Women's Super League and Women's Division One 2024/25 fixtures revealed

SETU Waterford Wildcats will get an early chance to avenge their Champions Trophy defeat to Killester on the opening night of the Women's Super League on basketballireland.tv. The rematch will be the second of a three game, Saturday evening slate to start the 2024/25 season on Saturday, October 5th.

Full season fixtures available here.

Double winning Killester go into the campaign without Irish international Claire Melia, who departed for University of Ferrol in the Spanish top flight at the end of 2024. Head coach Mark Grennell is back though - looking forward to a first title defence for the club since 2015. 

"Obviously it’s a fantastic thing to be able to call ourselves champions and while we will always have that, it was last year," said Grennell. "This is a new season and we are preparing for it as well as well can. The girls know how hard it was and they will do their best to repeat. The league as a whole has improved again this year and are all hungry to win. It should be a great spectacle for the casual fan."

The opposing bench sees Jillian Hayes and Tommy O'Mahony reverse roles for the upcoming campaign, with the 2024 Basketball Ireland Hall of Fame inductee taking over head coaching duties. Wildcats were rewarded for their consistency during the Super League season last year with a third-place finish, alongside a U20 Women's National Cup - they will be hopeful of collecting more silverware in 2024/25 and this would be a stronger marker to lay down on opening night. 

It took an unprecedented, one off playoff to seperate FloMAX Liffey Celtics and Killester in the Women's Super League in March and first up for Karl Kilbride's side will be a trip to newly promoted Utility Trust St. Paul's on opening night. The Killarney side have recruited heavily in order to make the step up to Super League level from Women's Division One - so  there will be plenty of unknowns for last season's runners-up as they bid to go one better in 2024. 

Two new coaches will face off for the first time when beaten Paudie O'Connor Cup finalists Catalyst Fr.Mathews get their year underway against University of Galway Mystics in Cork. Keith Daly replaces the departed Pat Price for Fr.Mathews, while Kyle Walsh takes over from Paul O'Brien, who left Mystics to take up the head coaching position with Maigh Cuilinn in Men's Division One during the summer. 

The absence of DCU Mercy from the Women's Super League line-up in 2024/25 leaves The Address UCC Glanmire's Mark Scannell out on his own as the longest tenured coach in the competition. A slow start last year meant they had to settle for a 5th place finish despite a 14-6 record. That combined with a first round exit in the Paudie O'Connor Cup will lead to a fresh hunger for a team who won a treble just two seasons ago. 

Rounding off the opening weekend on Sunday afternoon will be Portlaoise Panthers, embarking on their second season in the Super League, entertaining Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell in St. Mary's Hall. Last season's Paudie O'Connor Cup champions had their season de-railed with the loss of Ireland captain Edel Thornton. They will be hoping her return can spark a tilt at a Super League crown in 2024/25. Portlaoise Panthers made a statement by bringing back Irish international Amy Dooley from The Address UCC Glanmire ahead of the pre-season. A win for them here would signal their hopes of finishing further up the standings in the year ahead. 

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FORMAT

• A 10 team regular season will see each team play one another home and away for a total of 18 games. 
• The first placed team in the standings will be declared the 'regular season winners'.
• The top eight teams in the table will advance to the playoffs to compete for the Women's Super League title. 
• 10th placed team in the standings may be relegated to the Women's Division One for 2025/26.

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The Women's Division One has the potential to be the most unpredictable competition in 2024/25. iSecure Swords Thunder narrowly missed out on promotion last season and start their push for top flight basketball at home against Moy Tolka Rovers on Saturday, October 5th, live on basketballireland.tv. 

Full season fixtures available here.

A 13-3 record helped catapult Thunder to a Women's Division One final appearance and utimately, silverware in the form of the Women's Division One League Trophy at the National Basketball Arena. The loss of Jensen Caretti will be difficult to account for, but head coach Paul Carr is looking forward to the upcoming challenge with an evolving young group. 

 Jensen Caretti challenges for the ball for iSecure Swords Thunder during the 2023/24 season. 

"We are very excited for a new season to begin and to try to continue building on the success of last season," said head coach Paul Carr.  "We have been lucky to keep most of our core group with only a few changes. We have some exciting young players coming through, so we are keen to watch them develop while continuing to be competitive in a league where a lot of teams have strengthened this off-season. It should be a very exciting league for everyone involved."

Moy Tolka Rovers ended last year fourth in the South Conference with a 5-11 record. They've brought in Suzanne Maguire as head coach in the off-season and they will have playoff ambitions under the league's new format. 

"It’s a full schedule with no easy games," said Maguire when asked about the upcoming campaign. "Consistency week in and week out will be key to success. I’m very happy with the squad. We have brought in some new players and still have a couple others to welcome back, but there is great energy within the group and chemistry is building. We open away to Swords Thunder, who were fantastic last season and I expect will be keen to build on that. I think we match up quite well against them, but for me I hope we can set the tone opening weekend for what teams can expect from Tolka Rovers this season."

Abbey Seals Dublin Lions have brought in experienced duo Sofia Paska and Jessica Fressle from Utility Trust St. Paul's and Portlaoise Panthers respectively to headline their promotion push. That combination have each tasted success at this level and will be keen to add a second promotion to their cv under new head coach Martin Conroy, who comes across from SETU Carlow. Oblate Dyamos make the short trip across West Dublin for game one. 

Early bragging rights will be on the line in Limerick on opening night when Celtics and Huskies clash on basketballireland.tv. Derby games are always extra competitive between these two and it figures to be no different this time around. Scout Frame is back for a second season with Huskies, while Limerick Celtics have been busy during the close season, adding Stephanie McBride and Shelby Harmeyer to their Women's Division One National Cup winning squad from 2023/24. 

Templeogue finished second in the North Conference under Mark Byrne, before their promotion bid ended in the last four against Utility Trust St.Paul's. They've lost Lynn Tunnah to Portlaoise Panthers in the offseason, as they look to improve their 12-4 record. It's a journey to Kilkenny to face Marble City Hawks on October 5th for them. 

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FORMAT

• A 10 team regular season will see each team play one another home and away for a total of 18 games.
• Top 8 teams qualify for the playoffs.
• The team that wins playoff final is Women’s Division One champion, earning promotion for the 2025/26 season.