The Ireland Under 20 Women jetted off from Dublin Airport this morning to begin their journey to Israel for the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship Divison B which tip off this coming Saturday.
The teams participating have been divided into two groups with five group games each ahead of classification games. Ireland will contest Group B and face Great Britain on Saturday (July 8th), Israel on Sunday (July 9th), and Belarus on Monday (July 10th) before a much-deserved rest day. They will go on to play Croatia and Romania later next week.
“They are both tough groups, there is no easy group and there will be no easy games,” said Head Coach Maeve Coleman. “We saw that when we played the Slovak Republic last week, so we know we are in for a tough test. We face Great Britain first and we will be hoping that we can do well against them. We are going to take each game as it comes, we are not blinkered about the challenge that lies ahead.
“The squad has been great. They have been working hard since we got together in December and have given all we asked of them and committed to all aspects of the programme. We couldn’t have asked for more. Now, we need to take our intensity and our skill level to the next level and incorporate it in our games. Our Israel game on Sunday will be a tough ask too, there is pressure on them being the home team and the gym will be packed. We will be massive underdogs, but that’s they way I like it to be. Either way, this will be an amazing expereince for the squad, and hopefully we can come out with the wins to give the girls justice for all the hard work they have put in.”
Keep up to date with all the action from the championships through the official event website here where the games will also be streamed.
Ireland U20 Women’s fixtures – FIBA U20 European Championship Division B
Saturday, July 8th
Great Britain v Ireland, 18.30
Sunday, July 9th
Ireland v Israel, 16.15
Monday, July 10th
Belarus v Ireland, 18.30
Wednesday, July 12th
Ireland v Croatia, 14.00
Thursday, July 13th
Ireland v Romania, 18.30
Saturday, July 15th – Sunday, July 16th
Classification games
Ireland Under 20 Women’s team 2017
Aisling McCann, Pyrobel Killester
Alison Cleary, Pyrobel Killester
Alison Blaney, Maree
Anna Brennan, DCU Mercy
Anna Kelly, Fordham University, USA
Aoife O'Halloran, Pyrobel Killester
Chloe Mullins, Courtyard Liffey Celtics
Ciara Wheeler, Courtyard Liffey Celtics
Katie Whelan, Waterford Wildcats
Laura Fortune, Courtyard Liffey Celtics
Mae Creane, Oblates
Nicole Clancy, DCU Mercy
Ireland Under 20 Women's Management Team:
Head Coach: Maeve Coleman
Asst. Coach: Emer Howard
Team Manager: Ger O’Leary
