Malahide’s O’Brien scores a season-high 15 points

The senior from Malahide, Co. Dublin, shot 6-for-10 from the floor and 2-for-3 from the line. The 6-foot-2 guard also grabbed 6 rebounds. O’Brien is averaging 3.6 points per game for the Indiana school, shooting 52 percent from the floor and 42 percent from long distance. The Mighty Oaks are 14-9.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Chris Butler had his most productive game of the season, although the Spartans lost to C.W. Post, 71-57. Butler, a sophomore from Ballymena, scored a team-high 12 points, shooting 4-for-10 from the field (1-for-2 from bonus territory) and 3-for-4 from the foul line. The 6-9 transfer from Findlay also grabbed 4 rebounds in his 19 minutes on the floor. His brother Paul, also a sophomore, scored 2 points for STAC (10-13, 9-12 New York Collegiate Athletic Conference).
Davidson’s Conor Grace had one of his better outings of the campaign in a 73-63 triumph over Wofford. Grace, a junior from Dublin, grabbed 14 rebounds, handed out 4 assists, and scored 9 points on 4-for-10 shooting from the floor, including 1-for-3 from the 3-point arc.
“I thought our rebounding was terrific,” said Bob McKillop, Davidson’s head coach. “Conor was a warrior.”
Grace shares the team lead in rebounding with 6.8 per game, while averaging 7.0 points. The Wildcats are 14-11 overall and 9-5 in the Southern Conference.
Middlebury’s Simon Behan played only 11 minutes but put 10 points on the board in a 74-52 loss to Williams. The Dublin junior shot 3-for-4 from the field, including 2-for-3 on 3-point attempts, and 2-for-2 from the foul line. Middlebury is 12-12.
Colby’s Michael Westbrooks finished the season with a scoring average of 10.1 points per game, third highest on the team. The Dublin sophomore also led Colby (6-17) in rebounding, grabbing 5.1 per game.

WOMEN’S HOOPS
Aine O’Dwyer had her best game of the season, although New Jersey Institute of Technology (10-15) lost to Georgian Court, 76-75. The freshman from Killenaule, Co. Tipperary, registered game-highs in both points (20) and rebounds (15). She shot 9-for-16 from the field and 1-for-2 from the foul line. She managed those numbers despite spending 10 minutes on the bench with foul trouble. O’Dwyer leads the Highlanders in rebounding with 7.7 per game and is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 8.8 points.
It’s better to give than receive. So it seems where Sacred Heart’s Kate Maher is concerned. The Waterford senior handed out 10 assists in the Pioneers’ 66-55 victory over Robert Morris, which is more than Morris managed as a team. She also pulled down 8 rebounds and scored 6 points. Maher leads the team in rebounding (6.7 boards per game) and assists (3.4). She has also been good for 5.3 points. Sacred Heart is 17-6 overall and 11-3 in the Northeast Conference.
NAIA defending national champion Oklahoma City wiped out St. Gregory’s, 82-35, with Mellissa Prunty accounting for 6 of the winners’ points. The sophomore from Moyne, Co. Longford, shot 3-for-4 from the floor. The Stars (29-1, 15-1 Sooner Athletic Conference) followed that with an 88-49 romp over Lubbock Christian, in which Prunty scored 2 points and had 4 rebounds.
Grace Evers scored 6 points to help Virginia Intermont (10-8) defeat Alice Lloyd College, 93-90. Evers, a freshman from Balbriggan, Co. Dublin, shot 3-for-6 from the floor.
After beginning the week with an 81-54 humbling at the hands of Mount St. Mary’s, Monmouth came back to post consecutive wins over Long Island University and St. Francis (N.Y.). Sophomore guard Niamh Dwyer from Thurles, Co. Tipperary, had 15 points in the loss to Mount. She shot 5-for-12 from the field but did most of her damage from downtown, where she shot 4-for-9. She was 1-for-4 from the foul line. The 53-48 win over LIU saw Dwyer account for 11 points on 4-for-10 from the floor (2-for-6 on 3-pointers). She also had 5 assists. The Hawks (15-9, 11-4 NEC) then roughed up St. Francis, 69-49, with Dwyer leading all scorers with 20 points. She finished 7-for-12 from the floor, including 3-for-4 on 3-pointers. Dwyer leads Monmouth in scoring with 15.9 points per contest and tops the teams in both assists (69) and steals (46).
Kim Fitzpatrick contributed 8 points in Quinnipiac’s 70-62 victory over Central Connecticut. The Waterford junior shot 2-for-6 from the floor, making her lone 3-point attempt, and 3-for-4 from the foul line. She also garnered 4 rebounds and had 3 steals. The Bobcats are 16-8 overall and 10-5 in the NEC.
Iona began the week with a 95-80 vicory over Canisius. Senior forward Michelle Fahy from Galway led all scores with 25 points with 9-for-12 shooting from the floor and 6-for-7 from the foul line. She also amassed 10 rebounds and 4 assists. She then had a subpar game in a 58-53 loss to St. Peter’s, although she was perfect on eight free throws. She added a field goal for 10 points. Fahy was again high scorer with 20 points in a 75-63 loss to Fairfield. She hit 7-for-14 from the floor but was only 6-for-12 from the foul line, where she rarely misses. Fahy leads the Gaels (7-18, 6-10 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) in scoring with 18.8 points per game.

GYMNASTICS
UCLA’s Holly Murdock, a sophomore from Derriaghy, Co. Antrim, competed in three events as the Bruins lost a dual meet to Fullerton State, 194.275-193.600. Murdock’s best showing came in the vault, where she tied for seventh place among 12 competitors with a score of 9.475. She was 11th of 12 in both the uneven parallel bars (9.175) and the balance beam (9.325). UCLA then defeated Oregon State, 198.875-197.175. Murdock contested only the balance beam, on which she received 9.825, tying her for ninth place with two others.

TRACK & FIELD
South Alabama’s Erin Kinnear broke her own school record for the pole vault in the LSU Twilight Invitational. The Belfast freshman cleared 12 feet, 1 inch to tie for first place.

GOLF
South Alabama’s Gareth Maybin won the Rio Pinar Intercollegiate at the Rio Pinar Country Club in Orlando, Fla., by three shots over Central Florida’s Barry Roof. Maybin, a junior from Ballydome, Co. Antrim, finished 8 under par for 54 holes at 208 (70-68-70). His teammate Colm Montgomery, a sophomore from Malone, Co. Antrim, tied for 19th place at 222 (75-73-74) in the 88-man field. South Alabama won the team title on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with Central Florida.
Campbell’s Michelle Holmes tied for 22nd place in the Tulane Invitational, held at the English Turn Golf & Country Club in New Orleans. Holmes, a junior from County Mayo, shot 241 (84-78-79) for 54 holes. Tulane’s Mary Ellen Jacobs was the medallist at 219. Campbell finished fourth in the nine-team field, which was headed by Tulane.
High Point’s Jenna Kinnear, a Belfast freshman, tied for 30th place in the Henry-Griffiths Southern Shootout at Greystone Golf Club in Birmingham, Ala. Kinnear shot 169 (87-82) for 36 holes. Birmingham Southern’s Caitlin Ogren shot the winning score of 152. Her team also won the 14-team tournament, with High Point placing seventh.

TENNIS
University of Pacific defeated Texas-San Antonio, 7-0, with Dublin freshman Alan Kelly defeating Hetori Chaves, 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (3), at fifth singles. Pacific then visited Virginia, where they lost to the Cavaliers, 5-2. Kelly fell to Darrin Cohen, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.
Notre Dame’s Barry King defeated Northwestern’s Matt Christian, 6-2, 6-2, at fifth singles to help the Fighting Irish to a 5-2 victory. King is a freshman from Dublin.
North Carolina State handed East Tennessee State a 5-2 loss. Conor Taylor, a junior from Dublin, provided the Wolfpack with a victory at first singles, defeating Alejandro Salazar, 7-5, 6-4.
Evansville’s Derek Boland, a junior from Dublin, provided his side with its lone point in a 6-1 loss to Xavier of Cincinnati. Boland, who plays first singles, knocked off Justin Yeager, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3. The Purple Aces earlier lost to St. Louis, 7-0, with Boland falling to Ikaika Jobe, 6-4, 6-3.