The women's handball club Thüringer HC has ended the German league season with a sense of achievement. The team of Head Coach Herbert Müller beat HSG Bensheim/Auerbach 28:27 (13:16) on Saturday evening in the game for third place. Johanna Reichert and Dilayla Alarslan were the best scorers for THC, who had failed to beat HSG Blomberg-Lippe in the playoff semi-final, with five goals each in front of 978 spectators.
Both teams set a high tempo from the outset and scored ten goals in the first six minutes (5:5). The error rate then increased significantly, before Bensheim regained its rhythm in the final spell of the first half and produced a 6:0 run to turn a 10:11 deficit into a 16:11 lead.
After the break, the Thuringians improved in defense and were able to rely on the increasingly strong Reichert in offense, who put her team back in front for the first time at 26:25 in the 56th minute. Bensheim struck back with two goals in succession, but the THC still had an answer. Anna Szabo equalized to make it 27:27 before Julie Holm scored three seconds before the end to seal victory.