Writes Tara Maher
Rebecca Sexton, a 5th year student in Carrigaline Community School, is one of twelve Irish players picked to play for Ireland in the FIBA European Basketball Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria from the 30th of June to the 9th of July.
Rebecca picked up a basketball at the age of six and hasn’t put it down since. Growing up in Carrigaline she joined Carrigaline Basketball Club and progressed up through the ranks before joining Singleton Supervalu Brunell to compete in the Super League, the top tier of women’s basketball league in Ireland.
Brunell recently reached the final of the U18 Insuremyhouse.ie National Cup Final in the National Basketball Arena in Dublin. Unfortunately, it was not their day as they were defeated by Meteors. Rebecca was top scorer for Brunell scoring 14 points for her team.
Rebecca also plays basketball for the Community School, who unfortunately bowed out of this year’s All-Ireland’s at the quarter-final stages.
A mix of hard work, talent and determination ensured Rebecca was picked for Tommy O’Mahony’s Irish U18 squad for the second year in a row. Tommy O’Mahoney is assisted by Cork woman Edel Thornton. To date, Rebecca has 24 caps for Ireland. Last year Rebecca played up a year, which was a fantastic achievement for her and her family, and this year she has been awarded the captaincy. She is one of three returning players from last year’s campaign and is also one of four Cork girls to be selected for this year’s panel.
This year’s U18 Women’s squad has drawn Great Britain, Norway and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Only two teams out of each four groups will qualify for the quarter finals. Last year Ireland finished 9th overall and narrowly missed out on qualifying out of their group. After last year’s disappointment, Rebecca and her teammates are determined to qualify for the knock-out stages of the competition .
Rebecca and the rest of the Irish squad have been partaking in training camps and will play friendlies against Slovakia and Luxembourg to get themselves warmed up for the tournament.
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