Wiesbaden's Brianna Arroyo goes up against Vilseck's Willa Greenwood during a Jan. 17, 2025, game at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

WIESBADEN, Germany – In control for most of Friday evening’s game against Vilseck, the Wiesbaden girls basketball team found itself in a predicament late.

After the Falcons’ Giselle Villarreal drained a three-pointer with 2 minutes, 54 seconds remaining, the Warriors trailed by two points. The hosts had led since the 1:58 mark in the first quarter.

No panic from the Warriors, though. They scored six straight points and held off the Falcons for a 37-36 victory.

“I was telling them the whole game: Slow it down, reverse the ball, move the ball, move the ball, move the ball,” Wiesbaden coach Kristin Kachmar said of what caused the late-game response. “Our press break was great, and everything was clicking. It was nothing special – it was just doing like we’ve been practicing.”

The victory gave the Warriors (5-4, 3-4) a much-needed boost against a tough opponent. Wiesbaden hadn’t won a league game since sweeping SHAPE on Dec. 13-14.

The Falcons (4-3, 4-1) were flying high coming off two statement wins over Ramstein the previous weekend and hadn’t lost against Division I foes before Friday.

“It’s a big win,” Wiesbaden senior Natalia Bergdorf said. “They beat Ramstein; we lost against Ramstein. So, we should feel good about ourselves.”

Bergdorf herself played a key role in the late-game turnaround.

On the next offensive possession after Villareal’s three-pointer, Maria Valdez hit a runner to tie the game at 33. Following a cagey couple of empty plays for both squads, Bergdorf hit teammate Katie Shea (14 points) to retake the lead with 1:19 left.

Next time down the court, Bergdorf’s momentum was taking her out of bounds when she passed the ball back to Brianna Arroyo, who scored her lone bucket to make it a two-possession lead with 45 seconds remaining.

A Villarreal shot from beyond the arc at the buzzer proved to be a consolation prize for the Falcons.

“That girl is one of the kindest, sweetest, most hard-working kids that I’ve maybe ever been around or coached,” Kachmar said of Bergdorf, who finished with a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds. “She is completely unselfish, and her No. 1 motivation is to win. She doesn’t care how that is.”

Although coming up short, first-year Vilseck coach Darci Neville liked what she saw from her Falcons.

Not resting on their laurels of the previous wins over the Royals, Vilseck gave Wiesbaden all it could handle behind Villareal’s 21-point performance, while fellow sophomore Mayela Lokeni corralled 14 rebounds – 11 of which came on the offensive glass.

The Falcons did struggle shooting Friday, going 28.3% from the field. Many of them were open looks, and Neville said she won’t discourage her players from letting it fly in those situations.

“They never give up,” she said. “In the Ramstein game, too, we trailed most of the game and just at the end, they lit the fire. They’re always in it, they’re always in the fight and that’s all I can ask of them.

“They’re the little dogs. They’re out there to prove that they belong with the big dogs.”

Wiesbaden's Kariyah Housey picks up the ball to prepare to shoot while Vilseck's Giselle Villarreal, center, defends during a Jan. 17, 2025, game at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Vilseck's Jayslin Santellano drives against Wiesbaden's Katie Shea during a Jan. 17, 2025, game at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Vilseck's Giselle Villarreal shoots as Wiesbaden's Katie Shea rushes out to block her during a Jan. 17, 2025, game at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Boys

The theme of Wiesbaden’s 89-54 win over Vilseck on Friday evening could be summed up by the first three possessions of the game: three steals and three baskets on the other end.

In the end, the Warriors (9-0, 7-0) scored 30 fastbreak points – all in the first three quarters. They also amassed 17 steals and forced the Falcons (1-6, 0-5) into 24 turnovers.

Even more important to coach David Brown, though, was how well Wiesbaden took care of the basketball. The Warriors committed just nine turnovers.

“Up-tempo basketball is more fun than slow basketball,” Brown said. “I think every era agrees with that.

“Tonight, our focus was turnovers – limiting ours and increasing theirs. I guess they responded to that.”

With the miscues kept at a minimum, everyone tried to get into the fun.

The Idowu brothers, Jacob and Joel, enjoyed the open floor, throwing down multiple dunks. They combined for one at the 6:48 mark in the first quarter when Jacob threw the ball off the backboard and Joel finished with a two-handed slam.

Jacob, a senior, totaled a game-high 26 points, while Joel, a sophomore, chipped in with 14. Senior point guard Jordan Thibodeaux also took advantage on the fastbreak with 19 points.

Others also joined the party. All 10 Warriors made the scoresheet, and four made double figures. Jonah Harvey scored his 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Brown pointed out Jake Koschnik, who came off the bench to help Joel Idowu shut down Vilseck’s John and Jeremiah Dorff in the low block to just four points each, as another player who stood out Friday.

“We’ve been working on getting all of our team involved in the game, and it’s really nice to see all of us, even the bench players, get involved in the game, contribute,” Joel Idowu said. “In February, all of us are ready to play and do our thing.”

Trailing by 16 points after 8 minutes, it was a long night for the Falcons.

They managed to get something going in the second half when Khyleel Grimes got hot from distance. He connected on four 3-pointers over the final 16 minutes and six total en route to a 25-point performance.

For Vilseck coach Adrian Crawford, Friday’s game was another learning experience for his young squad.

“We’re growing,” Crawford said. “We’re just trying to get them there, but we’re going to keep grinding.”

Wiesbaden's Jonah Harvey passes the ball to teammate Joel Idowu during a Jan. 17, 2025, game at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. Defending for Vilseck are Wyatt Smith, left, and Jack Benn, right. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Vilseck's Khyleel Grimes dribbles past Wiesbaden's Carter Edwards during a Jan. 17, 2025, game at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)