Ansbach's Kennedy Lange looks to shoot over Baumholder's Leai Vaisagote during a Jan. 24, 2025, contest at the Hall of Champions Physical Fitness Center in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

BAUMHOLDER, Germany – First-year Ansbach girls basketball coach Shannon Daniels hears his players discuss all the time how they want to replicate their success from last winter.

The Cougars pulled off a Cinderella run to the Division III title game at the 2024 DODEA European championships, and six are back from that roster. Among those six were all-tournament selections Kennedy Lange and Elizabeth Agudzi-Addo.

Ansbach’s 42-13 win over Baumholder on Friday evening at the Hall of Champions Physical Fitness Center reinforced the Cougars’ belief that another deep tournament could be in the cards next month in Wiesbaden, Germany.

“We’ve always known that we’re in this, seeing we got second last year,” Lange said. “I feel like we’ve really come together as a team to fight for that place.”

Not that the Cougars (5-4, 5-2) are alone with those aspirations.

Heading into the weekend, four teams sit above Ansbach in the standings, all of whom have one or no league losses. While Sigonella has played just two conference contests, defending champion AFNORTH, Spangdahlem and Hohenfels, the latter of which swept the Cougars to open the season, are 5-1 or better.

The Cougars can keep themselves apace with those four teams with another win over Baumholder (0-9, 0-6) on Saturday morning. Then, they finish the season with doubleheaders against the Lions at home and the Sentinels on the road.

“I think as a team, we can really get there,” Agudzi-Addo said. “We just got to want it more than last year. Last year, we wanted it, but this year, we have the skills to execute it.”

Agudzi-Addo and Lange could prove vital to Ansbach’s ambitions. Their presence loomed large Friday against the Buccaneers.

The duo combined for 28 points – 22 in the first half. Once the Cougars pushed the advantage to more than 30 points in the third quarter, the two were rested.

Both Agudzi-Addo and Lange said their chemistry has been apparent since last season, and their connection on the court has strengthened this year.

Meanwhile, their coach described them as still developing.

“We’ve heard from a lot of people in the stands or officials that have said as soon as these bigs realize how big they are, they might be dangerous weapons,” Daniels said. “They’re kind of starting to figure out that they can handle themselves down low.”

Despite Baumholder’s struggles, coach Chris Schoonover observed improvement from his squad, just two weeks since the team being unable to play because of insufficient numbers because of an illness to two players.

The Buccaneers got an 18-rebound performance from Alesia Delinois, who amassed 11 on the offensive glass.

He also pointed to little things that show his young, inexperienced squad is picking up the sport.

“We were able to do things especially in the first half that we haven’t done all year,” Schoonover said. “We haven’t been able to break a press, and we did that great. … I thought our half-court defense was really good.”

Ansbach's Marga Marzan shoots a free throw during a Jan. 24, 2025, contest against Baumholder at the Hall of Champions Physical Fitness Center in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Baumholder's Yahna Talikschwili loses control of the ball during a Jan. 24, 2025, contest against Ansbach at the Hall of Champions Physical Fitness Center in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ansbach's Elizabeth Agudzi-Addo drives to the bucket against Baumholder's Yahna Talikschwili during a Jan. 24, 2025, contest at the Hall of Champions Physical Fitness Center in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Boys

Opponents must pick their poison against Baumholder. Anyone of four or five guys can go off on any given night.

The newest player to join the rotation is Artez Williams. The sophomore guard got hot from distance throughout the 60-21 win over Ansbach on Friday evening.

Williams shot 7 of 8 on three-pointers en route to a game-high 24 points.

“Tonight’s performance was really special from him,” Baumholder coach Dewayne Piggé said. “He’s a really good shooter. When he’s on, he’s on.

“Understanding how to play fundamentally sound ball, ball movement, cutting, it’s allowing him opportunities to get those shots that he probably wasn’t getting before.”

Williams didn’t connect from just one spot, finding success all along the arc. He even showed extra range with a three from a few feet beyond the line.

The sophomore ended the game with a three-pointer after receiving a pass from Gregory Makubuya at the 4-mnute, 11-second mark in the third period, invoking the mercy rule.

“I was feeling it a lot,” Williams said. “It had a lot to do with the energy of my teammates. I want to give a shoutout to Leo (Kirkland) and Greg, they found me a lot around the three-point line.”

The Buccaneers (5-4, 5-2) needed the victory, having dropped four straight contests. Two of them came against Division I-foe SHAPE, but they dropped two close games against title rival Hohenfels on Jan. 17-18.

Piggé said his team was missing a starter against the Tigers, but with the entire lineup available Friday, the team played at another level.

Along with Williams, Makubuya and Kirkland reached double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Makubuya had a double-double with 10 boards.

“Credit to Ansbach; they fought,” Piggé said. “At the same time, when I have my full team, it really makes a difference.”

Ansbach’s struggles continued against the Buccaneers. The Cougars (0-9, 0-7) produced their second-lowest point total on the season while giving up a season high on defense.

First-year coach Henry Bechtel saw some positives. For one, his players didn’t quit. And the Cougars limited the turnovers to 16 against Baumholder, a team known for a high-octane, full-court press defensively.

“These are growing pains,” Bechtel said. “They’ve had a rough streak the last two years, and the thing I want them to do is just to grow.”

Baumholder's Leo Kirkland dribbles on the fast break during a Jan. 24, 2025, contest against Ansbach at the Hall of Champions Physical Fitness Center in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Baumholder's Gregory Makubuya drives to the bucket against Ansbach's Lucas Rudy during a Jan. 24, 2025, contest at the Hall of Champions Physical Fitness Center in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ansbach's Jalen Donaldson goes up for a shot as Baumholder's Jaylon Bilbrew defends during a Jan. 24, 2025, contest at the Hall of Champions Physical Fitness Center in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ansbach's Sam Hanson tries to get out of a doube team by Baumholder's Leo Kirkland, left, and Gregory Makubuya during a Jan. 24, 2025, contest at the Hall of Champions Physical Fitness Center in Baumholder, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)