Basket Esch, coached by Karim Elbaoune, produced a clear reversal against Arantia Larochette after losing the first two meetings of the season, including the 80-48 defeat in the phase finale. The standings did not change after this result, with Esch staying 5th and Arantia 6th, but the game itself was one-sided after the first few minutes.
Esch opened with a 13-0 run before Arantia answered with 10 straight points to get back to 13-10. That was the away side's best reaction phase. From there, LAL regained control and closed the first quarter ahead 34-20. The second quarter was decisive: after Arantia reduced the gap to 38-24, Esch answered with an 8-0 push and reached halftime at 53-29.
The third quarter removed any suspense. Emma Wallenborn (Season PPG: 10.74), the 16-year-old captain, finished key possessions and helped push the margin beyond 25 points. Arantia had some scoring bursts from Nora Hansen (Season PPG: 9.56) and Suellen Santos Cruz (Season PPG: 12.05), including back-to-back Hansen threes, but Esch always had an immediate response. Kim Ferron (Season PPG: 6.09) also scored 6 points in a row in the period.
The last quarter was completely controlled by the home team. After 93-53, Esch went on a 14-0 run and the lead peaked at 54 points.
Wallenborn led all scorers with 25, matched by strong support from Laure Valentin (Season PPG: 8.05) with 18, Alma Maria Eudier (Season PPG: 3.65) with 11, Petra Oroz (Season PPG: 3.74) with 9, and solid depth as Esch had six players in double figures and 11 scorers overall. LAL scored 33 two-pointers and 11 three-pointers.
For Arantia, Santos Cruz, 17, from Portugal, finished with 15, Hansen added 14, Sarah Nunes Birchen (Season PPG: 9.00) had 11, and Sara Ferreira Afonso (Season PPG: 6.46) also scored 11. Arantia stayed competitive mainly through perimeter shooting and free throws, but could not contain Esch's pace and scoring depth.
(AI generated)