three of four from outside the arc, and one of two from the foul line. He also took down six rebounds. ND Okafor added six points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field. Alajiki, a sophomore, and Okafor, a freshman, hail from Dundalk.
Ryan Leonard scored 11 points and dished a team-high four assists as St. Mary’s (Tex.) took down Oklahoma Christian, 73-59, in San Antonio on Thursday. The senior from Tralee, Co. Kerry made four of 10 field goal attempts and three of five free throws. Leonard then posted a game-high five boards in Saturday's 83-67 triumph over Arkansas-Fort Smith at home. He contributed 13 points on 5-of-7 firing from the floor (1-of-3 from downtown) and 2-of-2 at the foul line. Again, he had four assists as the Rattlers improved to 14-9.
Darragh O’Sullivan chipped in eight points as Florida Tech lost, 80-77, in Melbourne, Fla. on Saturday. The Cork sophomore cashed on three of seven field goal attempts and two of four from the coastline. Tech is 16-9.
Sean Mockler.
MEN’S TRACK & FIELD
Indiana’s Sean Mockler took fourth place in the weight throw at the Windy City Invitational in Chicago. The sophomore from Thurles, Co. Tipperary, got off a personal best of 21.57 meters (70 feet, 9¼ inches) from six attempts.
Shane Bracken of Ole Miss got second place in the 3,000 meters at the Music City Challenge in Knoxville, Tenn. His 7:54.54 was bettered only by teammate Anthony Camerieri, who broke the tape in 7:52.80. Bracken, a senior out of Foxford, Co. Mayo also took sixth place in the mile. He finished in 3:57.07 behind a winning 3:55.08 struck by North Carolina’s Ethan Stroud.
Aaron Mangan of Fort Hays State placed sixth in the 800 meters at the Indoor Gorilla Classic in Pittsburg, Kan. The sophomore from Tullamore, Co. Offaly finished in 1:51.09 behind Wes Ferguson of Nebraska-Kearny, who ran a winning 1:48.25.
New Mexico’s Kevin Mulcaire, a senior from Clarecastle, Co. Clare, was runner-up in the mile at the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque. He ran the mile in 4:07.52, exceeded only by Kenneth Talavera of Texas-El Paso in 4:06.33.
MEN’S GOLF
Mark Power of Wake Forest won the Battle at Briar’s Creek in Johns Island, S.C. The Kilkenny senior led throughout, posting rounds of 69. 70 and 68 for a four-stroke victory. The Demon Deacons also won the team title.
WOMEN’S GOLF
Wake Forest’s Lauren Walsh tied for fourth place in the UCF Challenge at Eagle Creek in Orlando, Fla. The County Kildare senior posted rounds of 67, 69 and 68 to finish the event 12 strokes under par and nine off the winning score belonging to Anna Nordfors of Central Florida. Sara Byrne of Miami (Fla.) tied for 37th place at even-par 216 (72-72-72). Wake Forest took the team title.
Indiana’s Valerie Clancy tied for 22nd place in the Paradise Invitational at Osprey Point in Boca Raton, Fla. The senior from Mitchelstown, Co. Cork finished two strokes over par, having shot rounds of 72, 71 and 75. She finished 13 strokes off medalist Letizia Bagnoli of Florida Atlantic.
