Ireland fell to an agonising 59-56 defeat to the Netherlands, after leading for the majority of their FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023 Qualifiers game at the National Basketball Arena on Sunday.Head coach James Weldon said his team would "take a lot of positives" from the performance, ahead of their final qualifier against Czech Republic in February.There were a number of standout performances including MVP Claire Melia, who finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and three assists, while captain Edel Thornton contributed 10 points, three rebounds and two assists.The Dutch opened with a couple of free throws, but it was Ireland who dominated the first half.
Their opening half display was characterised by tenacious defence, matched with some excellent execution at the basket.Their high tempo was rewarded with a 21-9 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Bridget Herlihy’s layup on her EuroBasket debut edged Ireland 6-2 up with three and a half minutes gone.Captain Thornton was dictating the play, her three-point jump shot with 2’46" to go in the quarter established a 16-7 lead and she’d finish with 10 points in the opening quarter alone.The first five minutes of the second quarter was a low scoring affair, Ireland’s defence frustrating the Dutch.Just after the mid-point of the quarter, Sorcha Tiernan brought the home crowd to their feet with a three-point jump shot, the assist coming from debutant Ciara Bracken, to make it 25-11.Ireland continued to build a score, layups from Orla O’Reilly, Melia and a couple of Dayna Finn free throws established a 34-11 advantage.Melia’s presence in the paint was causing major problems for the Dutch, she had eight points and seven rebounds by half-time.Having had less than 20% field goal