Ireland U20 Women’s head coach Karl Kilbride has named his final 12 for the FIBA European Championships, with Waterford Wildcats Sarah Hickey included.
Craiova in Romania is the setting for the Championships which begins Friday, July 28th.
🚨 𝙎𝙌𝙐𝘼𝘿 𝘼𝙉𝙉𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘾𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙉𝙏 🚨
Head coach Karl Kilbride has finalised his 12-person squad for the FIBA U20 Women's European Championship in Romania.#Greenmeansgo ☘️
— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) June 6, 2023
Kilbride has selected an experienced squad, with five players returning from the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship roster who competed in the ‘A’ division a year ago.
Hickey has been in imperious form throughout the domestic campaign and has earned multiple awards and plaudits for her efforts.
Speaking on SportsBeat Xtra, Wildcats head coach Tommy O'Mahony recognised her output throughout the year.
Dublin Lions duo Katie Flanagan and Emily Smyth will debut following an impressive domestic campaign in which they helped secure InsureMyHouse.ie Women’s Division One National Cup success.
Kilkenny’s Lucy Coogan will bridge the gap from the U18 setup. Lucy is joined by Maria Kealy and Micaiah Fubara with all three anticipated to make a good impression.
Ireland will compete in the 'B' Division of the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship and have been drawn in Group B.
They can look forward to intriguing matchups against Romania, Greece and Georgia.
Karl Kilbride
Speaking after announcing his squad, head coach Kilbride acknowledged the difficulty faced in whittling the roster down to 12.
"Selecting 12 players from the group that we started with is one of the toughest processes we've ever had to go through as a coaching staff," he said.
"There's so much ability and experience in the extended group, resulting in some serious talent missing out.
"We couldn't possibly be more excited to be working with and going away with the 12 girls we have. We're really fortunate to have the depth of experience we've got in the team, playing at the highest levels in our National League, The United States and also previous FIBA Youth European Championships.
"We have an intense and busy summer ahead, with tough stops in the Czech Republic and Croatia, before heading to Romania for the European Championships at the end of July.
"With the effort and commitment that the girls have shown so far continuing, we're hoping for a really successful few months in front of us."
Ireland U20 Women’s Squad
- Ella O’Donnell (Quinnipiac University)
- Ellie Glavin (University of Galway Mystics)
- Emily Smyth (Dublin Lions)
- Emma Glavin (University of Galway Mystics)
- Hazel Finn (University of Galway Mystics)
- Kara McCleane (University of Galway Mystics)
- Katie Flanagan (Dublin Lions)
- Lucy Coogan (Caldwell University)
- Maria Kealy (Ulster University Tigers)
- Micaiah Fubara (DCU Mercy)
- Sarah Hickey (Waterford Wildcats)
- Sinéad Keane (Trinity Meteors)
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