The Irish Senior Women's basketball team get their European Championship campaign underway tonight with a tie against old rivals England. Ireland have actually beaten their neighbours in their last three matches against them but England will have WNBA star Andrea Congreaves on board for the first time and should provide a touch test.
Ireland are hosting the European Championship qualifying Group C at Limerick's University Arena from May 16 to May 20 and the Irish team are hoping home advantage will give them an edge over their opposition. Team captain, Susan Moran, of US College side St. Joseph's Philadelphia, has said the team are ready for whatever challenge they face.
"We call ourselves small but deadly. We may be much smaller than all the opposition we are going to face over the next week, but we think that we have what it takes to go out there and win against this level of opposition," she said. "Two years ago we opened the qualifiers away to Greece in front of 15,000 screaming Greek fans - it was terrifying. We hope the Irish fans can instil the same level of fear in the opposition we are going to face over the next few days."
Ireland will face England, Italy, Portugal and Belgium in their quest to qualify for the semi-final round but with only two teams progressing, it will be tough for Ireland to get through. Italy, beaten finalists back in 1995, are expected to top the group. Ranked in the top five in Europe, the team is fully professional, while Amy Mallon is Ireland's only professional player. Portugal and Belgium both boast WNBA players, as do England. Tonight's match gets underway at 7:30pm.
Irish squad:
4 Dearbhla Breen Forward
5 Jillian Hayes Post
6 Olivia O'Reilly Guard
8 Kim Fitzpatrick Guard
9 Catriona White Forward
10 Susan Moran Forward
11 Jillian Aherne Forward
12 Chris Kiely Guard
14 Kelly Fitzpatrick Forward
15 Neasa O'Keeffe Centre
Injured: Orla Dempsey, Juliet Murphy, Jillian Aherne.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
