Basket Esch edged Les Sangliers Wooltz 60-55 in the Ladies Cup 1/4 final at esch/ho1, surviving a late surge after building a big third-quarter cushion. Coach Vincent Gevrey's team opened 19-11, then reached halftime 31-26 despite a 15-12 response from the visitors. The game broke open after the break: Tatsiana Likhtarovich (37, 1.78m, BLR) hit three triples in the third, including back-to-back makes that pushed the lead to 50-32, Esch's largest margin (+18).
Wooltz, coached on the floor by Tessy Hetting (39, 1.84m), rallied 21-10 in the fourth almost entirely at the stripe. Lisy Hetting (35, 1.72m) poured in 27 points with an exceptional 17/23 free throws, stringing together several series of consecutive foul shots to trim the gap to 59-55 in the final minute. Katia Jemming (20, 1.53m) calmly added the last point from the line to close it.
Esch's efficiency at the stripe (12/13, 92% excellent) offset cold perimeter shooting (6/29, 21% 3P). Likhtarovich led with 23 points on 4/4 FT (excellent) and 3/8 3P (good). Support came from Jovana Jaksic (33, 1.77m) with 14 and Mara Chaumont (24, 1.76m) with 6 on 2/2 FT (excellent). Among the locals, Kyra Coulon (21, 1.78m) hit a timely fourth-quarter three. Esch also forced 17 turnovers (10 steals) to balance a 27-37 deficit on the glass.
For Wooltz, the domestic core was led by the Hetting sisters: Lisy's 27 and Tessy's 7 (2/2 FT excellent), while the overseas options Emma Marie Broermann (24, 1.92m, USA) added 13 with 5/10 2P (good) and Cerie Alissa Mosgrove (37, 1.86m, USA) 8 (4/4 FT excellent). Team shooting hurt: 10/31 2P (32%) and 3/21 3P (14%), though 26/33 FT (79% good) powered the comeback. Esch held on despite Eden Nibbelink (26, 1.80m) fouling out late, and despite back-to-back fourth-quarter fouls from Wooltz guard Amra Hasanovic (26, 1.70m) briefly stalling the visitors' momentum.
(AI generated)