CAMP WALKER, South Korea — All-Armed Forces softball player Christy Maxwell is proving her worth on the interservice basketball courts, too.

The Army second lieutenant garnered MVP honors and helped her Camp Casey Warriors defend their Taegu Korea-wide Invitational Basketball Classic title, beating Kim Chon High School of Taegu 52-42 in Wednesday’s final.

In the men’s double-elimination playoffs, MVP James Dix and Camp Carroll also needed just one final game to capture the crown, defeating West Camp Casey 74-56.

It’s the second straight year Casey’s women had their hands full with Kim Chon; Casey beat the Korean high school squad 58-55 in last year’s final, and all three times Casey played Kim Chon in this year’s tournament, the Warriors trailed at halftime.

“They were a tough team,” Maxwell said of Kim Chon. “They have some really good shooters. And the fundamentals they used, a lot of screen and rolls.”

Maxwell said experience and communication were keys to playing tougher defense and stopping easy drives to the basket by Kim Chon.

“We had to come together as a team and come from behind, and that’s what we did.”

Casey went 9-0 in the four-day tournament and improved to 15-1 overall. It also capped an exceptional year for Maxwell, be it on the hardwood or the diamond.

Last summer, Casey went 15-7, second-best overall on Korea’s softball fields. The Warriors also won the Pacificwide Open over Memorial Day weekend at Yongsan Garrison, the first time Casey has won one of the four Pacific interservice Grand Slam tournaments.

Maxwell played a key role in that victory, and it helped launch her bid for a berth on the All-Army team in August.

She helped pace Army to the All-Armed Forces championship, as the soldiers beat two-time defending champion Air Force 35-23 last fall at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. The All-Armed Forces team went on to win the Amateur Softball Association West Regional in San Antonio.

Back in South Korea, Maxwell, who played guard for two years at Alabama A&M, earned a starting guard job for Casey and helped boost the Warriors to a 6-1 record in the early weeks of the Korea Traveling League season, a half-game behind first-place Yongsan Garrison.

Whether Maxwell will try to add “All-Army basketball player” to her growing résumé is uncertain; she transfers from South Korea in February for a to-be-determined assignment in Japan.

She would like to return to the All-Army softball team, but that’s up in the air as well.

“It depends on where I’m stationed, and what’s happening with Iraq,” she said. “That will determine whether I’m able to go back.”

On the men’s side, Carroll, 4-2 in the Korea Traveling League entering the Taegu tournament, scored something of a surprise in beating West Casey, which leads the 2nd Infantry Division Warrior Post-Level League at 7-1.

2004 Taegu Korea-wide Invitational Basketball Classic

At Kelly Fitness and Sports Center and Taegu American School Gym

Camp Walker and Camp George, South Korea

Men's double-elimination playoffs

Tuesday's games

Game 1-Camp Humphreys 62, Camp Walker 47

Game 2-Camp Carroll 70, Suwon Air Base 56

Game 3-Camp Humphreys 72, Camp Stanley 62

Game 4-Camp Carroll 70, West Camp Casey 58

Game 5-Suwon Air Base 67, Camp Walker 65; Camp Walker eliminated

Game 6-West Camp Casey 71, Camp Stanley 58; Camp Stanley eliminated

Game 7-Camp Carroll 66, Camp Humphreys 64

Game 8-West Camp Casey 71, Suwon Air Base 58; Suwon Air Base eliminated

Wednesday's games

Game 9-West Camp Casey 66, Camp Humphreys 48; Camp Humphreys eliminated

Game 10-Camp Carroll 74, West Camp Casey 56; West Camp Casey eliminated

Men's awards

MVP-James Dix, Camp Carroll.

Individual showmanship award-Cedric June, Camp Stanley.

Team sportsmanship award-Taegu University.

Women's double-elimination playoffs

Tuesday's games

Game 1-Camp Casey 60, Camp Walker 37

Game 2-Kim Chon High School 55, Camp Carroll 40

Game 3-Camp Casey 64, Kim Chon High School 60

Game 4-Camp Carroll 58, Camp Walker 34; Camp Walker eliminated

Wednesday's games

Game 5-Kim Chon High School 70, Camp Carroll 36; Camp Carroll eliminated

Game 6-Camp Casey 52, Kim Chon High School 42; Kim Chon High School eliminated

Women's awards

MVP-Christy Maxwell, Camp Casey.

Individual showmanship award-LaToya Greer, Camp Red Cloud.

Team sportsmanship award-Suwon Air Base.

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