Ansbach's Bailey Eickmeyer knocks the ball out of the hands of AFNORTH's Emery Koger during the championship game Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, at the DODEA-Europe girls Division III basketball championships at Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
WIESBADEN, Germany – Just about everything already seemed to be going Ansbach’s way Saturday in the championship game of the DODEA-Europe Division III girls basketball tournament.
But defending champion AFNORTH was still hanging in there with less than 3 seconds to go in the third quarter.
A turnover gave the Cougars the ball, though. Instead of running out the clock, Ansbach found forward Elizabeth Agudzi-Addo alone in the corner. Her shot left her hands just before the buzzer sounded. It fell through the net and the Cougars had their biggest lead of the game.
“I was just trying to get the ball out of my hands as soon as possible,” said Agudzi-Addo, who scored a game-high 19 points in Ansbach’s 36-21 victory.
“That was a game-changer,” AFNORTH coach Matt Wise said. “It went from a two-point game into a seven-point lead in just a few seconds.”
AFNORTH's Izzy Trosper tries to shoot Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, while guarded by Ansbach's Kennedy Lange, left, and Victoria Ortiz during the championship game of the DODEA-Europe girls Division III basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
AFNORTH's Emery Koger tries to get up a shot Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, while guarded by Ansbach's Mya Henderson during the championship game of the DODEA-Europe Division III girls basketball championships at Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Ansbach's Elizabeth Agudzi-Addo takes a free throw Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, during the championship game of the DODEA-Europe girls Division III basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Ansbach's Victoria Ortiz tries to score Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, while guarded by AFNORTH's Izzy Trosper during the championship game of the DODEA-Europe girls Division III basketball championships at Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Ansbach's Kennedy Lange shoots Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, while guarded by AFNORTH's Izzy Trosper during the championship game of the DODEA-Europe girls Division III basketball championships in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Agudzi-Addo and Tournament MVP Kennedy Lange combined for all but two of the Cougars’ points. They did their work either inside against the smaller Lions or at the free throw line after getting fouled while shooting.
Ansbach, which won its first girls basketball title in 10 years, had 29 free throw attempts. AFNORTH had nine. Two Lions fouled out. Two more had four fouls and another one three.
Wise wasn’t using that as an excuse, though.
“Congratulations to Shannon (Daniels) in his final season,” Wise said. “They deserved it today. They were the better team.”
Daniels, retiring from coaching after 25 years heading teams in various sports at Incirlik and Ansbach, just smiled when asked if it was the way he wanted to end his coaching career.
“I’m just happy for the girls,” he said. “They’ve been through so much and worked so hard. They deserve it.”
Ansbach took a 7-2 lead early, but AFNORTH fought back to tie the game at 10-10 after a quarter. The Lions’ offense largely disappeared after that, though.
“You can’t win them all,” said Wise, whose teams have been a constant finalist over the last decade. “We just did too many things out of character to win the game today.”
It was the last basketball game at Ansbach for Lange, who recalled losing to the Lions two years ago at the championships.
She said the team’s four seniors and sophomore point guard Bailey Eickmeyer have been together through multiple years in basketball and volleyball.
“We’re like sisters,” she said. “We argue like sisters, we fight like sisters and we win like sisters.”
Lange finished with 16 points for the Cougars. Emery Koger led the Lions with nine.
