Lakenheath’s David Kumi-Baah navigates through a crowd of Wiesbaden defenders at the DODEA European Division I basketball championships Feb. 16, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Wiesbaden beat Lakenheath 50-31 on Thursday. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE – Thursday didn’t go according to plan for the Stuttgart girls basketball team.

In pool play of the DODEA Division I European Basketball Championships at Ramstein High School, the Panthers dropped their first game of the day to top-seeded Wiesbaden, 50-15. Then, in a later game, they squeaked past Lakenheath for a 30-21 victory.

Those results don’t concern coach Robin Hess, however. She saw the tournament record of 3-1 and told her players just one thing: The championship game is still within reach.

“I laid it out: We’re not done. We still have to win these games in order to move onto the championship game,” Hess said. “They know, they realize and I think they’re ready.”

To stay in the hunt, the Panthers (14-6) needed a win against Lakenheath (7-11) Thursday afternoon, but they struggled to put away the Lancers.

It wasn’t until the closing minutes when Stuttgart did that, and it came from an unlikely source. Freshman Hannah Holmes came off the bench in the closing minutes to score eight points on four buckets, stretching out what once had been a one-point advantage to nine by game’s end.

The 5-foot-10 forward finished with a team-high 10 points.

Hess pointed to Holmes and senior Kinsey Heaton as major reasons for the bounce-back win.

“When we get on someone else’s shoulders and they can take that, it’s a proud moment,” said sophomore forward Icsiss Perez, who had six points against the Lancers. “I think everyone is willing to share because we contribute as a team.”

Heading into Friday, Stuttgart has its destiny in its own hands. If the Panthers beat Ramstein in their first game at 10:15 a.m. and then follow with a win over Vilseck in the afternoon, they will go on to Saturday’s championship match.

Beating the Royals (17-3), the second seed, could prove to be a tall task, though. Ramstein defeated Stuttgart three times this season: 47-35 on Dec. 10, 64-40 on Jan. 13 and 51-26 on Jan. 14. The Panthers won’t let those losses weigh on them on Friday morning, however.

“We play to be strong, we play to be aggressive,” Perez said. “We want to win, but we don’t want to play to not lose. We need to strive for the best and we need to keep the mindset that they’re a good team and so are we.”

Stuttgart’s Jacob Schudel outruns Wiesbaden defender Teagan McConville during the DODEA European Division I boys basketball championships Feb. 16, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Ramstein’s Angel Jones drives to the basket past Vilseck’s Ibrahima Balde, right, and Braxton Bixler during the DODEA European Division I boys basketball championships at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Feb. 16, 2023. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Vilseck's CJ Andrade scrums with Ramstein's Ky'ron Hall for possession of the ball during the DODEA European Division I boys basketball championships at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Feb. 16, 2023. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Jayvian Jennings of the Ramstein Royals tries to get a shot past Vilseck's Ibrahima Balde during the DODEA European Division I boys basketball championships Feb. 16, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Ramstein ended the game 48-22 over Vilseck. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart's Ismael Anglada-Paz drives to the basket past Wiesbaden's Collin Koschnik during the Division I boys basketball championships at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Feb. 16, 2023. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart's Ismael Anglada-Paz jumps for a layup against Wiesbaden's Malfoy Anitok during the Division I boys basketball championships at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Feb. 16, 2023. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden Warrior Colin Moore aims a free throw against Stuttgart during the DODEA European Division I boys basketball championships Feb. 16, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden’s Gavin DeLuca shoots the ball as Stuttgart’s Alex Guthrie tries to block his shot during the Division I boys basketball championships at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Feb. 16, 2023. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Just like the Stuttgart girls, the Wiesbaden boys team enters Friday with a chance at making the championship game.

The Warriors improved their pool-play record to 3-0 following a 50-31 win over Lakenheath, but they dropped their first game of the tournament during a 45-26 loss to top-seed Stuttgart in a later game.

Wiesbaden coach David Brown had a little more to do to improve his team’s mood than Hess, as the Warriors (14-7) ended the day on a loss. The San Antonio, Texas, native emphasized that in the tournament, teams can’t get too focused on any result – just the next one.

“I told them, we just lost one game,” Brown said. “We get a good night’s sleep and come back, we got two games tomorrow. As soon as the buzzer sounds, all of that gets left behind you. We can’t dwell on what just happened – just like we didn’t dwell on our victories (Wednesday).”

Wiesbaden has ridden Jordan Thibodeaux, who celebrated his 16th birthday on Thursday, on offense for most of the tournament. Brown praised senior center Collin Koschnik for his defense as well as his offense in the loss to Stuttgart. The coach also mentioned the rapid improvement of sophomore guard Yadier Viera, who went from not getting much playing time at the beginning of the season to starting tournament games.

What has worked for the Warriors in wins over SHAPE (56-42), Vilseck (47-45) and Lakenheath has been taking care of the basketball.

“Stay within themselves and not turn the ball over on offense,” Brown said of the key. “When we’ve done that, we’ve been in every game.”

The Warriors’ chances of making the final probably hinge on the second game of the day.

After opening with Kaiserslautern, Wiesbaden faces second seed Ramstein, which is unbeaten in the tournament so far. Even then, a win out doesn’t necessarily mean a berth in the final, but beating Ramstein likely would create tiebreakers based on head-to-head play or point differential to decide the championship matchup.

This fact and two regular-season losses to Ramstein will have the Warriors ready for the game.

“We have a lot of motivation,” Thibodeaux said. “We’re looking at it as a must-win game, and we have to be locked in and focused in order to come out with the dub and hopefully go to the championship.”

Kaiserslautern’s Rihanna Martin fights off Ramstein’s Katya von Eicken as the Royals’ Rachel Sorenson defends during pool play of the Division I DODEA European Basketball Championships on Thursday at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Lakenheath's A'Lydia McNeal picks up the ball while driving as Stuttgart's Icsiss Perez defends during pool play of the Division I DODEA European Basketball Championships on Thursday at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart's Isabella Henderson, left, runs past Wiesbaden's McKinley Viers at the DODEA European Division I girls basketball championships Feb. 16, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Wiesbaden beat Stuttgart 50-15. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Stuttgart's Mollie Winkler takes a free throw after a technical foul during the DODEA European Division I girls basketball championships Feb. 16, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Wiesbaden beat Stuttgart 50-15. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden's McKinley Viers pushes for the basket against Stuttgart defender Haley Wells at the DODEA European Division I girls basketball championships Feb. 16, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Wiesbaden beat Stuttgart 50-15. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden’s McKinley Viers jumps for a layup as Stuttgart defenders Ella Kirk, left and Icsiss Perez look to grab a rebound at the DODEA European Division I girls basketball championships Feb. 16, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Wiesbaden beat Stuttgart 50-15. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)