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Nov 11 2026

Ireland defeated 81-73 by Iceland in FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers opener

Ireland were edged 81-73 by Iceland in their FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers opener at the National Basketball Arena on Wednesday. Ireland were level at 73-73 apiece with two and a half minutes to go, only for a late flourish to swing the game in Iceland’s favour.

Ireland, under new head coach Thomas Garlepp, will take plenty of positives from the performance, including Sarah Hickey’s 25 points and 14 rebounds, an impressive 15 points on FIBA Women’s EuroBasket debut for Ella O’Donnell, while there were new caps for Aoibheann Donnelly, Lucy Coogan and Katie Williamson.

O’Donnell got Ireland off the mark with a minute gone, to trail 4-2. A fastbreak and layup saw Ireland trail 8-4 with three minutes in. O’Donnell was a real presence in the paint and her layup, followed by a Hickey jump shot, got Ireland within a point, 10-9, midway through the first quarter.

Coogan entered the fray and she made an immediate impact, picking out Hickey for a layup under the basket to make it 12-11. A floater from Hazel Finn saw Ireland hit the front, 13-12 with three and a half minutes to go, but it was Iceland who were ahead at the end of the quarter, 21-17.

Ireland WNT head coach Thomas Garlepp speaking with captain Edel Thornton and Michelle Clarke during Ireland's FIBA Women's EuroBasket game with Iceland on Wednesday.

Back-to-back threes from O’Donnell and Hickey put Ireland 24-21 up a little over two minutes into the second quarter. A Hickey jump shot stretched Ireland’s lead to five shortly afterwards. A three by Berglind Hlynsdottir and a layup by Rebekka Steingrimsdottir nudged Iceland 30-28 up, before a three from the top of the arc by Enya Maguire put Ireland back in front at the midpoint of the quarter.

A hook shot by Donnelly had 35-33 up with just under four minutes to go. A pair of Thornton baskets either side of Hickey’s jump shot saw Ireland lead 41-35 with a minute and a half to go in the quarter. Hickey had 18 points by the break, as Ireland went into half-time 42-38 to the good.

Ireland kept up their tempo at the start of the third quarter, the impressive O’Donnell finished neatly under the basket, before a Maguire corner three had Ireland 47-40 up in the early stages. The match was level at 49-49 after Helena Rafnsdottir’s layup. Iceland had a nine point run, Emma Theodorsson’s layup had them 58-51 ahead. A third three from Maguire’s snapped that sequence. Iceland would lead 63-57 by the end of the third, with Hickey’s layup and free throw giving Ireland the final points of the quarter.

Maura Fitzpatrick in action for Ireland against Iceland in the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers.

Ireland were back level at 63-63 a minute a half in, following a Finn layup and free throw, followed by a trio of free throws by Hickey to bring her tally to 24. Ireland lost Finn after she fouled out with six and a half minutes to go, but moments later a fastbreak and layup by Maura Fitzpatirck had Ireland 67-65 up. This game appeared to be going down to the wire, O’Donnell’s layup saw Ireland trail 71-70 with three minutes on the clock. 30 seconds later it was level at 73-73 following another nerveless three by Maguire, but Iceland managed to fend off the Irish challenge in the closing stretch to take the win.

Ireland women’s head coach, Thomas Garlepp, said: “From the three point line it was what it was, I think we will learn from the close range misses that we had. There is some stuff that we will find, it was almost at times that they were shocked it was so open. The gravity of today was not lost on those players, that was a really important night for them, not just a game and I think sometimes with that comes a little bit of extra anxiety, that want to knock things out of the park, rather than sticking with the process and you’ve got to appreciate how much they care about playing for their country, that probably generates some of that, but I was proud of them nonetheless. I think we fought through some stuff, we learned some stuff, but just disappointing when you don’t win.”

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Ireland captain Edel Thorton added: “Tom has given us all a lot of confidence and we just need to learn to play that way and together for longer is his mentality. We need to trust that and when we did that we were really good. So it’s just doing that for longer. We will get there, it’s just the first game in a totally different system, we’re flying, we are, we just weren’t good enough for longer stints, that’s all.”

Ireland’s travel to Azerbaijan next, who lost 84-33 to Switzerland in their opening Group A fixture, Saturday's game in Baku tips off at10am and is live on TG4. Thomas Garlepp’s team finish off the window with another away game, against Switzerland on November 17^th.

Quarter Scores:

Q1: 17-21, Q2: 25-17, Q3: 15-25, Q4: 16-18

Game Scores:

Q1: 17-21, Q2: 42-38, Q3: 57-63, Q4: 73-81

Ireland:

Aoibheann Donnelly (2), Hazel Finn (7), Ella O’Donnell (15), Michelle Clarke (0), Lucy Coogan (0), Sarah Hickey (25), Katie Williamson (0), Enya Maguire (12), Emer Dunne (DNP), Edel Thornton (6), Maura Fitzpatrick (4), Caitlin Gloeckner (2).

Iceland:

Isabella Sigurdardottir (4), Helena Rafnsdottir (0), Thoranna Hodge-Carr (6), Dilja Larusdottir (8), Emma Theodorsson (5), Thelma Agustsdottir (2), Anna Svansdottir (0), Sara Hinriksdottir (14), Asta Grimsdottir (2), Rebekka Steingrimsdottir (18), Berglind Hlynsdottir (14), Kristrun Olafsdottir (8).

FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers Round 1 Results

Wednesday 11th November 2026

Ireland 73-81 Iceland

FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers Round 1 Fixtures

Saturday 14th November 2026

Azerbaijan v Ireland, 1000, National Gymnastics Arena, Baku, TG4 (on-air at 0950)

Tuesday 17th November 2026

Switzerland v Ireland, 1800, Saint-Léonard, Fribourg, TG4 Player and App

Wednesday 10th February 2027

Iceland v Ireland, 2030, Asvellir, Hafnarfjordur TG4 Player and App

Saturday 13th February 2027

Ireland v Azerbaijan 1430, National Basketball Arena, TG4
Tuesday 16th February 2027