SETU Wildcats to get season underway against champions

A Champions Trophy final rematch that headlines the opening round of the Women’s Super League on Saturday afternoon, as last season’s double winners Killester host finalists SETU Waterford Wildcats in Inchicore.

SETU Waterford Wildcats have made a slight change on the bench, as Basketball Ireland Hall of Famer Jillian Hayes and Tommy O’Mahony swap roles, with the club aiming to build on a U20 Women’s National Cup success and a promising Women’s Super League campaign a year ago.

Central to those ambitions will be sister act Kate and Sarah Hickey. Speaking ahead of the opening game, Kate Hickey, who featured in Ireland’s recent victory over the Netherlands at the National Basketball Arena, wants to erase any memory of their Champions Trophy final defeat.

“Yeah, we’ve spoken about it, definitely,” said Hickey. “Finishing our season how we did against Killester and starting against them this year, we want to start the season off strongly. We don’t want what happened to us in the final last year to ever happen again. We want to make a mark.” It was a comprehensive victory for the Dublin side in their last meeting five months ago with silverware on the line, but Irish U20 international Leilani Turner is aware of the added motivation for their opponents to turn things around:

“It’s very hard to beat a team twice in a row in this league,” said Turner. We know that was a tough night for them and they probably didn’t give their best showing, so we’re ready for them to comeback stronger than ever, looking to get one back on us.”