Second-placed Sparta Bertrange beat Basket Esch 82-65 at atert/central and moved to a third straight win, while Esch, despite climbing to 4th place (+1), saw its two-game streak stop. Sparta also stayed perfect in this season series, now 3-0 against Basket Esch.
The game was competitive early. Sparta went up 13-8 behind Jordan Alexis King (Season PPG: 20.20, RPG: 7.63, AssPG: 4.53), who scored 9 quick points, but Esch answered through Eden Nibbelink and Tatsiana Likhtarovich to stay close at 18-16 after one quarter. In the second period, Basket Esch even led twice, 24-22 and 28-27. Mike Feyder's team answered with the key stretch of the night: a 20-7 run to halftime, powered by Adryana Michelle Quezada (24, 1.79m, USA) and Bridget Yoerger (Season PPG: 8.33, RPG: 7.86, AssPG: 2.43), to build a 47-35 advantage.
That run changed the game. Sparta kept control in the third quarter, stretched the margin to 70-55, and reached its highest lead at 78-57 early in the fourth. The home side had a clear collective edge with 27 assists to 11, 36 rebounds to 28 and 5 blocks to 0. Sparta shot well from the field: 52.5% on 2-pointers and 41.7% on 3-pointers. Esch was excellent at the line with 20/20, but finished at 36.4% from 2-point range and 31.8% from 3.
Quezada was MVP with 24 points on 9/13 from 2-point range and 6/6 free throws, plus 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Yoerger came close to a triple-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists, and King added 20 points with 5/9 from deep and 9 assists. Cathrin Wolff contributed 12 points and 8 rebounds.
For Vincent Gevrey's side, Likhtarovich (Season PPG: 17.69, RPG: 5.06, AssPG: 4.76) scored 15, Nibbelink (Season PPG: 14.24, RPG: 9.47, AssPG: 1.71) posted a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double, and Jovana Jaksic (Season PPG: 20.00, RPG: 7.13, AssPG: 2.06) added 10 points.
(AI generated)