 
The new look Lady Lions score big with back-to-back wins - Feb. 5,9
The Lady Lions Basketball Club of AIS-Salzburg are undefeated with their new shoes. The Lions basketball shoe order arrived in the mail just in time for the game vs the Vienna International School in Salzburg on Friday February 5th. With their new found speed and jumping ability, the Lions managed to defeat the pesky Panthers 29-25, even though they only had 6 players. The Lions came out flying as Geni Dimova scored their first 4 baskets, leading AIS to a 10-4 margin after the first quarter and 17-9 at the half. The point production by the Lions slowed as they began to tire in the third and fourth quarters, while VIS took advantage with a tenacious full court press late in the game giving the Lions a scare. However timely baskets by Karina Todorova, Tiffany Iseli, and Desi Pavlevska in the last few minutes kept the Lions in front and preserved the win. Dimova controlled the boards the entire game on the defensive end while she used her new post moves to drain a few easy buckets. Dimova finished with 13 points, Todorova with 8, Pavlevska 4, and both Iseli and Kristin Doneva contributed with a bucket each.
Game notes:
MVP-Dimova, 20+ rebounds
Key moment-steal and bucket from Pavlevska when the Panthers shortened the lead to within 2 pts.
On Tuesday February 9th, the Lions hit the road to face the AIS-Vienna Knights, a team they dominated in Budapest a few weeks back with a 45-5 win. This time the Knights came to play, and brought a varsity player with them to match up against Dimova. The Lions controlled the game from beginning to end as they cruised to a 34-17 win. Dimova had her hands full with the equally as tall AIS-Vienna center, so the rest of the Lions picked up the offensive production as each player contributed on the score board. Todorova used her speed to drain 8 points, while Dara Tasheva used offensive rebounds to match that point total. Up 17-6, the Lions came out at half time with a full court press, forcing the Knights into 4 straight turnovers, building their lead to 24-6. With desperation to get back into the game, the Knights called a time out and came back out with an effective full court press, a press that the Lions struggled with. This gave the Knights some momentum, and slowed the Lions offence, however it was to little to late as the Lions were too much to handle on this Knight and were able to break the press enough to remain point-for-point with Knights. Dimova (6), Iseli(4), Pavlevska (4), Pam Apsi (2), and Doneva (2) rounded out the scoring.
Game notes:
MVP-Dara Tasheva for her outstanding leadership on both ends of the court.
Bet play-20 foot jump shot from Pavlevska off a nice pass from Doneva.
Almost the best play- missed shot by Todorova off a give and go with Dimova.
Most steals-Iseli
Danube Valley Athletics Conference Highschool Girls Basketball Festival, Budapest - Jan. 23
The Lady Lions left the International Christian School of Budapest (ICSB) tournament one year ago without a victory but left a lasting impression for the onlookers as a team with a ton of heart. This year the Lions returned home from Budapest with two victories under their belt and only one loss to the powerhouse ICSB squad. Last year, the Lions were outmatched by ICSB as they lost 56-4...... this year the Lions managed to to keep the game close, as they led after the first quarter 6-4 off of three offensive rebounds by Geni Dimova. The Lions continued with their defensive ways in the second quarter behind great teamwork and ball movement up the court. At the half the Lions trailed 11-9. In the third quarter, the Lions started to run out of gas as ICSB began to press extending their lead by the end of the quarter to 19-11. In the end, the older more experienced Bulldogs proved to be too much as the Lions eventually fell 28-13. The Lady Lions can be proud that they were able to compete at that level and put a scare into the defending tournament champions.
The Lions then squared off against the AIS Vienna Knights, a team that they have not defeated in over 5 years. The Lions played their game of the year as their quick passing and strong defense, combined with 20+ rebounds by Dimova, proved to be too much for the Knights this year as the Lions went on to win a barn-burner 45-5. Karina Todorova and Dara Tasheva repeatedly pounded the ball into the paint as the Lions put up shot after shot. Desi Pavlevska played the role of play maker at the point as she set up her teammates time and time again with open shots and contributed with a few buckets of her own.
In the final match of the day, the Lions faced a much more resiliant team in AIS Budapest. The scrappy AIS rivals had a lot more fight in them then their Vienna counterparts, but it was not enough as the Lions weathered the storm, cruising to a 28-9 victory. Tiffany Iseli used her uncanny ability to pick off passes to contribute on the scoreboard while Slavena Petkova, Kristin Doneva and Todorova shut down the Knight shooters with their tenacious defence. Once again Dimova owned the boards with the help of Tasheva . Pam Apsi gave Pavlevska some breathing time as she took over in the point guard position and showed her potential with her strong dribble.
Coach Burns is very pleased with the overall play on the weekend, pointing out that the girls have elevated their game to a new level as their individual skills and team work are developing at a rapid pace. Coach Burns believes that it is possible for this girls team to defeat ICSB at the year end DVAC tournament at RIF on March 12th and 13th, a task that only a year ago, seemed impossible.
December 9th 2009
Lady Lions ICS Tournament Champions!!!
A well balanced offensive attack, teamwork, and excellent defense were the
major factors that helped the AIS-Salzburg Lady Lions basketball team win
the ICS tournament Dec.4,5 in Zurich. Defensive standout Geni Dimova
controlled the boards throughout the tournament while Karina Todorova used
her speed and offensive touch to lead the Lions on the scoreboard.
However, of the five games played in the tournament, the Lions had four
different players as top scorer. This wide offensive distribution is
unusual in comparison to recent years where the Lions often relied on a
single player to score most of their points. What else is unusual was the
absence for this tournament of last years tops scorer Desi Pavlevska. When
coach Burns factors her into this mix, the rest of the season shows much
promise. Although many of the players are new to basketball, coach Burns
was impressed with how quick they picked up the game, and how well they
played together. Congratulations to every girl who made the trip to
Zurich, you all played great and all contributed to this great victory.
Round Robin
Game 1: Lions 28 Basel 18
Game 2: Lions 18 Zurich International School 12
Game 3: Lions 35 Inter-community School Zurich 4
Semi Final (1 vs. 4)
Lions 28 Inter-community School Zurich 6
Championship game
Lions 34 Zurich International School 8
Last update: Friday, February 12, 2010
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