AFNORTH freshman Makayla McNiell-Mark boxes out Sigonella forward Anabel Vaiciulis during a Division III semifinal at the DODEA European Basketball Championships on Feb. 16, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
WIESBADEN, Germany – If you overlooked the Ansbach girls basketball team heading into the 2024 DODEA European Basketball Championships, you wouldn’t be the only one.
Heck, the shirts and other memorabilia for the tournament held Wednesday through Saturday omitted the Cougars. To make up for it, the athletes are going to receive a special patch to put on their sleeves.
At the same time, the Cougars are bent on making sure they aren’t forgotten again. The fifth seed in the Division III bracket continued its magical run, coming from behind to beat third-seeded Spangdahlem 49-45 in a semifinal Friday at Wiesbaden High School.
“We didn’t think we were going to be here today, and neither did anyone else,” Ansbach sophomore Kennedy Lange said. “We had to believe in ourselves to get to this point.”
The Cougars (9-7) trailed the Sentinels 39-27 at the 1-minute, 10-second mark in the third quarter, with Spangdahlem (12-4) beginning to pull away.
A trio of Spangdahlem injuries right at the end of the frame proved to be costly. Sophomore guard Aniya Robinson and senior forward Gabrielle Schmidt collided at half-court and junior guard Miranda Valles became hurt near the Sentinels’ defensive basket, and all three missed significant minutes.
That’s when Lange and Co. took over.
The 6-foot center scored Ansbach’s first eight points of the quarter with three putback buckets and another jumper. The Cougars went on an 8-0 run over the first 2:45 of the fourth to make it 39-36.
Lange dropped 13 of her game-high 21 points in the frame. She also finished with 12 boards.
“When their starters came out, it was like, ‘We have to push right here. Now is our time to win this game,’” Lange said. “The only thought in my head was, ‘C’mon, you can make it.’”
Ansbach still had plenty of work to do when Valles returned to the floor to give the Sentinels a boost with 5 minutes left in the game. Spangdahlem went on a 6-0 run to make it 45-38, with Valles scoring four of her 12 points in that span.
Ansbach responded by scoring the final 11 points of the game. Along with Lange, senior guard Laila McIntrye contributed a bucket off the offensive glass, and Lizzy Agudzi-Addo (13 points and 14 boards) gave Ansbach the lead at 47-45 with 1:06 left via a shot in the paint.
“I’ve told them this all week: ‘You know the answers to the test – now you just have to apply it. Now, you just have to apply it. You know what to do – just have to be mentally strong,’” Ansbach coach Deborah Keller-Mitchell said of her team completing the comeback.
Schmidt paced the Sentinels with 14 points. The 5-6 guard returned over the final 46 seconds but couldn’t stem the tide.
AFNORTH senior Isabella Guest goes low to pick up the ball while Sigonella freshman Alysia Dobbins defends during a Division III semifinal at the DODEA European Basketball Championships on Feb. 16, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Sigonella senior Anabel Vaiciulis picks up the ball around AFNORTH defenders, from left, Makayla McNiell-Mark, Finja Liebing and Maggie Masse during a Division III semifinal at the DODEA European Basketball Championships on Feb. 16, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Spangdahlem freshman Jayda Lewis dribbles along the baseline while Ansbach junior Abecca Ackles defends during a Division III semifinal at the DODEA European Basketball Championships on Feb. 16, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Spangdahlem forward Gabrielle Schmidt drives to the basket during a Division III semifinal against Ansbach at the DODEA European Basketball Championships on Feb. 16, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Ansbach sophomore Lizzy Agudzi-Addo goes up for a ball with Spangdahlem senior Gabrielle Schmidt in the background during a Division III semifinal at the DODEA European Basketball Championships on Feb. 16, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
Ansbach sophomore Kennedy Lange looks at the hoop while Spangdahlem senior Talyssa Link defends during a Division III semifinal at the DODEA European Basketball Championships on Feb. 16, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
With the win, the Cougars advance to take on AFNORTH in Saturday’s final, scheduled to open the day at 11 p.m. at the Wiesbaden Sports and Fitness Center on Clay Kaserne.
The Lions (15-1) escaped against Sigonella with a 39-33 victory at Wiesbaden High School on Friday evening. AFNORTH trailed the Jaguars (11-3) for most of the middle part of the game before exploding for 19 points in the fourth quarter.
“It looked a little like we were playing not to lose instead of playing to win,” AFNORTH coach Matt Wise said. “They found a way to put it together in the end.
“We tend to thrive in chaos, and sometimes it doesn’t happen right off the bat.”
Behind 24-19 heading into the final 8 minutes, that chaos went up a notch for the Lions.
AFNORTH rattled off eight consecutive points in the first 1:30 of the period. The defensive pressure forced three turnovers over that span to take the team’s first lead since midway through the second quarter.
After both teams traded scores, senior guard Izzy Guest connected on a deep two-point shot with 58 seconds left in the game to give the Lions the lead for good, and a four-point possession that started with Guest splitting a pair of free throws and junior forward Maggie Masse putting the rebound back and getting an and-1 in the process sealed the victory.
“We’re really excited to get back to the championship, considering we lost to Sig in the finals,” said junior guard Selah Skariah, who finished with 17 points. “It feels like redemption.”
The Lions, who won the tournament two years ago, have a quick turnaround. They played in the last game of Friday, only to play in the first title game Saturday.
Both the coach and player said they don’t expect a letdown or fatigue to take charge.
“We’re going to carry over all this momentum,” Skariah said. “We’ve been prepping for this since the beginning of the season.”
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