Second-ranked Résidence Walferdange won a close home game against fourth-ranked BC Mess, 52-46, after a match that swung several times before the break and was decided by a strong third-quarter stretch.
Walferdange started slightly better at 12-9. Jalila R'BIAA (RES) set the tone immediately, scoring repeatedly at the line and inside, and she had 10 points already in the opening quarter. Mess stayed close through Jil Heck (MES) and then moved in front in the second period. Hannah Pauly (MES) gave the visitors momentum with 6 straight points for 17-14, and BC Mess later led 25-22. Walferdange answered before halftime, with Margaux Geelen (RES) and R'BIAA bringing it back to 27-26.
The key phase came in the third quarter. Mess extended to 33-29 after Lynn Thilges (1.74m) hit from long range and Noémie Schammo added a basket. Coach Diogo Jesus Lopes' team then produced the decisive response: a 13-1 run from 29-33 to 42-34. Sarah Macri (38) scored 5 points in that sequence, Marie Palma (RES) added inside scoring, and R'BIAA finished possessions from the foul line.
Walferdange reached its highest lead at 10 points, 44-34 and later 52-42. Mess, coached by Joao Carlos Santiago Janeiro, kept pressing through Heck, who scored 8 points in the fourth quarter, but the gap was too large to erase.
Top scorers were R'BIAA (RES) with 18, Macri (RES) and Geelen (RES) with 11 each, plus Laetitia Soares (29, FRA) with 9. For Mess, Heck (MES) had 16, Pauly (MES) 11 and Thilges (MES) 10. Schammo (MES) also contributed 6, though she picked up consecutive personal fouls in the third period.
(AI generated)