WIESBADEN, Germany -- The Bitburg Barons grinded out a hard-fought victory Saturday over the Black Forest Academy Falcons to clinch the 2015 DODDS-Europe girls Division II championship, 34-27.

Both Bitburg and BFA are unflappable, defensive-minded teams, so if one team managed to build a substantial lead …

Thanks to Saoirse Matthews and Elise Rasmussen, that team was Bitburg. Matthews scored eight in the first quarter and Rasmussen put up four of her own to put the Barons up by 10.

Try as they might, the Falcons were not able to catch up. Mostly because no matter where they went with the ball, the Barons were already there, waiting.

“We really like to focus on defense and moving the ball around a lot,” Matthews said. “We were hungry before we got here – hungry for a win.”

Matthews ended up with 17 points and eight rebounds, starting guard Alexa Landenberger added a pair of three-point shots and a free throw and Rasmussen added six points to their final tally. Rasmussen’s biggest contribution to the Barons’ victory was her uncanny ability to be exactly where she needed to be to create turnovers.

The sophomore had four blocks and a couple of key steals and was at the epicenter of every major play of the game.

“She’s my solid post,” coach Chris Howard said. “About 60 percent is instinct. She’s light on her feet, she moves well and she knows her space in the lane. We preach to her ‘just control your home and that’s what she was doing – protecting her home.”

The Barons are now the proud owners of their second championship in three years. Bitburg beat out Ansbach for the top spot in 2013. Matthews was sitting on the bench for that game and said the experience of not only playing, but being perhaps the most important player of the big game was an exhilarating experience.

Sadly, the experience was not quite so nice for BFA. But the Falcons were quick to congratulate Bitburg after the final buzzer. And there was no moping or sulking on BFA’s bench.

“It’s always hard to take a loss,” said Falcons star center Emily Campbell. “But Bitburg deserved that. From the beginning … our goal was to play together, and win or lose, we wanted to leave the court smiling, heads held high, shoulders back knowing that we left it all on the court.”

Campbell and her sister, Cailynn, each had 5 points, and forward Katie Greathouse was the team’s top scorer with 10.

Being division champs may take a bit more time to sink in, according to Howard. But he said he’s glad to see his team’s hard work pay off in such a big way.

“I feel like a dad when your children bring home that first A and they know they can be successful and they’ve already put in the work to be successful,” he said. “And now they’re bearing the fruit of their labor.”

Darnell.michael@stripes.com

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