Kevin Galvin
Ireland U20’s women’s head coach Martin Conroy has named his 18-person squad for the FIBA European Challenge 2021, as the team prepare to take on Europe’s best in ‘A’ division basketball.
There are two South-East based players among a team picked by the IT Carlow head coach, with five alone from the Portlaoise Panthers. Carlow point guard Ava Coogan and Waterford Wildcats forward Katie Hickey both make the final squad, which also includes four women from the United States.
The return comes after the class of 2019 secured promotion after winning a bronze medal at the 2019 FIBA U20 European ‘B’ Championship in Pristina, Kosovo
The U20 women returned to training last weekend, after being given the green light to do so by Sport Ireland. With the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship due to be held in Sopron, Hungary from July 3rd-11th, however no host country or start date has been confirmed by FIBA for the new FIBA European Challenge tournament.
Speaking about his squad, head coach Martin Conroy said: “We’ve been away from the game for a long time, but these young women were fantastic at our three Talent ID sessions and gave our staff a lot of difficult decisions to make.
"Our coaching staff talked it through, and we have selected these final 18 players. There are some incredibly talented players that have missed out, but that’s what we expected at this level.
"It’s going to be a very fast turnaround, with just six to seven weeks to prepare, but we’re here to make sure that we put in maximum effort, so that we will be ready for the European Challenge tournament.”
The FIBA European Challenge 2021 replaces the Youth European Championships, which were cancelled by FIBA earlier this month. Four Irish underage sides will be competing in the FIBA European Challenge 2021 this summer, after confirmation by Basketball Ireland’s Elite Performance Committee (EPC), following consultation with all stakeholders - management, parents and players. Ireland’s U20 women, U18 men’s and women’s teams and the Irish U16 women are all participating.
Ireland’s U16 and U20 men’s teams have chosen not to compete in the FIBA European Challenge 2021.
