Nitia Bettembourg edged Zesummen Aktiv 41-37 in a tight W-U19 Division 3 Phase finale contest in Bettembourg. The hosts burst out 9-0 and led by as many as nine in the first quarter (15-8). ZAK answered with a 6-0 run to open the second, trimming it to 15-14 before a Liselotte Eudier triple set a 18-16 halftime for NIT.
The third quarter swung back and forth: ZAK tied it at 18-18, then Maëlle Schillings strung together four points in a row for 22-18. ZAK rallied again to 26-26 at the horn. Early in the fourth, NIT opened 3-0 to 29-26, but ZAK kept it one-possession: 29-28, then 33-32. In the decisive stretch, NIT pieced together key baskets from Tuana Belinay Yalcin and Lena Wies to go up 37-32. ZAK pulled within two at 39-37 after Mia Brucklacher's late free throw, but Jordane Pyee hit the final field goal to seal it. ZAK never led.
For NIT, Schillings (12 pts) was the anchor, scoring in crucial moments, including that 4-point burst in Q3 and another pair in Q4. Eudier (10 pts; two threes), a 15-year-old from Germany, provided spacing and timely makes. Wies added 6, while Hanna Wiejak (Season PPG: 10.18) scored first and again late for 39-34. Pyee had 5, including the game-clincher.
ZAK leaned on Laurence Kirchen's 12 points (six 2s) across Q2-Q4, while Kelly Glaesner chipped 8 in multiple spurts. Sophie Grivet (8 pts; Season PPG: 4.60) tied the game late in the third but managed three fouls in the final period sequence. Brucklacher contributed 5 and the late free throw; Erin Entringer added 4.
Coach Jérôme Defer's team improves its head-to-head to 3-0 over ZAK this season. In the updated classification, Nitia climbs to 6th (+1) and ZAK slides to 5th (-1). The win also snaps Nitia's three-game losing streak.
(AI generated)
Nitia Bettembourg