Ireland ‘Still Confident’ Despite Defeat To Sweden

There was some disappointment for Ireland’s under 16 basketball team today when they suffered an 80 to 50 point defeat at the hands of Sweden in the FIBA Europe Under 16 Women’s Championships, Division B. The loss was a blow to the Irish side’s efforts to reach the semi-finals as they hunt a fourth win to guarantee a best ever finish in Europe. “We’ve thrown this game away now,” said head coach Andy Gill. “We’re into our recovery phase. We’ve seen Romania and we think we’ve got a great chance to beat them. We’re still confident that we can finish this competition in a really strong manner.” Sweden’s Klara Lundquist and Casja Uhrstrom dominated proceedings in the opening quarter, before Claire Melia got her side’s first basket of the afternoon.

FT: Ireland 50-80 Sweden. Down but not out at #FIBAU16Europe. #LockUpGreen pic.twitter.com/2y5zCAtY0j

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) August 19, 2015

Dayna Finn followed up with a fast-break before Sweden made back to back threes for a double digit lead. Ireland’s bench kickstarted some scoring midway through the second quarter with Maggie Byrne and Niamh Masterson in for points, before Rachel Huijsdens added to her work with four points in a 9-0 run. Ireland still trailed 29-16 but continued to drive on, and the opposition only managed a one-point increase on their lead at the end of the first quarter to lead 39-25 at half-time.

HT: Ireland 25-39 Sweden at #FIBAU16Europe. Nothing between the sides in that quarter. http://t.co/GxEwi4TGr3 pic.twitter.com/EomvoMs0ZX

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) August 19, 2015

Sorcha Tiernan got Ireland off the mark as the third quarter got underway, but strong scoring from Sweden sent them 20 points clear. Team fouls gave Ireland a chance to put some points on the board late in the third and Enya Maguire and Amy Murphy duly obliged before Maeve Phelan hit a jump. Maggie Byrne got Ireland’s second three-pointer with the last shot of the game, but Sweden had just that bit too much and ran out winners.

Ireland's U16's stand for Amhrán Na bhFiann. They trail Sweden 12-5 after seven minutes. T/O called. #FIBAU... https://t.co/bB2nsrQ85P

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) August 19, 2015

Ireland: Dayna Finn (3), Rachel Huijsdens (8), Louise Scannell (9), Amy Murphy (6), Claire Melia (8). Substitutes: Maggie Byrne (7), Sorcha Tiernan (2), Enya Maguire (2), Maeve Phelan (2), Amy Dooley, Niamh Masterson (2), Mae Creane (1).