In the W-U16 Division 1 phase finale, 5th-ranked Résidence Walferdange defeated 6th-ranked Sparta Bertrange 58-49 and took their second win in a row against Sparta this season. Christophe Fiegen's team also snapped a four-game losing streak, while Patrick Roilgen's side suffered a ninth straight defeat.
Walferdange set the tone early. After Hanna Rotink put Sparta in front 5-4, RES answered well and moved to 16-9, with Caroline Charles (Season PPG: 16.06) and captain Jill Stoltz (Season PPG: 16.78) giving the home side scoring punch. Sparta recovered late in the first quarter, mainly through Rotink (Season PPG: 15.47), to close it to 18-15.
The second quarter was defensive and low-scoring. Kyra Schanck scored quickly for 20-15, then picked up two fouls in short sequence, but Walferdange still controlled the period. Maella Faye, the 14-year-old French forward (Season PPG: 10.83), and Isabella Burman (Season PPG: 3.00) helped RES reach halftime with a 26-20 lead.
The key tension came in the third quarter. Charles opened with a three for a 29-20 lead, but Sparta answered with a 9-0 run to tie the game at 29-29. Anaé Sacaze (Season PPG: 4.09) then scored 6 points in a row, including the three that gave Sparta its only second-half lead at 32-31. Walferdange reacted immediately: Faye produced 5 straight points, and Stoltz finished the quarter strongly for 42-37.
RES then created the decisive gap in the fourth. Bintz, Stoltz and Charles pushed the margin to 49-39, then up to a game-high 15 points at 58-43. Sparta finished with the last 6 points through captain Lilly Engels (Season PPG: 10.71) and Rotink, but Walferdange had already done the main work.
Top scorers were Charles and Stoltz with 17 each for RES, Faye adding 12. For Sparta, Rotink had 15 and Engels 13.
(AI generated)