T71 Dudelange overpowered Amicale Steesel 84-57 at Coque/Gymnase to reach the LALUX Ladies Cup final. Amicale struck first behind Brazil Ronelle Harvey-Carr (24, USA), who poured in seven straight to build a 9-4 lead. T71 replied immediately: Catherine Mreches (25, 1.65m) answered with seven in a row to flip the game, and the visitors closed the first period up 23-16.
The breakaway came early in the second quarter. From 22-28, T71 strung together a 10-0 run fueled by Beatriz Ines Gomes Jordao (27, 1.91m, PRT) and Lauren Anne Van Kleunen (27, 1.88m, USA) inside, plus Svenia Nurenberg (25, 1.80m) from deep, stretching it to 22-38. Shalonda Renae Winton (34, 1.80m, USA) added a triple for 26-44, and T71 reached halftime 50-33 ahead. Paul Missavage's timeout halted momentum briefly, but after the break Gomes Jordao opened with five straight (two free throws and a basket) to keep the gap wide. An unsportsmanlike foul on Lara Jemming (18, 1.72m) did not change the trend, and T71 entered Q4 at 70-48. Dana Wies (17, 1.77m) sparked the last period with a three and a two, and a Mia Schroeder (19, 1.70m) triple pushed the largest lead to 29 before the final 84-57.
Numbers told the story: T71 dominated the glass 55-38 (39 defensive), led by Gomes Jordao's 19 rebounds, Winton's 13 and Van Kleunen's 12. The frontcourt trio all posted double-doubles: Van Kleunen 22 points, Winton 14 points (6/7 FT), Gomes Jordao 10 points. The local core backed them: Nurenberg 13 (2/4 3P), Mreches 9 with 8 boards, Schroeder 9 on three triples, Wies 5. T71's 82% at the line (14/17) was good, and 10 made threes at 32% outpaced Amicale's 5/33 (15%). Inside, T71 shot 45% (20/44) to Amicale's 39% (18/46).
For Amicale, Harvey-Carr (24, USA) had 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists with excellent 2-point finishing (5/7). Desiree Genevieve Ramos (32, 1.70m, USA) added 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals but collected four fouls. Among the local players, Mandy Geniets (27, 1.78m) hit 8 points with 2/4 from three, and Julie Mangen (27, 1.64m) scored 8 with a perfect 3/3 at the stripe. Coach Mathieu Pierre Fivet's side won all four quarters and controlled the game flow to book the final.
(AI generated)