Arantia Larochette turned an early nine-point deficit into a 68-53 road win over Basket Esch in the W-U14 Division 1 phase finale, moving up to 4th place (+1) while Esch stayed 6th.
Basket Esch, coached by Pierrette Birchen, started well and led 18-9 after the first quarter. Yara Tavares Dias struck early from long range, and Diana Costa de Sousa (13, PRT) gave the home side steady scoring as Esch built its best margin at the end of the opening period.
Pedro Nunes Jordao's team changed the rhythm in the second quarter. Arantia opened with a 6-0 run, then Emma Brunetti and Michele Elsen gradually erased the gap. After Esch still led 28-23, the visitors finished the half on a 7-1 stretch to go in front 30-29.
The decisive moment came in the third quarter. Esch briefly recovered the lead at 31-30 and was still close at 37-38, but Arantia answered with 10 unanswered points to open a 48-37 advantage. Elsen (Season PPG: 15.84) was the main figure in that swing and finished with a game-high 26 points, including Arantia's last 6 points. Jana Agnes (Season PPG: 13.84) added 17, Brunetti (Season PPG: 9.83) scored 14, and Mathilda Wurth (Season PPG: 12.58) contributed 7.
Esch kept pushing through Costa de Sousa (Season PPG: 14.95), who scored 15, while Tavares Dias added 12. Jana Lucius (Season PPG: 7.50) and captain Emma Muratovic (Season PPG: 12.58) both had 9. The hosts cut the margin to 10 in the fourth quarter, but could not fully break Arantia's control. Tavares Dias, already in foul trouble before halftime, fouled out late.
Arantia completed its fourth win over Basket Esch this season and now has back-to-back victories.
(AI generated)