BC Mess opened the W-Nationale 2 qualifying round with a controlled 66-43 home win over AS Soleuvre and moved into 1st place, with Soleuvre 2nd after the first game.
Mess took command after a balanced start. Soleuvre led 6-4 early, but the home team answered with a 13-0 run to close the first quarter at 17-8. That momentum continued immediately in the second period: under coach Joao Carlos Santiago Janeiro, Mess added another 13 straight points and turned 17-8 into 30-8. That sequence was the key stretch of the game, and the halftime score of 36-16 already gave Soleuvre a steep task.
The third quarter followed the same pattern. Soleuvre found some offense through Laure Valentin (18, SOL) and Leonor Camara da Silva (19, PRT), yet Mess kept answering. Jil Heck (28, 1.81m) scored 6 points in a row in the period, while Noémie Schammo continued to score inside as the lead grew to 54-28. Mess's highest lead reached 27 points later in the fourth quarter.
Mess had strong balance: Heck led with 17 points, Schammo added 14, Lynn Thilges 11 and Caroline Pantaleoni 10, with Hannah Pauly on 8. Thilges was especially important in the second-quarter breakaway, scoring 8 points in that phase. Charlotte Delphine Thomas (33, BEL) also gave useful bench minutes.
For Soleuvre, Valentin was clearly the top player with 22 points, more than half of her team's total, and she scored the visitors' final 8 points. Camara da Silva added 8 points and Aline Rocha (20, CPV) contributed 4. Soleuvre did edge the last quarter 15-12, but Mess's earlier control of the game never left much doubt.
(AI generated)