Fifth-placed Kordall Steelers won 57-43 away to fourth-placed Nitia Bettembourg in W-U14 Division 2: Phase finale, with no ranking change for either side. After losing the first two meetings this season, KDS controlled the key stretches this time.
NIT opened better and went up 8-4, mainly through Nadine Kabbah, but Julien Bordonne's team flipped the game with a 12-0 run to close the first quarter at 16-10. In that spell, 12-year-old Italian Lea Njia Nouemsi quickly established herself near the basket.
The second quarter stayed competitive for a while. NIT twice reduced the gap to six, but KDS answered each time and pushed the margin to 28-15 before taking a 30-21 lead into halftime. Kordall's interior game was the clear difference.
The decisive passage came after the break. From 30-21, KDS surged to 40-23, a 10-2 sequence led by Esperanza Beatrice Demeusy Rotolo (Season PPG: 7.00) and captain Sybélia Schmitz (Season PPG: 5.36). The lead reached its highest point at 19, 42-23. NIT answered through Chiara Annie Jeanne Terazzi, Kabbah and Adèle Schmidt, but still trailed 45-31 after three quarters.
Arnaud Pyee's side made one last push in the fourth. NIT cut the deficit from 47-31 to 49-41, with Tonia Rodesch (Season PPG: 6.60) scoring 6 points in that comeback phase. KDS then replied with an 8-2 finish to secure the game.
Nouemsi (Season PPG: 13.93) led KDS with 16 points despite 3 fouls. Demeusy Rotolo added 13, including 7 in the third quarter, while Schmitz hit 10 and matched her season best. Ema Babacic (Season PPG: 17.13) added 8.
For NIT, captain Terazzi (Season PPG: 12.69) scored 11, Kabbah (Season PPG: 5.20) had 10, Schmidt (Season PPG: 5.71) finished with 8, and Rodesch added 6.
Both teams played almost entirely inside: KDS scored 56 of 57 points on 2-pointers, NIT 42 of 43, and neither side made a 3-pointer. Kordall is now on a two-game winning run after a long losing stretch, while Nitia has lost three in a row.
(AI generated)