Luxembourg Women Secure Second-Round Spot in EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers

On Wednesday 11 March 2026, Luxembourg’s women’s national basketball team defeated Ireland in the first round of the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers in front of 850 spectators at the Coque in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.

Patrick Unger’s team entered the match with two wins and one defeat, sitting second in Group A, one point ahead of both Ireland and Bosnia and Herzegovina. A victory in this game would secure qualification for the second round of the qualifiers.

Luxembourg made a strong start, opening the game with a 20-7 run. The visitors gradually reduced the deficit and cut the gap to seven points. Late in the first quarter, with Luxembourg leading 22-13, Ireland head coach James Weldon called a timeout. After the break in play, Maura Fitzpatrick scored twice to reduce the deficit to five points.

At the start of the second quarter, Joyce Isi Etute continued to lead Luxembourg’s scoring, adding two points from the free-throw line after scoring eleven points in the opening quarter. Shortly afterwards, Luxembourg extended their advantage with four consecutive three-pointers within two minutes: two from Anne Simon and one each from Julie Mangen and Svenia Nurenberg, giving the hosts a 36-20 lead.

Midway through the quarter, Luxembourg increased their lead to twenty points. Ireland responded with several successful attacks, including two points from Hazel Finn and four from Abigail Rafferty, prompting Patrick Unger to call a timeout. Although the visitors added another basket, Anne Simon answered with another three-pointer. Hazel Finn replied with a three-pointer of her own, reducing the deficit to twelve points. The gap remained unchanged by halftime, with Luxembourg leading 45-33.

By the break, Joyce Isi Etute had already recorded a double-double with seventeen points and twelve rebounds.

“We analysed a little bit how they guarded us. I just told them to play through it, be a little bit more aggressive and have confidence. The main thing was to get stops and that’s what they did, especially in crucial moments,” Patrick Unger told Chronicle.lu about his message to the players during halftime.

Ireland opened the second half with two baskets under the rim from Edel Thornton and Sarah Hickey. Luxembourg struggled to convert early opportunities and only scored their first points of the quarter after three minutes, when Anne Simon hit another three-pointer, her sixth successful shot from beyond the arc in the match. The teams exchanged baskets for much of the quarter. Midway through the period, Ireland reached the team foul limit, allowing Luxembourg to add points from the free-throw line through Esmeralda Skrijelj and Anne Simon, who also added another three-pointer to keep the hosts twelve points ahead.

With one minute remaining in the third quarter, Enya Maguire scored from long range to reduce the deficit to nine points, but Magaly Meynadier immediately replied for Luxembourg. The teams entered the final quarter with the hosts leading 68-56.

The pattern of play remained similar in the fourth quarter, with Ireland attempting to close the gap and Luxembourg maintaining control. Midway through the period, two consecutive baskets from Dionne Madjo extended the lead to fourteen points at 77-63, prompting the Irish coaching staff to call a timeout. The visitors responded through Sarah Hickey, Edel Thornton and Hazel Finn to reduce the deficit to ten points, but Ireland could not come any closer. Luxembourg secured an 85-73 victory.

Joyce Isi Etute finished as the game’s top scorer with 27 points and nineteen rebounds, while Anne Simon added 26 points.

“Ireland is a tough team. They’re quick, they’re aggressive and they gave us a lot of trouble offensively with turnovers and similar situations, so it was really hard for us to deal with that. I think our girls fought through it. We came up with some huge plays in terms of rebounding and we out-rebounded them well on the offensive side, which helped us get rhythm in the game, especially in the first half when not many shots were falling our way,” Patrick Unger told Chronicle.lu.

He added: “At the end of the day, when we attacked the paint, whether through passes inside to our bigs or through penetration and kick-outs, we looked good. But we still need to clean up our defence. Conceding 73 points is a little bit too much, but again, Ireland is a tough team.”

The victory leaves Patrick Unger’s team on seven points in Group A and secures qualification for the second round of the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers.

Luxembourg’s women’s national basketball team will play their next match against the Group A leaders on Saturday 14 March 2026 at 18:00 at the Coque in Luxembourg-Kirchberg. The game will be played behind closed doors.