Ansbach’s Elsa Howard, right, steps around Kitzingen’s Jenai Griffin during the women’s final in the U.S. Army Europe Basketball Championships in Würzburg, Germany, on Sunday. (Raymond T. Conway / S&S)
Ansbach’s Elsa Howard, right, steps around Kitzingen’s Jenai Griffin during the women’s final in the U.S. Army Europe Basketball Championships in Würzburg, Germany, on Sunday. (Raymond T. Conway / S&S)
Kitzingen's Shea Fisher, right, drives past Anbach's Tyra Jones during Sunday's women's final. (Raymond T. Conway / S&S)
Kitzingen's Shea Fisher, center, splits Ansbach defenders Christle Cuttina, left, and Libby Hall to make a pass. (Raymond T. Conway / S&S)
WüRZBURG, Germany — Down by 14 points with just over 15 minutes to play, the Ansbach Lady Cougars decided it was time to get busy in their Army-Europe women’s championship game against the Kitzingen Lady Rattlers. So they put the game in the hands of former All-Army performer Elsa Howard.
Howard responded, scoring 16 of her game-high 29 points over the next 14:17 to lead Ansbach to a 60-56 victory and the 2005 Army-Europe women's basketball championship.
No sweat, right?
“We’ve been behind before,” said Ansbach’s Christine Cuttino, who scored 11 points, six of them off assists from Howard during Ansbach’s decisive run to the gun.
“My teammates are scrappy. We always pull together.”
Cuttino’s final field goal of the game, off a feed from Howard with four minutes to play, cut Ansbach’s deficit to 52-50. But it took a three-pointer by Howard with 48 seconds left in the game to finally put Ansbach ahead for good and make for a triumphant return to the hardwood for Howard, who played briefly for Heidelberg a couple of seasons ago.
“I’m really glad to be back,” Howard said. “I tore my ACL at Heidelberg, and then I had my baby. I stopped playing for a year, but then I decided it was time to come back.”
Howard’s timing couldn’t have been less opportune for Kitzingen, which got 15 points, on 5-for-5 shooting from behind the three-point arc from Katrina Parker. All Parker’s shots, however, came in the first half. She did not get a shot off in the second half as Kitzingen’s 36-24 halftime lead dwindled away.
“They came out to cover me,” Parker said. “We had to go inside.”
Inside was productive enough, with 16 points from Katie Wahlman and 12 from Bertha Kabuye. But turnovers defanged the Lady Rattlers.
Under pressure from Ansbach’s Howard, Cuttino and Libby Hall, Kitzingen endured no fewer than 19 turnovers in the final 20 minutes.
Both teams qualified for the Army-Air Force Final Four, March 31-April 3 in Bamberg.
