Basket Esch overpowered Musel Pikes 83-61 in Esch/ho1, building a lead early and never letting go. Karim Elbaoune's team opened 5-0 and closed the first quarter 22-12 behind the inside-out punch of Jovana Jaksic (33, 1.77m) and Eden Nibbelink (26, 1.80m). In the second quarter, back-to-back threes by Mara Chaumont (23, 1.76m) pushed the gap to 32-18, and Esch reached halftime up 41-29.
Musel coach Marc Hahnemann saw a brief spark after the break when Alexandra Weber (25, 1.68m) drilled two threes in a row to trim it to 48-37, but Esch answered immediately through Kyra Coulon (20, 1.78m) and Jaksic to restore control, then stretched it to 65-45 after three. The hosts' highest lead hit +26 at 83-57 late in the fourth.
Esch's efficiency decided it: 2P 28/37 (76%, Excellent), 1P 12/15 (80%, Good), 3P 5/12 (42%, Good). Musel shot well inside (2P 20/33, 61%, Good) and from the line (12/16, 75%, Good) but struggled from deep (3/17, 18%). Despite winning the offensive glass 12-3, the visitors could not convert enough second chances.
Co-MVPs for Esch were Tatsiana Likhtarovich (37, 1.78m, BLR) with 21 points (5/7 2P, 2/4 3P, 5/5 FT) and Jaksic with 23 (9/11 2P, 1/2 3P, 2/2 FT). From the domestic contingent, Coulon added 9 on 3/3 2P, and Chaumont hit two timely threes. Elisa Thill (20, 1.80m) chipped in a late triple. Nibbelink (13 pts, 6/9 2P) was productive but fouled out in the closing minutes.
For Musel, Weber led with 22, while Destiny Samuel (25, 1.82m, USA) posted 15 and strung together four straight free throws around an unsportsmanlike foul on Rocana Burgund (21, 1.80m) in the third. Lesley Leches (20, 1.80m) and Julie Nilles (24, 1.78m) contributed inside.
Esch opens its qualification campaign at 1-0 and sits 5th. Musel drops to 0-2, two losses in a row, in 6th. Game flow: LAL led at every break (22-12, 41-29, 65-45), controlled the tempo after each Musel timeout, and closed it out without drama.
(AI generated)