James Weldon’s charges are ranked 83rd in the world but beat a side 54 places above them in the rankings with Hazel Finn leading the way with 16 points.
The Mayo woman was top scorer for Ireland as Edel Thorton and Sarah Hickey also contributed 15 each to seal a first win since a 2021 semi-final in the European Championship for Small Countries.
Weldon relished this victory after ending a run that had seen controversy when facing Israel and a 101-point defeat to France.
“It’s incredible. We’ve gone through so much in the last number of years, the near misses, the controversial stuff,” he said.
“We were so disappointed on Wednesday [with defeat to Luxembourg], we were so disappointed with ourselves. The players took ownership of it themselves and we said at the start of the week that we were going to stay positive.
“We were so bad on Wednesday, people were determined but we knew if we did a good job on the boards, slowed down one or two of the main threats, they’d be in trouble.”
James Weldon Ireland head coach and his daughter at full time after the win over Bosnia & Herzegovina in the Fiba Women’s EuroBasket 2027 qualifier at the National Basketball Arena. Photo: James Lawlor/Inpho
Beating Bosnia in a first encounter between these sides will boost their chances of advancing from Group A, with the top two and three best third-placed teams progressing to the next round.
Finn was Ireland’s top scorer as they opened their European campaign with that defeat to Luxembourg on Wednesday, and she got them off the mark here with a lay-up.
Bosnia’s Philadelphia-born guard Kamiah Smalls quickly responded with a two-pointer of her own, but the visitors struggled throughout the opening quarter.
Kerry footballer Lorraine Scanlon would score two three-pointers to help the women in green to end the opening period with a 27-15 advantage.
Like Scanlon, Dragana Domuzin enjoyed first-quarter tally of seven points, but Ireland’s robust defence ensured the visitors converted just 33pc of their shots.
Bosnia would rally and had narrowed the gap to six points by half-time (40-36) with Domuzin adding seven more and Smalls’ strength helping draw several fouls.
Ireland reasserted themselves in the third quarter with Thornton adding 10 points and Claire Melia nine in the penultimate quarter to allow Ireland enter the final period 69-51 to the good.
Bosnia would finish the game with the top scorer in Smalls (24), but they could not find a response.
The victory will be a much needed boost ahead of Tuesday’s controversial clash with Israel in Riga – a fixture many would wish they didn’t fulfil over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
But for tonight Weldon’s charges will revel in this much needed victory.