Second-placed Musel Pikes escaped with a 58-57 win at fourth-placed Les Sangliers Wooltz in a very close Phase finale game. It was Musel's third straight win, while Wooltz fell for the third time in a row.
Musel started better at 4-0, but Wooltz settled quickly. Lena Hodzic and Lou-Andréa Foutey Fonkam helped turn the rhythm, and SAN closed the first quarter on a 10-4 spell for a 21-16 lead. In the second period, Musel answered with an 8-0 run, moving from 19-25 to 27-25 behind Hannah Curridor, Lisa Kleuls and Léa Muacho. Wooltz reacted again before the break and went into halftime up 40-37.
Emma Marie Broermann's team then produced its best stretch in the third quarter. Wooltz pushed the margin to 52-41, its highest lead, with Hodzic, Chiara Giorgio and Célia Abessolo Minane leading the scoring. Musel stayed in contact through Julie Kayser and Sophie Beffort Neuman and cut the gap to 56-49 after three quarters.
The decisive moment came in the last period. Musel scored 9 unanswered points, flipping 49-56 into 58-56. Wooltz managed only one point in the quarter, a free throw by Giorgio, 15, Italian. Marc Hahnemann's side then held on, even with Curridor (Season PPG: 14.36) fouling out late after scoring 14.
For Wooltz, Hodzic (Season PPG: 11.09) finished with 19, Giorgio added 11, Foutey Fonkam (Season PPG: 7.18) had 10, and Abessolo Minane (Season PPG: 21.09) scored 9. For Musel, Curridor set the tone with 14, while Nanda Kleuls (Season PPG: 13.54) scored 8. Kayser (Season PPG: 4.69), Lisa Kleuls (Season PPG: 5.17), Muacho (Season PPG: 5.71) and Beffort Neuman (Season PPG: 7.78) all had 6 or more and gave balance to the comeback.
(AI generated)