Ireland Under 18 Women’s team continued to dazzle this evening as they saw out a thrilling 84-46 point win over the Slovak Republic at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght.
Ireland went into the game as massive underdogs but soon silenced any doubters as they ran into a 21-6 lead by the end of the first quarter, with Portlaoise Panthers star Claire Melia running rampant at both ends of the court, bagging her second double-double in as many games in style by the final buzzer (30 points, 10 rebounds).
Great work on the fast breaks from Louise Scannell and super inside prowess from Melia and Rachel Huijsdens in the third saw Ireland stretch their lead, while Maggie Byrne came in off the bench making an immediate impact with some super scores to lead 63-36 by the end of the quarter. By the fourth the women in green had firmly proved that they deserved every moment of glory on their home court, as they continued to dominate right up until the final buzzer to run out 84-46 point winners in the end. Listen to interviews from the bench here.
Elsewhere, there was disappointment for the Ireland Under 18 men’s team in Estonia as they lost their second classification game 75-82 against Albania at the FIBA U18 Men’s European Championship Division B. A shaky first half was the undoing of the result for the boys in green, as Albania were more clinical on their finishing and made better shot decisions to take a ten-point lead at the half, 42-32.
A stronger third and fourth quarter from the Irish was just not enough for the team and they now face Luxembourg in their final classification game on Sunday at 11.15am Irish time. Speaking afterwards, Head Coach Conor James said: “A lack of energy and discipline cost us the first half. We were much better in the second, but every time we pulled it back we let it slip a little. Over here, once you have momentum you have to ride it out as long as possible but unfortunately we were unable to capitalise on ours.”
Indeed, tt was a busy day of under 18 action all round, as both the Ireland U18 Women and Men’s 3x3 teams were also on the court in Riga, Latvia at the FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup qualifiers. There were big celebrations for the men’s team as, after winning two of their three group games, they qualified for the quarter-finals on Sunday, where they will play Romania.
Meanwhile it was disappointment for the women’s team as they lost out to Spain in their opening group game before finishing just one point short in heart-breaking fashion in their second group game against Romania to put them out of the contest.
Results: FIBA U18 Women’s European Championships Div B
Group Game 2
Ireland 84-46 Slovak Republic
FIBA U18 Men’s European Championships Div B
Classification games 21-24th place
Ireland 75-82 Albania
FIBA 3x3 U18 Men’s Europe Cup Qualifier
Latvia 14-12 Ireland
Ireland 17-15 Belarus (after overtime)
Ireland 21-14 Russia
FIBA 3x3 U18 Women’s Europe Cup Qualifier
Spain 15-9 Ireland
Romania 12-11 Ireland
Fixtures:
FIBA U18 Women’s European Championships Div B
Group Game 3
Ireland v Moldova, 18.15, National Indoor Arena, Court 1
FIBA U18 Men’s European Championships Div B
Classification games 23-24th place
Ireland v Luxembourg, 11.15
FIBA 3x3 U18 Men’s Europe Cup Qualifier
Ireland v Romania
