A YOUTHFUL IRELAND battled hard, but lost 85-53 to Latvia in their FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 qualifier in Riga on Thursday.
21-year-old Hazel Finn finished as joint-top scorer for Ireland on her debut with 13 points, while head coach James Weldon also handed first caps to 19-year-old Caitlin Gloeckner and 17-year-old Aisling Moran.
Ireland had an impressive opening quarter, Kate Hickey got off the mark with two minutes gone to trail 7-3. Finn got her name on the scoresheet early on with a pull-up jump shot four-and-a-half minutes in to reduce the gap once more, 14-7.
A corner three from Alexandra Mulligan and it was 17-12 with less than three to go in the first quarter. Not long afterwards Grace Prenter’s hook shot brought it to within four, 20-16. A pair of Sarah Hickey free throws in the final seconds saw Ireland 23-18 behind by the end of the first.
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Ireland got within two, 23-21, thanks to another from the three-point line by Mulligan in the opening stages of the second quarter.
Latvia, who are ranked 28th in the FIBA World Rankings, then started to get into the ascendancy. Kitija Laksa was potent, she had 21 points by half-time, converting her fourth from the three-point line in the last minute of the quarter, while a pair of Aneta Steinberga free throws made it 51-31 by half-time. Kate Hickey was leading the Irish offence at that stage, with nine at the midpoint, and would finish with 13 in a fine performance.
Finn made a bright start to the third quarter, a three-point fadeaway jump shot either side of a pair of layups from the FloMAX Liffey Celtics player and Ireland were 58-38 behind with a little over three minutes gone.
A long range two and a layup from Kate Hickey saw Ireland 64-42 behind with two and a half minutes to go. Latvia edged further ahead, a three from Steinberga made it 72-44. A Sarah Hickey free throw finished off the scoring in the quarter, Latvia 72-45 to the good.
Ireland’s tenacity didn’t fade, a pair of Aine O’Connor jump shots, either side of Steinberga’s three, followed by two free throws from the Irish captain and Ireland were 81-53 behind with less than three to go. Latvia would extend the gap slightly at the finish.
“It was a very young team, an inexperienced team, I thought we fought really hard,” Ireland head coach James Weldon said.
“We had a very slow start, but settled down a little bit late in the first quarter and the start of the second quarter. I think that some of the young girls can be really, really proud of how hard they played today. We look forward to try to build on today’s performance on Sunday.”
Ireland face Israel on Sunday on Sunday at 12:15pm Irish-time. The Group E game will once again take place at a neutral venue, at the Rimi Olympic Village in Riga.
Latvia: Paula Strautmane (0), Ketija Vihmane (6), Aleksa Gulbe (5), Anete Steinberga (16), Ilze Jakobsone (6), Vanesa Jasa (6), Lina Loceniece (4), Luize Sila (5), Kitija Laksa (25), Kate Vilka (8), Katrina Ozola (3), Digna Strautmane (1).
Ireland: Amy Dooley (0), Hazel Finn (13), Caitlin Gloeckner (0), Bridget Herlihy (2) Kate Hickey (13), Sarah Hickey (6), Áine O’Connor (6), Aisling Moran (0), Alexandra Mulligan (8), Grace Prenter (2), Abigail Rafferty (3).
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Ireland defeated by Latvia in EuroBasket qualifier
A YOUTHFUL IRELAND battled hard, but lost 85-53 to Latvia in their FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 qualifier in Riga on Thursday.
21-year-old Hazel Finn finished as joint-top scorer for Ireland on her debut with 13 points, while head coach James Weldon also handed first caps to 19-year-old Caitlin Gloeckner and 17-year-old Aisling Moran.
Ireland had an impressive opening quarter, Kate Hickey got off the mark with two minutes gone to trail 7-3. Finn got her name on the scoresheet early on with a pull-up jump shot four-and-a-half minutes in to reduce the gap once more, 14-7.
A corner three from Alexandra Mulligan and it was 17-12 with less than three to go in the first quarter. Not long afterwards Grace Prenter’s hook shot brought it to within four, 20-16. A pair of Sarah Hickey free throws in the final seconds saw Ireland 23-18 behind by the end of the first.
Ireland got within two, 23-21, thanks to another from the three-point line by Mulligan in the opening stages of the second quarter.
Latvia, who are ranked 28th in the FIBA World Rankings, then started to get into the ascendancy. Kitija Laksa was potent, she had 21 points by half-time, converting her fourth from the three-point line in the last minute of the quarter, while a pair of Aneta Steinberga free throws made it 51-31 by half-time. Kate Hickey was leading the Irish offence at that stage, with nine at the midpoint, and would finish with 13 in a fine performance.
Finn made a bright start to the third quarter, a three-point fadeaway jump shot either side of a pair of layups from the FloMAX Liffey Celtics player and Ireland were 58-38 behind with a little over three minutes gone.
A long range two and a layup from Kate Hickey saw Ireland 64-42 behind with two and a half minutes to go. Latvia edged further ahead, a three from Steinberga made it 72-44. A Sarah Hickey free throw finished off the scoring in the quarter, Latvia 72-45 to the good.
Ireland’s tenacity didn’t fade, a pair of Aine O’Connor jump shots, either side of Steinberga’s three, followed by two free throws from the Irish captain and Ireland were 81-53 behind with less than three to go. Latvia would extend the gap slightly at the finish.
“It was a very young team, an inexperienced team, I thought we fought really hard,” Ireland head coach James Weldon said.
“We had a very slow start, but settled down a little bit late in the first quarter and the start of the second quarter. I think that some of the young girls can be really, really proud of how hard they played today. We look forward to try to build on today’s performance on Sunday.”
Ireland face Israel on Sunday on Sunday at 12:15pm Irish-time. The Group E game will once again take place at a neutral venue, at the Rimi Olympic Village in Riga.
Latvia: Paula Strautmane (0), Ketija Vihmane (6), Aleksa Gulbe (5), Anete Steinberga (16), Ilze Jakobsone (6), Vanesa Jasa (6), Lina Loceniece (4), Luize Sila (5), Kitija Laksa (25), Kate Vilka (8), Katrina Ozola (3), Digna Strautmane (1).
Ireland: Amy Dooley (0), Hazel Finn (13), Caitlin Gloeckner (0), Bridget Herlihy (2) Kate Hickey (13), Sarah Hickey (6), Áine O’Connor (6), Aisling Moran (0), Alexandra Mulligan (8), Grace Prenter (2), Abigail Rafferty (3).
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