Ireland women’s team came out the right side of a 64-60 thriller against the Netherlands at the National Basketball Arena on Saturday afternoon. Trailing by seven early in the opening quarter, Ireland rallied to lead at the start of the second and never looked back thereafter.
Captain Claire Melia repeated her double-double performance against Denmark 24 hours ago with 19-points and 10 rebounds in the contest, while Sarah Hickey and Bridget Herlihy also scored heavily, combining to add 23 to the scoreboard.
The Netherlands started proceedings with a 4-0 run through Laura Cornelius and Maud Huijbends, before Bridget Herlihy registered Ireland’s first points with just under four minutes gone in the contest.
It was 12-8 in favour of the visitors by the midway point of the first quarter. Charlotte Van Kleef made a corner three, which was quickly replied to in kind by Sarah Hickey and Ireland looked to have found their rhythm. Enya Maguire – on the back of a strong performance against Denmark further cut the gap to two with a mid-range jumper with 3:47 on the clock and Ireland weren’t finished there.
Claire Melia continued her fine run of scoring with a pair of free throws and Michelle Clarke drained a jumper to bring her side level, 14-14 at the end of one.
Shortly after the restart, Ireland found themselves in front for the first time. Sarah Hickey – who would finish the half with a game high 11 points – found space beneath the basket to make an easy lay-up and edge James Weldon’s side into the lead. That momentum stayed with Ireland for much of the quarter, another Maguire bucket from the mid-range sealing a 9-3 run that brought the score to 25-19 with just over five minutes remaining in the half.
Netherlands tried to rally thereafter. Laura Westerik and Huijbens each getting to the basket through the lane. Ireland weren’t going to let their advantage slip though. Emma Glavin,- subbing in for the first time – introduced herself to international basketball with a trade mark three, quickly followed by a floater from Herlihy to bring her total to 10, cementing Ireland’s 34-30 advantage as the teams headed for the changing rooms.
The pace of scoring slowed in the third. Melia – playing a captains role during the weekend – stepped up to the mark with the opening points of the half, backing down her opponent in the paint. During a quarter where Ireland would score just 10, she managed to conjure up six points on her own. To their credit, the Netherlands weren’t going away, 44-42 in favour of Ireland going into the final quarter.
A Van Kleef three reduced the gap between the teams to the minimum after Michelle Clarke had hit her sixth point of the game at the outset of the fourth. Ireland needed to show some steal with the game in the melting pot – they showed it in abundance. Melia and Hickey extended their lead back to five in the blink of an eye and try as the Dutch might – Ireland were able to keep them at arm’s length going down the stretch.
It was left to Melia and Sorcha Tiernan to put the result beyond doubt from the free-throw line, sending a large Irish crowd into celebration mode.
Quarter Scores:
Q1: 14-14 Q2: 25-21 Q3:10-12 , Q4: 20-18
Game Scores:
Q1:14-14 Q2: 34-30 Q3: 44-42 Q4: 64-60
Ireland:
Michelle Clarke (6), Ella O’Donnell (2), Sarah Hickey (13), Kate Hickey (0), Lauryn Homan (0), Claire Melia (19), Bridget Herlihy (10), Sarah Kenny (0), Enya Maguire (9), Sorcha Tiernan (2), Amy Dooley (0), Emma Glavin (3).
Netherlands:
Iris Vennema, Phoenix Stotijn, Laura Cornelius, Janiek Van Veen, Esther Fokke, Rowie Jongeling, Richelle Van Der Keijl, Charlotte Van Kleef, Laura Westerik, Lisanne De Jonge Maud Huijbens. Michaela Vanderklugt