Hazel had a 'ball in breakthrough year for Ireland
Kiltimagh native Hazel Finn had a historic 2025 on the basketball court.
The Finn household in Kiltimagh is renowned as one of the great sporting families of Mayo and the youngest of the clan, Hazel, had a historic year on the basketball court.
At the start of 2025, she helped FloMAX Liffey Celtics claim the Paudie O’Connor National Cup, with a 12-point win over Killester, at the National Basketball Arena in January. Her sensational individual display saw her named as the final’s Most Valuable Player with 13 points and eight rebounds. It was little wonder then that he was chosen as The Irish Times Sportswoman of the Month for January.
Representing her country, Hazel was part of history when Ireland, ranked 85th in the world, defeated 28th ranked Latvia in the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers. She would make further history as part of the U23 Irish 3x3 basketball team which won a Nations League tournament for the first time ever, beating Serbia in the final which was played in Latvia.
Then during the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers in November, Ireland, ranked 83rd in the FIBA world rankings, downed the 29th ranked team, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in impressive fashion on a scoreline of 94-67 in what was Ireland’s first FIBA Women’s EuroBasket victory since 2021. Hazel was top scorer on the day with sixteen points, having also top scored with ten points in their 69-53 defeat to Luxembourg at the National Basketball Arena a week before.
