Waterford Wildcats duo named in Ireland U20 basketball squad

Waterford Wildcats players Ardiana Shallci and Sarah Hickey have been named on Karl Kilbride's Ireland U20 basketball squad for the forthcoming international season.

The FIBA U20 Women's European Championship begins in Craiova, Romania on July 28. Ireland will compete in the 'B' Division and have been drawn alongside Greece, hosts Romania and Georgia in their group, opening against Greece on July 28. 

They will take on Croatia in a friendly series at the start of July, before playing warm-up games against Switzerland and Austria in Romania in the days leading up to the competition.  

Kilbride told Basketball Ireland's website: "Having gotten to watch most of the girls play at National League and Super League throughout the season and to see the quality on display in the U20 National Cup this year, we knew we were going to be looking at a really strong group. The open session we held over the last few months proved just that.

"We've got both a brilliant opportunity and a daunting task ahead of us over the next 3 months. But with the squad we've named here, the standard is as high as it's ever been and we couldn't be more excited for what will no doubt be a hectic summer."

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Ireland U20 Women’s head coach Karl Kilbride has selected an initial squad of 23 players for the forthcoming international season.

Full details ➡️ https://t.co/kWadelASD2#Greenmeansgo ☘️ pic.twitter.com/k1KTpakn2I

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) April 4, 2023