Kelly Colbert, a junior from Wiesbaden High School, clashes with Erica Turner of Kaiserslautern on a drive to the hoop Saturday in their Div. I championship game held in Mannheim. Wiesbaden defeated Kaiserslautern 37-32. (Photos by Ben Bloker / S&S)
Kelly Colbert, a junior from Wiesbaden High School, clashes with Erica Turner of Kaiserslautern on a drive to the hoop Saturday in their Div. I championship game held in Mannheim. Wiesbaden defeated Kaiserslautern 37-32. (Photos by Ben Bloker / S&S)
Wiesbaden’s LeAndra Thomas drives past Kaiserslautern’s Ruby Plummer Saturday during the Division I championship game. The junior led the Warriors to a 37-32 win and was named tournament MVP. ()
MANNHEIM, Germany — Wiesbaden survived a fourth-quarter rally by the surprising Kaiserslautern Lady Raiders to capture the DODDS-Europe Division I girls basketball championship Saturday night.
The Lady Warriors let Kaiserslautern back in it late, but held on for the 37-32 victory before a loud crowd, the night after the Lady Raiders shocked previously undefeated Patch 58-47.
Lady Warriors coach Jim Campbell called the game a collective effort. He pointed out that a lot of players scored in the victory.
"It’s great. This group of girls is the best group of girls I’ve worked with," Campbell said. "The key to this game was defense."
Campbell said he was especially pleased that Wiesbaden only gave up 12 points in the first half.
The No. 2-seeded Lady Warriors were led by junior LeAndra Thomas’ 13 points and her twin sister LeAmber’s seven. The Lady Raiders were led by sophomore Medina Gregory’s 10 points.
LeAndra Thomas, who was named the Division I tournament Most Valuable Player, banged her head hard when she went crashing to the floor with a little over a minute left in the game. Still woozy after the final buzzer, she was unavailable for a post-game interview.
The tournament MVP sank some big buckets, including a three-pointer with a little over 5 minutes remaining in the first half to give Wiesbaden an 11-8 edge. She followed that with another basket and drained another big bucket with about four minutes remaining in the third to make it 28-12.
The game was physical from the start, with both teams scrambling and hitting the floor to battle for loose balls. And it was tight at the end of the first quarter, which ended with the score 8-6 in Wiesbaden’s favor. Wiesbaden went on a 6-0 run that quarter to pull ahead after Kaiserslautern jumped out to an early lead.
The Lady Warriors went up big and had a 20-12 lead at the half. Wiesbaden caught fire in the second half and had a 36-22 lead with about four minutes remaining.
In the third quarter, the tempo picked up with both teams shooting some wild shots. Wiesbaden had a 30-16 lead at the end of the third, but Kaiserslautern went on a 5-0 run to start the fourth.
K-Town junior Jennifer Isaacs had a three-point play when she was fouled on layup with about 6:50 left in the game to make it 30-21. But Wiesbaden answered right back with a jumper by junior Cate Boardman to make it 34-21 and put the match seemingly out of reach.
Kaiserslautern missed several chances, including a deflection by Lady Raider Ruby Plummer with about 7 minutes left in the first half, but K-Town could not convert the turnover into points, missing a shot off the takeaway.
K-Town closed it to 37-32 with two quick buckets before time expired.
