Defeat for Ireland and Finn in European final
Ireland were beaten 69-59 by Luxembourg in the final of the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries in Nicosia, Cyprus, this afternoon.
Mayo native Dayna Finn was top scorer for Ireland on 17 points, sealing a fine individual performance that also included seven blocks, two assists and one steal.
She picked up seven points in total in the first quarter but it was Luxembourg who took command of the game, racing into a 27-15 lead before a three-pointer from Edel Thornton followed by a lay-up by Aine O’Connor saw them reduce the gap to seven, 27-20.
That seemed to rejuvenate Ireland as they continued to fight their way back into the contest in the second quarter. A Finn three-pointer made it 32 points apiece with a little over five minutes played, while a block by Claire Melia sparked a quick counter finished off by Gráinne Dwyer, moving Ireland into the lead, 36-34, with just over four minutes to go in the quarter. The sides traded points and went into the break level at 41-41.
Ireland appeared set to continue their second quarter momentum into the third, with a fadeaway jump shot by Fiona O’Dwyer and a Dayna Finn lay-up in the opening minute pushing them into a 45-41 lead.
However, bar one Michelle Clarke free throw midway through the quarter, Ireland failed to register any more points as Luxembourg pulled away to lead 58-46 going into the final quarter.
Ireland continued to battle bravely and outscored their opponents 13-11 in the fourth but they couldn’t narrow the deficit any further, losing by 10 points, 69-59.
Speaking afterwards, head coach James Weldon said: “I suppose we had a bit of a slow start. We came back into the game a little bit. Fair play to the girls – they dug deep, again, as they have all tournament.
“Again (in) the third quarter we struggled against their press a small bit, just from the point of view we had to make the shot clock the whole time and it knocked us out of sync. You have to credit Luxembourg, they came out and did a great job defensively on us. In fairness, our girls never stopped playing.”
Ireland: Michelle Clarke (1), Aine McKenna (DNP), Dayna Finn (17), Claire Rockall, Rachel Huijsdens (11), Gráinne Dwyer (5), Edel Thornton (3), Fiona O’Dwyer (7), Claire Melia (7), Hannah Thornton, Sorcha Tiernan (6), Aine O’Connor (2).
Luxembourg: Lisa Brigitta Jablonowski (11), Magaly Meynadier (7), Nadia Mossong (12), Catherine Mreches (10), Michelle Orban (4), Svenia Nurenberg (3), Laure Marie Paule Diederich (DNP), Julija Vujakovic (7), Michelle Dittgen (DNP), Anne Simon (4), Estelle Marie Muller, Esmerelda Skrijelj (11).