Iceland
heats up after slow start,
defeats Marymount for Division III title
By Rusty
Bryan
Stars and Stripes
Michael Abrams / S&S
Iceland's Angela Plummer gets by Marymount's Ashley Pacini to score what would
prove to be the winning basket in Iceland's 42-39 victory. |
MANNHEIM,
Germany — On a sleety, snowy Saturday that probably made them feel at home,
Iceland’s Lady Vikings looked more interested in taking a long winter’s nap
than winning the European Division III basketball crown.
Trailing
16-4 after the first quarter and 22-7 in the second, the Division III-North
Regional champions rebounded to defeat Marymount 42-39 for the title.
"We
must have been tired from our trip," said Iceland’s Angela Plummer. "We
needed to step up our aggression."
The
Lady Vikings did, forcing eight second-quarter turnovers to fuel a 12-0 run
that cut the deficit to 22-19 at halftime.
In
addition to living up to the team motto, "ICE — Intensity, Concentration
and Enthusiasm," Plummer, who scored a game-high 20 points with as deft
an inside game as any player in the tournament, said another reason the Lady
Vikings came back was that "We started to get some shots to drop."
Iceland
outscored Marymount 31-15 in the second and third quarters, giving the Lady
Vikings a 35-31 edge entering the final stanza. During the rally, Iceland controlled
Marymount’s formidable presence in the pivot, Brittany Pacini. Pacini, who had
10 points in the first quarter, was forced away out the paint during the final
three quarters and finished with just four more points the rest of the game.
Marymount
also hurt its chances at the free throw line, going 0-for-9. Iceland made nine
of 19 foul shots.
Still,
the issue was in doubt until the final 16 seconds, when Iceland’s Nicole
Lassetter,
who scored 12 points, blocked Cristina Battistelli’s three-point try to seal
the victory.
Iceland,
which battered its way to Mannheim after defeating highly regarded teams such
as Rota and London Central, won all four of its tournament games and defeated
Italy champion Marymount twice.
The
Lady Vikings, however, are faced with a rebuilding job in 2002 because everyone
except freshman Alison Beaton will be leaving the island this year.
"She’s
going to have to try to do it on her own," Plummer said with a smile.
In
the girls’ third-place game Saturday, Ankara posted its first victory of the
tournament, 33-12 over Baumholder. Katie Braun led the way for the Lady Trojans
with 15 points, Katerryna Reshetilova added eight points and Lucia Fritzel six.
Back to February's stories
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