Third-ranked Sparta Bertrange, coached by Colin Braun, answered a two-game losing run with a clear 79-52 home win over Basket Esch. Sparta built the margin step by step through 27-13, 43-24 and 61-34, then matched Esch 18-18 in the last quarter.
Emma Wallenborn put Esch on the board first from the line, but Sparta quickly took control. Nicole Torresani (Season PPG: 21.25), an 18-year-old 1.78m Italian guard, and Chiara Rasolofo (Season PPG: 11.44) gave SPA early scoring punch and helped open a 13-3 advantage. By the end of the first quarter, Sparta already led by 14.
Esch had a better response in the second period, with Kim Ferron (Season PPG: 5.89) and Gwen Feller Birchen (Season PPG: 2.30) bringing points, but Torresani kept Sparta in command and the home side still carried a 19-point lead into halftime.
The crucial moment came just after the break. From 43-25, Sparta went on a 12-0 run to 55-25. Rasolofo was on a real roll there, scoring 8 points in a row with consecutive three-pointers, while 17-year-old 1.82m Slovak forward/center Tereza Liska (Season PPG: 20.67) added steady scoring inside. That sequence effectively settled the game, and the lead later reached 27, the highest gap of the afternoon.
Rasolofo finished with 17 points, while Liska and Torresani added 16 each. Sparta also got useful support from Luisa Feyder, Lilly Engels, Hanna Rotink and Quineth Zaal. For Esch, Estelle Birnbaum and Ferron both scored 9, Anaïs Gocel had 7, and Wallenborn plus Feller Birchen added 6 each.
This was the third meeting between the teams this season: Esch had won 78-58 in Phase 1, Sparta had taken the first final-phase game 78-74, and this return game was much more controlled by SPA. After the game, Sparta stayed 3rd, while Esch moved up one place to 5th.
(AI generated)