European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 28, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday april 28, 1990 the stars and stripes a a Page 25 commentary lady stallions find hoops heartening till tit f h Ampi Flor hot if it a Moth int Viii Nith True champions have something they can Call on to keep them going when the body wants to quit. Stuttgart a gifted Point guard countess Irvin Calls it  Stuttgart fans can Call it the key to winning the first army european championship. Whether or not the lady stallions win game 2 of the series at 7 30 . Saturday in their Home Panzer Cavern gym the performance of Stuttgart a own lethal weapon 3 Irvin Bridget Benson and Forward Lisa White in game 1 wednesday brought the championship within arms reach. They scored 82 of Stuttgart a 99 Points in overcoming a 13-Point deficit to beat Frankfurt 99-97 in of. The Falconette were beating the smaller lady stallions badly on the boards. Frankfurt Center Jurice Hardin had 15 rebounds at halftime. Frankfurt was also out shooting the lady stallions from the perimeter. White had about As bad a half shooting As you can have missing 17 of 21 shots. While Frankfurt a Sheila White threw in three. Line drive treys and countess Irvin Madeline Malone another to help the Falconette take a 13-Point Lead. Alas two of Lisa Whites Field goals were three Point Home runs that helped keep Stuttgart within 10 at the half. The stallions looked beaten when they went into the locker room Down 43-33, with the Frankfurt fans cheering wildly for the Falconette. Irvin looked tired at times in the second half. But she played the entire game including the overtime and her 39 Points helped Stuttgart prevail 99-97 and get to within one game of the army european championship. White scored 26, Benson 17. Irvin known simply As a a county by her teammates said staying up for the Long season is a Challenge. A a it a kind of hard. Playing games consecutively and All it starts to Wear and tear on the body a Irvin said. A i love basketball used to eat drink and think basketball. But after a while it starts to Wear and tear on your body. A so to really be a basketball player you have to have the heart. A then we have the three of us that a really the heart of the team a me Benson and White a so we wait Morrissette a amps Gus Schuettler Stuttgart a Lisa White 25 and Bridget Benson. Have some cohesiveness there. A if you want something and you re determined to do it you re going to do it no matter what. Its mind Over matter to  the Wurzburg lady rattlers winners of the final Usa eur title in �?T89, lacked this cohesiveness this season and were swept 2-0 by Stuttgart in the Vii corps finals. The 21st Talcom Champ Mannheim lady Mustangs who lost to Wurzburg in the �?T89 Usa eur finals Flat ran out of Gas against Stuttgart in the dec semis. A a we be been working on this for a Long time a said Irvin who has been in Stuttgart since 1987 after playing two years for Farleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck . She played for Clifford j. Scott High school in East Orange . A every year a said Irvin a we used to get stopped at Vii  usually by Wurzburg. Last year pc were an excellent team but we were always missing something. The Vear he fore that we were missing another guard. Last Vear we were missing a Forward. This Yucai is our year. Wove got the missing inks. We got Benson in a 5-3 guard and we got Lush u 5-10 Forward. And wont Goi a  Wiir Burg lost Star Center Patricia Jean who rotated to the states. But the lady rattlers still had Angie Roney and Jeannie Icah Pierre from the championship team. Yet Wiir Burg fell in two straight to Stuttgart in the Vii corps finals this Vear. One player does Nof a team make right a a that a  Irvin said. A but when you re dealing with a group of women there a always going to be problems period. They done to have that one person to say a come on you Guys lets go if we re going to get this done we be got to Stop complaining Stop bitching and Stop worrying about who a shooting the  �?o1 think they had a lot of internal problems plus they depended on Patricia Jean a lot. We should have beaten them last year but w o did no to have that one Strong person that Good Center that can play the  so where did you get those stutter stepping Pirouette no bal handling moves a a that a Street Ball playing with the Guys Quot said Irvin. A a that a the Only Way you re going to learn playing with the Guys. Plus in a so Small 5-5 1 have to be Able to be Quick to be Able to use both my hands and to be smart. You have to out think the next player. Irvin said her team peaked Early in december and it was slumping when Irvin was in the primary leadership development course. Mannheim beat the lady stallions twice in the Frankfurt Christmas classic. But that was before the lady stallions won 16 of its next 17 games 10-0 in Vii corps 4-0 in the Vii corps playoffs and 2-1 in eliminating Mannheim. Mannheim coach Curtis Norwood a worst night Mare came True when his team was Flat for the dec semifinals. A a it a hard a said Irvin. A we run for 40 minutes and play defense. Coach a1 Jordan told us Mannheim can run but they can to run for 40  Stuttgart had to run for 45 minutes to beat Frankfurt wednesday night. A so now we re peaking again and its really hard to beat us when we re playing like this. Its hard for Guys to beat us when we re playing like this. We scrimmage against Guys sometimes during the week a said Irvin. Did you beat them a ooh yeah we ran Mem to  tha Star and strip Nurnberg a Wood leads knights to Daylight Bubuc Syfox staff writer Baum older West Germany a Niernberg coach Mike Wood left the car and headed for the gym. The Driver said a a in la talk to you after the  Wood said a i just Hope we done to get  not even close. When Woods knights were through turning out the lights to the Hall of champions they had shocked Baum older 96-72. The wednesday night rout gave Niernberg a 1-0 Lead in the Best of three army european basketball finals. Game 2 tips off at 7 30 . Today Mike Wood at Nurnberg a Darby gym. If the knights wiil they cinch their first championship of Europe. If they Iose game 3 starts at . Sunday also at Darby. Wood Isnit Only trying to Lead Nurnberg to its first title. He a also trying to keep Baum older from taking a Firth. A a Quot or those conditions its no won Are Niernberg entered the finals As the underdog. Yet the knights won by game 1 by 24, and Here is Wood claiming his knights should have won army championships the last two years. A realistically this is not our strongest squad but we be had Good Luck a Wood said in his hotel room before wednesdays opener. A i honestly thought we would be won Usa eur two years ago if our Center Ken Williams Hadnot posed during the Vii corps playoffs and last year if our Point guard Cliff Johnson Hadnot Hurt his knee during vol  in 1988, Niernberg fell to Stuttgart in Vii corps and the stallions went on to win Usa eur. In 1989, the knights reached the Usa eur semifinals where they fell in two straight to Wiesbaden. When Wood gathered his knights in August for another Long season he found Only one starter Back Goliath Yeggins the 6-foot-4 Center who would spark Niernberg toward new Heights namely these army european finals. The other four starters were either new to Niernberg a Forward Caesar Harris and guards Sam Morton and Albert Williams a or new to the role a Forward Leonard Thomas a Reserve in 89. Just when the knights reached a crucial juncture a the Vii corps playoffs a Morton left for a Short stateside stay. Patrick Robinson another first year Knight started at guard wednesday but Morton came off the Bench to can 17 Points. Wood said Morton might Start tonight but hey Why mess with what worked in game 1? Yeggins is one Knight confident Wood will make the right moves. A the knows strategy Quot said the former West Texas state starter. A the knows the Deal. If he weren there we  be Here. There a a lot of Talent out there. We put ours  Yeggins has played for Wood three seasons. He might play two More. But said Yeggins a if i had to play for another coach i  play. In a not saying that just because he a standing  Wood has coached the knights five seasons capturing four division titles in Vii corps. He preaches teamwork and Light defense which combined to turn Baum older into a Bear Sandwich wednesday. Wood 34, once played that kind of basketball. He was born in san Francisco and attended the University of Oregon. He tried to make the ducks varsity As a walk on but landed on the Jav As a no scholarship player in 1974-75. One of his classmates was Stu Jackson who bounced from Oregon player to Washington state assistant to Rick pit Inous assistant at Providence and new York to kicks head coach. Wood helped Jackson run Washington state summer Camps in 1982 and �?T83. Now he a rooting for Jackson a kicks to upset Boston in the Aba playoffs. A when 1 see what he a doing that uplifts me a said Wood who  mind getting similar Breaks to coach stateside Ball. While Wood worked toward a 1982 degree in political science and telecommunications at Oregon he dribbled through Iceland Germany and Spain. He was a shooting Uard and he noted a very slow at that. A he reached Niernberg in 1984 and Lias been the sports director of Darby gym Ever since. But pending this weekend still no championship of Europe. Despite Yeggins endorsement Wood realizes that Talent often tops coaching in army basketball Quot i know that feeling Well Quot said Wood. A sometimes the greatest coaching does no to matter. You need the athletes. The key is to make the players believe in what you re saying. Take your plan and execute that plan. If they done to listen to you you re in  after Nurnberg a rout wednesday. Wood said a the key was keeping the Baum older crowd out of the game. That a what happens when the visiting team does the thrashing