Jessica Scannell returns to Ireland's cause fresh off Oz wizardry 

Scannell was a unique treble Cup winner at U18/U20/Senior with Glanmire in 2007, then took the US scholarship route

Jessica Scannell (right) with DCU Mercy's Fionnuala Toner,  playing for Team Montenotte Hotel in the 2015 National Cup semi-final

A COMBINATION of good timing and her ability to maximise every opportunity sees Jessica Scannell finally return to the green vest this weekend, 14 years after she last played for Ireland.

Her availability for Sunday’s high-profile Eurobasket2025 Qualifier against world number seven France (5pm, National Arena, live on TG4) couldn’t have come at a better time as captain Edel Thornton is out with a broken nose (replaced by NUIG Mystics’ Kara McCleane) and Rachel Huijsdens looks doubtful after pulling up in training yesterday with a calf strain.

Scannell (34), a unique treble Cup winner at U18/U20/Senior with Glanmire in 2007, then took the US scholarship route to Iona and last played here for Glanmire in the 2014 season.

She’s has been living Down Under for the past nine years but her initial playing status as an ‘import’ wasn’t a perfect fit.

Teams are only allowed two imports who, like Americans here, are expected to shoot the lights out. While a good three-point shooter, Scannell’s strength as a point guard is distribution and game intelligence.

Securing an Australian passport and unrestricted domestic player status has helped her blossom for the Geelong Supercats in the semi-pro NBL1 (Oz’s second tier) for the last two years, especially this season when they made top four in their conference.

When two of her teammates Sara Blicavs and Monica Okoye went to play for Australia and Japan respectively in the Asia Cup mid-season, Scannell made the most of extended court-time and impressed Ireland head coach James Weldon.

The NBL1, she explains, morphs into Australia’s Premier League at certain times of the year.

“The (fully pro) WNBL is on in the Summer but it’s small, only eight teams and 10 per team. In Winter the NBL1 is the top league because, if WNBL players haven’t then gone to the WNBA, they come and play NBL1 and get scouted there.” 

There is some serendipity also to her availability for this big home international.

It's her first time back in Cork since 2019 because of covid and coincided with some of her work for a non-profit called ‘Welcome Australia.’ 

“I represented them at the UN Global Youth Summit, which just so happened to be in Belfast at the beginning of October. Sometimes things just kind of work out like they're meant to kind of be,” she observes.

She’s been back training with Glanmire for the past six weeks so, was a temporary return to the Super League contemplated?

“There was a few conversations but they have a lot of really good players and I think when you’re just back for a short time, that can actually disrupt the chemistry of a team. I'll be flying back next Tuesday because I have to get back to work… and the sun!” she grins.

A real chip off her father Mark’s block, Scannell has done some coaching in Australia so offers useful insights as to why the Opals finished third in the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Sydney.

“The big difference in Australia is the numbers and the government really funding facilities. Everywhere you go has massive basketball courts.

“I live in a small little suburb and just across the road there’s a seven-court basketball stadium, maybe twice or three times the size of our National Arena, run by local government.

“The courts are open all day for casual shooting. I can just pop over to the gym and get shots up. I don't ever have to worry about whether I'll be able to get into the stadium. There’s always a place for you to play and develop your skills.” 

That keeps everyone, including late developers, in the game, she reckons.

“It's not that Australia’s technical or high performance stuff is way better than ours. They just have massive amounts of kids playing. I think we specialise too early and I understand why. We don't have the facilities or the funding. That's the biggest difference for me.”