Basketball
WARRIORS COMPLETE MAGICAL SEASON
St. Paul wins Far East Tournament in South Korea
By Carmen Gogue
The St. Paul Warriors are on top of the podium once again, defeating Nile C. Kinnick 49-27 in the Far East Girls Basketball Tournament championship game Wednesday night at Camp Humphrey, South Korea.
Far East marks the third title of a spectacular season for St. Paul after winning the IIAAG championship and the Champion of Champions matchups.
“We give all Glory to God and the hard work of these young women. They dedicated half of their school year training to get where they are today. The family and support we have is also unmatched.”
Head Coach Derin Stinnett
Point guard Ryanna Ngirchomlei scored 15 points with Gabby Hahn adding 12 points. Bella Brub was big on the defensive end with eight blocked shots.
Ryanna Ngirchomlei was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
All Tournament Team
- Ryanna Ngirchomlei
- Bella Brub
- Gabreanna Hahn
- Kimora Charfauros
- Darien Godoy
Tournament Action
The Warriors opened pool play strong, shutting down Kadena High School 31-15 with Ngirchomlei scoring a respective 15 points and then beating the host school, Humphrey 37-26 in the following match with 14 points from Ngirchomlei.
In their third match up the girls fell to Kinnick 35-18.
Moving on to the round robin matches, St. Paul made a comeback from the loss against Kinnick defeating Kubaski 30-27 and The American School in Japan 24-17 finishing a 4-1 record to secure the second seed.
In the Semi-finals, the Warriors conquered Kubaski closing the match at 41-22 with Ngirchomlei scoring 13 points and Kimora Charfauros chipping in 10 points of her own.
“One thing I’ll say is, hard work beats talent, when talent refuses to work hard. I’m so proud of this team’s work ethic and discipline to play team ball when they face tough challenges,” said coach Stinnett.
Despite the lost to Kinnick in the pool play round, the girls were determined to come out on top.
“We did what we do best and what some may say is a “gimmick defense”, we stick with what works.”
Head Coach Derin Stinnett
With no seniors this season, the Warriors entire team of talented and skilled players will return next year for another run at the championship titles.
