US Heffingen, now 3rd and up one place, edged 6th-placed Kordall Steelers 54-52 in a very tight Phase finale game, completing a 2-0 season sweep against KDS after the earlier 59-42 win.
Kordall started much better. Coach Gianluca Pellegrino Ombroni's side led 19-8 after one quarter, with Esperanza Demeusy Rotolo (Season PPG: 5.00) scoring KDS's last 8 points of the period. KDS reached an 11-point lead, the biggest margin of the game.
Heffingen changed the rhythm in the second quarter. Charlotte Poos (Season PPG: 4.09), Emma Koenig (Season PPG: 8.00), Isabella Alves Novaes (Season PPG: 5.67) and Lory Hofliger (Season PPG: 1.78) carried a 22-point quarter, and the game was back to 30-30 at halftime.
The key stretch came after the break. US Heffingen won the third quarter 14-4 and turned 34-34 into 44-34 with a 10-0 run. Koenig was central in that sequence, while Lena Kugener (Season PPG: 8.25) also added important baskets. Coach José Alberto Pais Costa's team looked in control there.
KDS still pushed hard in the last quarter. Ema Babacic (Season PPG: 17.31), Leticia Da Silva Costa (Season PPG: 2.27), Sybélia Schmitz (Season PPG: 5.42) and 12-year-old Lea Nouemsi (Season PPG: 14.58) brought the Steelers back from 40-50 to 52-54. Heffingen held on even with Kugener and Poos fouling out.
Top scorers were Koenig with 14, Alves Novaes with 12 and Kugener with 10 for HEF; Demeusy Rotolo had 14, Babacic 12 and Da Silva Costa 10 for KDS. Kordall are now on an eight-game losing streak.
(AI generated)