England Under-18 Women finish second to Ireland in 2023 Four Nations Tournament

Image credit: Basketball Wales/ Same Old Smith Photography

England Under-18s finished second in the 2023 Four Nations Tournament as they were unable to repeat their title success in Cardiff, Wales.

Lauren Milligan’s side fell to a seven-point against Ireland either side of wins over Scotland and Wales to finish with a 2-1 record in the second edition of the tournament.

On the opening day on Wednesday, Liv Forster fired in 26 points to lead England past Scotland in a 60-33 success as they kept their opponents to single figures in each of the first three quarters.

Felicia Jacobs added a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds as England asserted early control to lead by 21 at half-time.

They returned to action on the second day with another bright start to lead Ireland 24-16 after 10 minutes. However, they were then held to just seven points over the next 17 minutes as a tight battle ensued. Two opening scorers to the fourth made it 43-31 in their favour, but Ireland came storming back with 29 points in the final period to snatch a decisive 60-53 triumph.

Caitlin Glockner hit a huge three ahead of the final minute and would finish with a game-high 24 points with Ireland clinching the tournament with three wins from three.

In their final game, England pulled away in the middle periods to secure a 78-64 win over Wales as Katie Cox led the way with 18 points. Jacobs added 16 points and 13 rebounds with Leia Edwards also posting a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

Daisy Porter had a game-high 22 points for Wales, who finished 0-3, while Issy Bunyan had 19 points having opened the tournament with 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks against Ireland.

Full results: Wales 61-72 Ireland, Scotland 33-60 England, Wales 47-55 Scotland, Ireland 70-43 Scotland, Ireland 60-53 England, Wales 64-78 England

Do you like our work?

We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.

We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.

We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.

If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.

We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.

Support Hoopsfix