Ireland’s Sarah Hickey in action against Israel’s Daniel Raber during their Fiba Women’s EuroBasket 2027 qualifier clash at Komandas Sporta Spelu Halle in Riga. Photo: Oksana Dzadan/Sportsfile
Ireland women just missed out on sealing a second win in their EuroBasket 2027 qualifying campaign after suffering a 93-86 defeat in overtime to Israel in the neutral venue of Riga.
A Sarah Hickey two-pointer forced the game into overtime but the women in green could not follow Saturday’s win over Bosnia in Dublin, which ended a four-year wait for a victory.
Claire Melia and Michelle Clarke were absent as players were allowed miss the controversial clash as some had concerns over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Despite this, James Weldon had picked a strong side and his charges led for the entire first half, holding a slender 38-37 half-time advantage before Israel began to rally.
Hickey led the Irish scorers with 17 points while rising star Bronagh Power-Cassidy added 15 and Bridget Herlihy 13.
The lead would change hands 16 times after the midway point as Ireland tried to reassert their control, but Israel fought back and their scoring threat was led by Daniel Raber, who ended the night with 26 points.
Weldon’s side were dealt a blow when Herlihy had to be helped off the court after pulling up in the third quarter.
Although Hickey forced overtime, they could not find the extra, allowing Israel to make it three wins from three in Group A in this opening international window.
Ireland sit third in their group after two defeats and one win but will want to finish in the top two to be sure of progressing to the next round.
They will aim to improve further in March’s next qualifying games, but this performance will have given them some hope.