Sparta Bertrange won 74-61 in Contern after taking control in the first and third quarters. After Esmeralda Skrijelj opened the scoring, Sparta quickly changed the rhythm and moved to 23-8 after 10 minutes, with Bridget Yoerger and Jordan King driving the early separation.
AB Contern responded well before the break. Caileigh Ann Walsh (Season PPG: 24.20, RPG: 8.7, AssPG: 2.52) scored repeatedly in the second quarter and the home side reduced the gap to 28-36 at half-time. The decisive stretch came after the interval: Sparta produced a 23-11 third quarter, King went on a strong run in that period, and the visitors reached their biggest lead at 59-39.
King (Season PPG: 20.89, RPG: 7.3, AssPG: 4.43) finished with 28 points and 7 assists despite four fouls. Yoerger, named MVP, added 19 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Cathrin Wolff gave Sparta a major all-around contribution with 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Adryana Quezada, the 24-year-old American forward/center, scored 10 points on a perfect 4/4 from the field.
Contern kept pushing in the last quarter. Skrijelj, Walsh and Ana Petrova, the 44-year-old Bulgarian guard/forward, led the comeback attempts, with Petrova scoring all 8 of her points in the fourth. Kulesza (Season PPG: 19.95, RPG: 10.26, AssPG: 2.91) added 8 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists. Contern came back to 54-63 and later 61-70, but never got closer than 9.
A key statistical edge was ball security: Sparta had only 8 turnovers, Contern 18. At the line, Contern shot a good 88.9% (8/9), Sparta a good 75.0% (9/12). From the earlier semi-final results provided, the series stands at 1-1.
(AI generated)