Etzella Ettelbruck controlled Sparta Bertrange 59-45 at deichwisen/central in the W-U14 Division 1 Phase 2 championship round. The hosts opened with a clear 16-7 first quarter, built on early buckets from Inaya Melanie Babinyanga Bonyeme and Emma Klein, and two late finishes by captain Leni Kreins. Sparta answered in the second: a timely 8-0 run powered by Anaé Sacaze and Stéphanie Stoeva cut the gap from 24-11 to 24-19, and the visitors trailed just 25-21 at halftime.
After the break, Dragana Zoric's side reasserted itself. Klein pieced together consecutive scoring plays at the line and from the field, and the key swing came when Babinyanga Bonyeme drilled a three and added a layup for five in a row to make it 40-30. Etzella won the third 19-11 and led 44-32. In the fourth, Klein kept scoring, Eya Farhani added a basket, and Kreins delivered back-to-back field goals for 57-40. The highest lead reached +15 at 59-44 before the final free throw.
Top performers
- Etzella: Emma Klein (Season PPG: 16.71) led with 23 points; Leni Kreins (Season PPG: 8.80) added 14 and key third- and fourth-quarter baskets; Inaya Melanie Babinyanga Bonyeme (11, BEL) contributed 18 and a pivotal third-quarter burst.
- Sparta: Anaé Sacaze (Season PPG: 19.40) scored 18; Marie-Fleur Elisabeth Flechtner (12, DEU) and Camille Blau (Season PPG: 7.40) had 8 each; Stoeva added 5.
Laurent Cames' team briefly threatened around halftime but couldn't carry the momentum through Etzella's third-quarter response. In terms of trends and standings, Etzella snap back from a rough stretch and jumps to 3rd (1-1, +3 places), while Sparta slips to 5th (0-2, -1) and is now on a three-game losing run across their latest outings.
(AI generated)