A repeat DODEA-Europe Division I girls basketball championship won’t come easily for the Stuttgart Panthers. This weekend, they proved they can get things done the hard way.

The reigning European champs earned a pair of gritty wins on the home court of Division I rival Kaiserslautern over the weekend, eking out a 40-37 win Friday and a 30-28 decision Saturday.

The Panthers withstood late surges from the home team on both occasions. Kaiserslautern outscored Stuttgart by six points in Friday’s final quarter and held the visitors to just two fourth-quarter points Saturday before the Panthers persevered.

Ally Taylor scored 13 points and Adam Maher 12 in each game to lead Stuttgart. Taylor totaled 14 rebounds on the weekend, while Maher chipped in four assists and four steals on Friday.

Le’Jhanique Brown led the Raiders with 30 total points, including a game-high 20 on Friday.

Stuttgart has won seven straight games since a heartbreaking Jan. 12 overtime loss to archrival Ramstein saddled the Panthers with a two-game losing streak. The defending champs face one last Division I challenger, Vilseck, to round out the regular season next weekend before starting its title defense in earnest Feb. 21.

Black Forest 37/13, Vilseck 30/40: At Vilseck, the reigning Division II champs played their Division I hosts to an unorthodox split.

BFA claimed the competitive opener with a fourth-quarter rally that swung a game that was tied after three quarters. Kennedy Wilbanks scored 10 points and Grace Wettstone handled 14 rebounds for a balanced BFA squad.

Vilseck roared back on Saturday, holding BFA scoreless in the first quarter and allowing no more than five points in any of the quarters to follow. Tedeja Marshall had 15 points and six rebounds to lead the way.

Sigonella 41, Aviano 31: Saturday at Aviano, the Jaguars produced a near-replica of their 40-33 win over the Saints on Friday.

Jessica Jacobs made six of seven three-point attempts as part of a game-high 19-point scoring effort and added five steals to lead the reigning Division III European champions.

The game was the last of the regular season for Sigonella, which opens its title defense when the Division III tournament begins Feb. 21 at Wiesbaden.

Ramstein 48, Wiesbaden 36: Friday at Ramstein, the Royals broke a halftime tie with a strong second-half surge for the victory.

A trio of Royal standouts led the way in different aspects of the game. Brielle Waite scored a game-high 12 points, Yhari Dupree paired 12 steals with 11 points and Shemilia Johnson corralled a game-high 12 rebounds.

Corban Jackson led all scorers with 16 points for the Warriors.

Lakenheath 58/53, Spangdahlem 17/27: At Lakenheath, the Division I Lancers recorded ao blowout win over their Division II guests.

Three Lancers scored either eight or nine points in Saturday’s win.

Vicenza 33/33, American Overseas School of Rome 17/8: At Vicenza, the host Cougars had no problem with the visiting Falcons. Shoshana Rogers produced an 11-point, 18-rebound double-double on Friday and Grace Bello outscored AOSR with 10 points Saturday to lead the way for Vicenza.

The Cougars will face neighbor Aviano in a home-and-home series next weekend to conclude the regular season.

Brussels 39/6, Alconbury 10/22: At Alconbury, the Dragons notched their first DODEA-Europe win of the season on the back end of a doubleheader split.

Haley Starr scored 14 points as Alconbury cruised to a Saturday victory and snapped a season-long 10-game losing streak.

Nina Duvnjak scored 19 in the Brigands equally lopsided win a day prior.

Alconbury joins U.K. neighbor Lakenheath in a three-team event next weekend at SHAPE.

Naples 53/55, Marymount 9/19: At Naples, the undefeated Division I frontrunners trounced the overmatched Royals.

Roxanne Sasse scored 14 and 10 points, respectively, in the consecutive blowouts.

The wins neatly capped an undefeated regular season for the Wildcats, who will enter the postseason as the likely No. 1 seed in the Division I girls tournament. Naples’ unblemished record includes six divisional victories, including one over defending champion Stuttgart.

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