The Ireland Under 18 women's team rounded off their 2019 FIBA U18 Women's European Championship Division B campaign in style in Skopje yesterday, running out 61-48 point winners over Slovakia to secure a ninth place finish in the tournament.
The teams, who had met each other in the group stages of the Europeans, were certainly no strangers to each other and with Ireland having taken the win by 12 points in the first battle, Slovakia were looking for revenge. It wasn't to come for them today though as they were outscored and outrebounded by a superb team performance from the Irish, with Katie Walshe, and Waterford Wildcat players Debbie Ogayemi and Abby Flynn some of the brightest sparks in an all round fantastic team performance.
A strong first quarter from the Irish set the tone of what was to come, with Debbie Ogayemi driving to the basket for the opening score and Abby Flynn, Ogayemi (again) and Williamson adding more to see Ireland stretch into the lead. Great work by Ciara Byrne and Niamh Kenny helped break down the tough Slovak press, while a big drive from Walsh, followed by a Kenny put-back, saw Ireland into a 17-10 lead at the end of the first.
Ireland truly clicked into gear in the second quarter, and put on an exhibition at both ends of the court, with Siofra O'Shea a stand out on defense, as Ogayemi and Flynn (twice) widened Ireland's lead to 23-10 in the opening minute and a half. A quick time out from Slovakia saw them come back and knock down a big three pointer, but strong rebounding from Walshe saw her finish off a nice three-point play from the free throw line. Ogayemi was truly the stand out star of this quarter for the Irish, cleaning up on the boards and working hard offensively, and she added another four points to round out a 9-0 run for the girls in green. Slovakia just couldn't find a gap through the staunch Irish defense, and had to settle for free throws to keep their scoring ticking over, as Ireland worked a seamless pick and roll at the other end and led 36-22 at half time.
It was raining threes for Slovakia in the third as they knocked down five three pointers in the period, but Ireland were not to be deterred. Flynn was on hand with two fantastic baskets to keep momentum with the Irish, while another three from Slovakia was responded to immediately with a Walshe score to give Ireland a ten-point cushion, 47-37 going into the last. Flynn, Williamson and Walshe all added early scores in the fourth to widen the gap further, and they, along with Ciara Tolan, kept the points raining in and Ireland drove home to a commanding 61-48 point win after a superb team display.
Speaking afterwards, head coach Tommy O'Mahony stated: "I'm delighted - I thought we really got off to a great start. Even though this was our eighth game, I thought we were full of energy and just really got into it. We are 6 and 2 for the tournament which not many can say, I'm really delighted with the performance overall."
