Second-placed Sparta Bertrange, coached by Laurent Cames, moved up three places with a clear 65-22 home win over sixth-placed Nitia Bettembourg, who are now on a four-game losing streak.
The game turned quickly after an early score correction erased Nitia's first basket. Sparta then settled first: Andriana Lalioti (SPA) opened their account, Eshetha Thokala (SPA) scored 4 points in a row, and the home side built a 10-4 edge before closing the first quarter at 14-7. Nitia stayed close through Pia Stephany (NIT), Mira Frising (NIT) and Tonia Rodesch (NIT).
The second quarter remained competitive for a while. Camille Blau (SPA) and Thokala pushed Sparta to 18-9, then Stéphanie Stoeva (SPA) and Nina Fiorenza (SPA) extended it to 26-9. Nitia answered with a small late reaction and went into the break down 26-12, still within reach.
The decisive stretch came after halftime. From 28-14, Sparta went on an 8-0 run, mainly through Blau and Thokala, to break the game open at 36-14. Alicia Frias Beaudoin (SPA) added back-to-back baskets later in the period, and Sparta won the third quarter 21-7 for a 47-19 lead.
In the last quarter, Sparta produced another strong run, this time 10 unanswered points from 47-19 to 57-19, with Stoeva and Lalioti doing most of the damage. Blau finished the scoring with consecutive baskets for the final 43-point margin, the highest lead of the game.
Blau (SPA) led all scorers with 17 points, while Stoeva (SPA) and Thokala (SPA) added 12 each. Lalioti, Fiorenza and Frias Beaudoin each contributed 6, showing Sparta's depth. For Nitia, Frising (NIT) was the top scorer with 8, and Stephany (NIT) handled a large share of the offensive load.
(AI generated)