Eight uncapped players included in Ireland squad for Estonia and Portugal games

Ireland basketball coach James Weldon has selected eight uncapped players in his 16-person squad for the upcoming friendlies with Estonia in Dublin and Portugal in Porto.

The National Basketball Arena and Oblate Hall will host the two meetings with the Estonians on 6/7 of August, before the team travels to the Iberian Peninsula for back-to-back matches on the 13th and 14th.

The fixtures will mark a return to the court for the first time since last November's FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023 Qualifiers against the Netherlands and Czech Republic, with a further round of qualifiers to come against the same opposition this November.

Three players from Ireland’s U20 squad at the recent FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship are included, 19-year-old’s Kate Hickey (Waterford Wildcats) and Kara McCleane (NUIG Mystics) and 18-year-old Ella O’Donnell. O’Donnell, who will play at Quinnipiac next season, is one of three US-based players in the squad, with Bronagh Power-Cassidy (Holy Cross Crusaders) and Enya Maguire (Houston Baptist University) also in line for their first international caps.

The other three potential debutants are Bridget Herlihy, who plies her trade with Swedish club Marbo Basket, DCU Mercy’s Maeve Phelan and Mia Furlong, a treble winner with The Address UCC Glanmire last season.

"We are all really looking forward to these upcoming games, which is a big part of our preparation for the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2023 qualifiers in November and February," said Weldon.

"We have some injuries at the moment, but this has created an opportunity for others to come into the panel and impress. We are really looking forward to welcoming and meeting our friends and supporters at the games in the National Basketball Arena and Oblate Hall