Third-placed Musel Pikes beat fifth-placed Arantia Larochette 67-58 in a game that stayed competitive for a long time. Musel had the better start, with Emma Gloden (Season PPG: 27.24) scoring the first 6 points and 12 of her team's first 16, helping coach Majdi Anan's side into a 14-4 lead. Arantia answered well before the first break and cut it to 17-16.
The second quarter belonged first to Arantia. The visitors opened it with an 8-0 run to move from 16-17 to 24-17, with Mathilda Wurth (Season PPG: 12.56) very active around the basket. Musel then settled again and came back level several times. Lena Mischo (Season PPG: 8.62) brought useful scoring, and at halftime Arantia still had a narrow 34-33 edge. Gloden had already picked up 3 fouls in the second period, which made her later impact more notable.
The decisive phase came in the third quarter. After Arantia went up 36-33, Musel produced a strong response through Julidé Klara Lambe, the 12-year-old Belgian forward, and Gloden. From 37-38, the Pikes built control with a 14-6 stretch to lead 51-44 at the end of the quarter.
Early in the fourth, Gloden struck from long range and Musel's advantage grew to 59-46, then to a game-high 17 points at 67-50. Arantia did not fold: Michele Elsen (Season PPG: 15.13) kept attacking and the visitors closed on an 8-0 run to trim the final margin.
Gloden led all scorers with 34 points, including two 3-pointers. Mischo added 14, Lambe 10, and Sally Kieffer (Season PPG: 5.00) hit an important triple. For Arantia, Elsen scored 20, Wurth 15 and Jana Agnes (Season PPG: 12.75) 12. Musel also completed a third win in three meetings against Arantia this season.
(AI generated)