Portlaoise international Amy Dooley believes Ireland can serve up strong finish to Euro qualifiers
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MIDLANDS Park Portlaoise Panthers player, Amy Dooley is hoping she can help Ireland produce a strong finish to their FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 qualifying campaign against France and Latvia later next week.
The highly-rated centre from Old Leighlin, Co Carlow was, last week, named in James Weldon’s 12-strong panel for the homestretch to the qualifiers which will see them travel to Chalone-sur-Saône to take on unbeaten Group E leaders and Olympic silver medallists, France on Thursday before welcoming Latvia to the National Basketball Arena the following Sunday.
And while Ireland currently sit fourth in Group E, still awaiting their first win of the campaign, Dooley insists that the increased experience of competition at this level, which the Irish players have garnered, could well see them sign off on these qualifiers with a positive result.
“There’s so much experience there now, even for girls like me and a couple of others who have only come into the programme over the past year,” she told the .
“I think this time we have a very good mature squad and we all know our roles too.
“Playing France is going to be tough. They’re Number Three in the world, but it’s great just to get to play them and to have that experience.
“We played Latvia in November and even though we lost by about 30 in the end, we were in the game up until about half-time.
“I feel that, with this extra experience, especially for the newer players, I think we could make it a good game and really look to win that one. Latvia are a strong team, but I do think we have it in us.
“Irish teams, both the men and women, we don’t stop fighting and I think that will stand to us when we play France and Latvia,” she said.
Regardless of the results this week, Dooley insists that this Ireland squad has improved greatly over the course of this campaign, which has equipped them with first-hand experience of what it takes to succeed at this level of international basketball.
“Even over the last two or three years you can see the improvement in the squad and even in women’s basketball in general in Ireland.” “We’re going up against these teams, like France who are Number Three in the world and it just shows us the level we need to get to, and we’re striving for that,” she stressed.
On the club front, Dooley has played a huge part in Portlaoise’s solid season so far in Women’s Super League, helping Panthers to big victories over the likes of Guarranabraher Credit Union Brunell, The Address UCC Glanmire, Utility Trust St. Paul’s and Catalyst Fr. Mathews.
Her physical presence under the boards at both ends of the court was something the team was lacking last season when they barely managed to stay up in the top tier.
But with both Dooley and American, Jessica Fressle offering them a lot more punch on the inside, Portlaoise now have their sights set very much on a play-off berth this year.
But Dooley will, this week, be focusing all her energy on the international front as she relishes the prospect of again representing her country on the European stage.
“I’m really looking forward to it now,” she smiled. “It’s always a privilege to pull on the Irish jersey.
“One of my goals when I was leaving college was to make the Ireland senior team and it’s great to have seen that come true.
“I can’t wait for it now. Even just to be in the team, to have that training and the week to focus on basketball, it’s just great,” she said.
IRELAND SQUAD: Abigail Rafferty (Oakland Wolves, England), Áine O’Connor, Hazel Finn, Sorcha Tiernan (FloMAX Liffey Celtics), Amy Dooley (Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers), Bridget Herlihy (Unicaja Baloncesto, Spain), Lauryn Homan, Edel Thornton (Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell), Claire Melia (University of Ferrol, Spain), Kate Hickey, Sarah Hickey (SETU Waterford Wildcats), Michelle Clarke (Killester).
