Europe
Division III girls semifinalsSigonella, Baumholder to battle it out
Stars and Stripes February 20, 2015
WIESBADEN, Germany – After a win against top-seeded Alconbury in Friday’s semifinals, Sigonella will get another shot at the European Division III girls’ title that eluded the team last year.
The Jaguars, who fell to Brussels 38-31 in overtime in the 2014 championship game, will have their work cut out for them when they face an upstart Baumholder team in Saturday’s finals. The Bucs beat the defending champs in the other semifinal.
Each school will have a chance to complete the same boys and girls basketball title sweep that Brussels pulled off last year. The Jaguar boys bested Brussels in their semifinal immediately following the girls’ game, while the Bucs in their boys semifinal beat Alconbury, marking their first victory in three tries against the Dragons.
Sigonella 35, Alconbury 15: The Jaguars made it look easy against Alconbury, the tournament’s No. 1 seed.
Though the matchup was compelling on paper, the on-court battle was decided quickly. Sigonella led 11-4 after one quarter, moved ahead by 10 at halftime and squashed any lingering Alconbury hope by holding the Dragons to a single third-quarter basket.
A balanced Sigonella attack did the job for the Jaguars. Michaela Bowling and Kisiah Chandler scored eight points apiece, with Bowling dropping in a basket in each quarter. Marika Wojtal added seven points and Alinna Brickhouse six for Sigonella.
Baumholder 24, Brussels 14: The No. 3-seeded Bucs disposed of the No. 5 Brigands in a low-scoring defensive battle.
Brussels couldn’t contain Baumholder sophomore Eliyah Tillman, who’s been on fire throughout the tournament. The 5-foot-9 shooting guard scored the collective point total put up by the Brigands, adding 19 rebounds, four steals and two blocks to the balanced effort.
“She’s an amazing player,” said Brussels junior post and guard Kiki Carson, who had the unenviable job of defending the athletic Tillman.
The game opened with a sluggish start, with Baumholder creeping out to a 14-6 lead at halftime.
Chloe Proietto’s free throw shrunk the Bucs’ lead to 18-11 with just over 4 minutes remaining. But Baumholder went on a 7-3 scoring drive, with Tillman, junior Claudia Seal, and freshman Imaya Sharpe all contributing buckets.
Tillman, who’s been playing basketball since the age of 6, said she’s feeling a mix of nerves and excitement for Saturday’s finals against a team Baumholder has yet to play this year.
“We just want to be able to compete with one of the top Division III teams in Europe. Sigonella is that,” Baumholder coach Matthew Martinez said.