Mayo native on Ireland Under 20 basketball squad for upcoming international season

Ireland Under 20 women's basketball team head coach Karl Kilbride has selected a squad of 23 for the forthcoming international season, culminating with the FIBA Under 20 Women's European Championships in Romania in July.

Kilbride is able to name an experience squad, with five members of the roster who competed in the A division of the FIBA Under 20 Women's European Championship in 2022 returning to the fold – one of them being Kiltimagh native Hazel Finn.

The others are her University of Galway Mystics team-mate Kara McCleane plus 2023 MissQuote.ie Super League All-Star recipient Sarah Hickey of Waterford Wildcats, Ella O'Donnell, who's having a standout season at Quinnipiac University in the US, and Sinéad Keane of Trinity Meteors.

Maria Kealy, Micaiah Fubara, Ellie Glavin, Emma Glavin and Rachel Callery all boast MissQuote.ie Super League experience with their respective clubs, while Emily Smyth and Katie Flanagan picked up InsureMyHouse.ie Women's Division 1 National Cup honours with Abbey Seals Dublin Lions in January.

University of Galway Mystics have the highest representation with four players selected. Meteors are triple handed, as are Abbey Seals Dublin Lions, while Waterford Wildcats, Ulster University and Liffey Celtics all boast two apiece. Fr. Mathews, Malahide, Limerick Sport Huskies, New York Military Academy, DCU Mercy, Caldwell University and Quinnipiac University are the other clubs/universities represented.

Speaking about the upcoming campaign, head coach Karl Kilbride said: “Having gotten to watch most of the girls play at National League and Super League throughout the season and to see the quality on display in the Under 20 National Cup this year, we knew we were going to be looking at a really strong group. The open session we held over the last few months proved just that.

“We've got both a brilliant opportunity and a daunting task ahead of us over the next three months. But with the squad we've named here, the standard is as high as it's ever been and we couldn't be more excited for what will no-doubt be a hectic summer.”

The FIBA Under 20 Women's European Championships begin in Craiova, Romania, on July 28. Ireland will compete in the B division and have been drawn alongside Greece, hosts Romania and Georgia in their group, opening against Greece on July 28.

They will take on Croatia in a friendly series at the start of July before playing warm-up games against Switzerland and Austria in Romania in the days leading up to the competition.

The Ireland squad in full is: Ardiana Shallci, Arianna Price, Ella O’Donnell, Ellie Glavin, Emma Glavin, Emily O’Dwyer, Emily Smyth, Erica Egan, Hazel Finn, Kara McCleane, Katie Flanagan, Lucy Coogan, Maria Kealy, Micaiah Fubara, Niamh O’Leary, Rachel Callery, Rebecca Hynes, Riona Grealy, Sara Brazil, Sarah Hickey, Shannon Cunningham, Sinéad Keane, Tara Nevin.