Ireland bounce back to claim historic EuroBasket win over Bosnia
BACK FOOT: Edel Thornton of Ireland and Kamiah Smalls of Bosnia and Herzegovina in action. Pic: INPHO/James Lawlor
Ireland’s long wait for a first-ever win in EuroBasket Women qualifying ended in emphatic fashion against Bosnia on Saturday night.
James Weldon’s charges took control from the off and, save for a second-quarter stutter, dominated for the full 40 minutes at the National Basketball Arena.
The one big change from Wednesday’s defeat to Luxembourg was the introduction of Lorraine Scanlon to the Irish starting five. The St Paul’s Killarney woman brought order and steel to the Irish defence and that set the table for those around her to run free in attack.
Sarah Hickey’s drives through the interior quickly caused problems for the visitors and she was ably assisted by Hazel Finn and Enya Maguire on the outside.
Bosnia’s Kamiah Smalls, a WNBA veteran, was contained throughout the opening quarter. Only Dragana Domuzin, the Bosnia captain, caused any trouble for Ireland early as the host took a 27-15 lead into the second quarter.
The second began a lot like the first, Scanlon continued to bully all around her while Claire Melia found another gear on the interior. It looked like Ireland would run away with it before the break.
Given Weldon’s side has waited through 11 defeats from as many games since stepping up to the main EuroBasket level, it was foolish to think it might have been so straightforward.
Domuzin was a one woman army throughout the front half of the quarter, ensuring Ireland never got out of sight. Then Smalls, now plying her trade with Galatasaray, took over. With Bosnia’s key duo shining, they cut the deficit to 40-36 at the half.
The veteran laden Ireland squad came out with authority in the third quarter. Edel Thornton of Brunell led a strong start before Finn pushed Weldon’s side into their biggest lead of the night so far midway through third. A drive and finish from Thornton on the inside hammered home Ireland’s advantage as the crowd in Tallaght started to believe.
The Cork woman put an exclamation point on the third quarter display with a three as Ireland led 69-51 entering the final frame. Whatever semblance of doubt remained was brushed aside quickly in the fourth.
A Bridget Herlihy drive followed up by a Sarah Hickey three put Ireland more than 20 points clear. Herlihy closed out matters with a three to give Ireland their first ever win at this level of competition by 94-67.
“I’m just so happy for the team. We’ve been through so much in the last number of years. The near misses, the controversial stuff, and we always stuck together. We were disappointed with ourselves on Wednesday,” Weldon told the .
“We were so mad from Wednesday, we were determined to do better. We knew that if we could slow down their main threats, they’d be in trouble. The big thing for us now is to push on again.”
: Michelle Clarke, Sarah Hickey, Hazel Finn, Enya Maguire, Edel Thornton, Abigail Rafferty, Claire Melia, Bridget Herlihy, Sorcha Tiernan, Lorraine Scanlon, Bronagh Power Cassidy, Annaliese Murphy.
Top scorers: Finn 16, Hickey 15, Thornton 15, Melia 13, Scanlon 11, Herlihy 10
: Valentina Docis, Ajla Hidic, Danijela Mitrovic, Dragana Domuzin, Andela Sipka, Andjela Bekic, Jana Guska, Kamiah Smalls, Ena Sehovic, Ivona Krakic, Ajla Selimovic, Azra Niksic
Top scorers: Smalls 24, Domuzin 20.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
