Phase-finale leader Basket Esch, ranked 1st, took a 78-70 away win over 5th-placed Résidence Walferdange. The game stayed open late, but the decisive stretch came before halftime.
Walferdange started better and led 21-20 after the first quarter. Jill Stoltz, Caroline Charles and Maella Fatima Faye gave RES good early production, while Kim Ferron answered quickly for Esch with two first-quarter threes.
The turning point was the second period. After RES still edged ahead 24-23, Esch went on a strong run and won the quarter 26-10. Ferron scored in bursts, including five straight points late in the half, and Estelle Birnbaum kept adding pressure to push LAL into a 46-31 halftime lead.
Esch then managed the third quarter well and stretched the margin to 19 points at 76-57 in the fourth. Walferdange did not stop there. Christophe Fiegen's team answered with 13 points in a row to cut it to 76-70, turning the last minute into a close finish. After Karim Elbaoune's timeout, Birnbaum hit the final basket that secured the win.
Birnbaum (Season PPG: 17.36) led Esch with 23 points, Ferron (Season PPG: 17.15) added 17, and Anaïs Gocel (Season PPG: 17.80) scored 12. For RES, Charles (15, GBR; Season PPG: 15.21) finished with 18 despite four fouls, Faye (14, FRA; Season PPG: 9.57) added 17, and captain Stoltz (Season PPG: 16.71) had 14.
Walferdange are now on a four-game losing run in the final phase. Esch also made it two wins from two meetings against RES this season.
(AI generated)