MANNHEIM, Germany — The pairings are set for the DODDS-Europe Division III basketball tournament finals, and in both cases it is No. 1 vs. No. 2.
For the girls, No. 1 Brussels and No. 2 Menwith Hill will tip off at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Benjamin Franklin Village Sports Arena. Brussels survived a scare before downing 2009 small-schools champion Rota 30-26 in their semi, while No. 2 Menwith Hill dispatched No. 4 Sigonella 34-18.
Ninety minutes later, the No. 1 Rota boys, who battered Alconbury 56-25 in their semifinal, will take on No. 2 Sigonella, a 52-49 victor over No. 4 Brussels.
The youthful Brussels girls got out to a fast start in their semifinal, breaking out to a 14-4 lead in the game’s first seven minutes. However, Rota clawed back as Brussels rested its 6-foot pivot, Kathleen Anderson, and was held to two points in the second quarter. Rota eventually tied the game at 22 after three periods.
But in the final period, Rota missed its first five field goals to give Brussels the breathing room it needed to win. Anderson, a senior, finished with a game-high 16 points, but sophomores Bria Yazzie, with 10 points, and Sindi Shahu, with nine rebounds were also crucial for Brussels, which had downed Rota handily, 54-37 and 58-41 last month.
Brianna Am’mon’s 10 points topped the score sheet for Rota as the Lady Admirals demonstrated that victories in February usually come somewhat harder than in January.
Unless you’re the Rota boys.
The Admirals, who dumped Alconbury 63-28 and 63-36 in January, hammered the Dragons again in their semifinal.
“We take it to our opponents in every game,” said Rota guard Dale Parker, who scored 11 first-half points and anchored the Admirals’ full-court press that produced a 36-11 halftime lead. The press was directly responsible for seven of Alconbury’s 20 first-half turnovers.
Rota’s All-Europe sophomore Tre’von Owens had the hot hand early. He scored 13 points in the first quarter on 5-for-7 shooting from the floor, including 2-for-4 from beyond the three-point arc. He finished with 20 points.
Matt Hauser led Alconbury’s scoring with 13 points, 12 of those after halftime.