Round 13
By Orli Klinger
YES Ramat Hasharon 91 - Maccabi Ramat Hen 85 (OT)
The 3rd meeting in 10 days and 4th in the season was the most exciting.
Ramat Hen's X factor, Mariana Raguz, was in the game for only one quarter,
which really hurt the visitors who could only count on Simone Edwards in the
closing minutes. Limor Mizrachi and Tracy Reid had quiet nights for Ramat
Hasharon, but when you have no less than six players who can score 20 on a
given night, you manage.
Ramat Hasharon led 3-0 at the start, but Ramat Hen replied with an 8-0 run.
Eight straight points by Raguz and a basket by Monika Kovac gave Ramat Hen a
21-16 lead with about 2 minutes to play in the 1st. A 3pointer by Tal Salz
increased the lead to 6, but Gulsah Akkaya answered with one of her own.
Vicky Hall sealed the fast paced quarter with a buzzer beating 3, giving
Ramat Hen a 29-25 lead.
Ramat Hen started well in the 2nd quarter too, and built a 34-25 lead. Hall
gave them their biggest league of the game at 39-29 as Ramat Hasharon was
stuck on 4 points in 5 minutes. Ina Gourevitch and Lidiya Varbanova ended
the local drought and began cutting into the lead. A bunch of Ramat Hen
mistakes in the last 20 seconds shrinked the gap to just 43-41 at the half.
Varbanova and Reid led the locals with 10 pts each. Hall scored 16 for Ramat
Hen while Mariana Raguz was still with the 10 she scored in the 1st quarter.
Simone Edwards had just 6 pts.
Ramat Hen got off to another good start in the 3rd, but again ended it
badly. A 3pointer by Rivi Grinboim who decided to show up made it 52-43, and
5 hard fought points by Edwards ended a 14-4 run which gave Ramat Hen a
57-45 lead, its largest of the game. Good minutes by Rhonda Mapp and Akkaya
helped Ramat Hasharon tie the game, and Simone Edwards hit a late jumper to
keep Ramat Hen ahead 61-59 after three.
Raguz lost her confidence after bricking the few shots she took since her
hot start, and Vicky Hall began to fade also as Ramat Hasharon took
advantage of Ramat Hen's turnovers to grab the momentum. A 3 point play by
Varbanova completed an 11-2 run and gave Ramat Hasharon a 70-63 lead. A
weird foul by Gourevitch sent Grinboim to the line for 3 shots, and she sank
them to give Ramat Hen some life, trailing 68-72. Edwards wasn't willing to
give up and scored 4 straight to give her team a 75-74 lead with 2:30 to go.
Akkaya replied with a tough 3 point play, drawing a 5th foul from Grinboim
who saved Ramat Hen from quite a few losses this season. Another Akkaya hoop
gave the locals a 4 point lead, but a basket by Edwards, 2 FTs by Salz and a
turnover by Mapp gave Ramat Hen the ball down 77-79 with 23 seconds to play
in regulation. Edwards found Hall for a lay-up with 9 tics on the clock,
Limor Mizrachi missed a jumper on the other end and the game went into OT.
The teams traded baskets early on until an assist from Mapp to Varbanova
opened an 89-85 gap with 2 minutes to play. Edwards, who was great in the
2nd half, wasn't getting much help and Ramat Hen's offense seemed stuck.
Mizrachi sank a big J to make it 91-85 with a minute to play, Hall drew a
5th foul from Varbanova but missed twice and sealed the deal. Actually,
maybe just sealed the act. The 3rd regular season game will be held in Ramat
Hen and the teams seem to be headed for another meeting in the playoff semi
finals. It's gonna be hot.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Lidiya Varbanova - 23 pts (10/13 FGs), 8 rebs.
Gulsah Akkaya - 20 pts (6/7 2pt FGs, 1/5 3pt FGs), 4 rebs.
Rhonda Mapp - 15 pts, 5 rebs.
Ina Gourevitch - 15 pts, 7 rebs, 3 ast & 5 TOs.
Tracy Reid - 12 pts, 9 rebs.
Limor Mizrachi - 6 pts, 6 rebs, 7 ast.
For Ramat Hen:
Simone Edwards - 27 pts (10/21 FGs, 7/9 FTs), 11 rebs, 3 ast.
Vicky Hall - 24 pts (8/18 2pt FGs, 2/2 3pt FGs, 2/4 FTs), 12 rebs.
Mariana Raguz - 11 pts (4/12 FGs).
Rivi Grinboim 10 pts, Tal Salz 7 pts.
Monika Kovac - 6 pts, 11 ast & 5 TOs.
Elizur Ramla 80 - Maccabi Ashdod 63
The meeting between the 1st and last teams was closer than expected, but
Ramla proved again to be a 2nd half team. Ashdod started out great and used
a good shooting day to lead 22-19 after 1. Jackie Moore scored 4 straight to
give Ramla it's first lead, but Valerie Muoneke took it right back with a 3.
A buzzer beating 3 by Jackie Johnson gave Ramla a 37-36 lead at the half.
Ashdod managed to break even on the boards and didn't get to the FT line
once in comparison to Ramla's 11.
The 3rd quarter was all Ramla as they went on a 22-12 run. Another buzzer
beating 3 by Johnson made it 59-48 after 3. The gap kept growing in the 4th,
and reached 76-57 with 2 minutes to play. In the closing moments Loda Rom
finally got her points of the season, and Kenya Larkin squeezed in a couple
more moves to cut the lead to just 13.
For Ramla:
Amber Hall - 17 pts, 18 rebs & 6 steals.
Jackie Moore - 16 pts (7/12 FGs), 7 rebs.
Jackie Johnson - 16 pts, 7 rebs.
Ornit Shwartz - 12 pts.
For Ashdod:
Kenya Larkin - 19 pts (8/20 FGs).
Vika Rudovski - 15 pts.
Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 87 - Maccabi Raanana 83
Raanana scored a season high 83 points, but gave up 4 more in a game that
could have serious implications on the race for the 4th playoff ticket.
For Haifa:
Jamie Lewis - 23 points (8/12 FGs, 7/9 FTs) & 8 rebs in he best game of the
season.
Lili Latinovic - 23 pts (3/4 2pt FGs, 3/3 3pt FGs, 8/10 FTs).
Aleksandra Music 15 pts, Adi Kindler 14 pts.
LaNisha Cartwell - 8 points and 8 rebounds in 18 minutes in a successful
debut.
For Raanana:
Edwina Brown - 27 pts (9/18 FGs, 9/11 FGs), 5 steals.
Snjeana Vasich 19 pts, Nomi Kolodny 16 pts.
Bnei Yehuda 76 - Elizur Holon 59
Holon couldn't build on the momentum from the Ramat Hen win.
For Bnei Yehuda:
Tawona Alhaleem - 24 pts, 7 rebs, 4 ast.
Goni Tanhelson - 15 pts (5/8 3pt FGs), 3 steals.
Dragoslava Zakula 13 pts, Leslie Johnson 11 pts.
For Holon:
Octavia Blue - 19 pts, 5 rebs.
Yulia Rozova - 15 pts, 6 rebs.
Round 13's MVP: Lidiya Varbanova
Varbanova set two season highs of 23 points and 8 rebounds in a great game
against Ramat Hen. She made 77% of her shots and punished Ramat Hen every
time they gave her an inch and half of space to shoot.
Round 13's First Team:
Lili Latinovic - another great game by Haifa/Motzkin's point guard with 23
points on 85% shooting.
Gulsah Akkaya - it started with the first shot that hit nothing but net from
behind the arc, and continued with a big 3 point play at crunch time. Akkaya
finished her best game of the season with 20 points.
Jamie Lewis - the rumors about replacing her didn't seem to bother Lewis as
she finished with 23 points and 8 rebounds in Haifa/Motzkin's victory over
Raanana.
Simone Edwards - not many players make our first team without getting a W,
Edwards is actually only the 3rd, and those before her also made it after
losing to Ramat Hasharon. With 27 points, 11 rebs and lots of heart, Simone
left it all on the court.
Lidiya Varbanova - the most consistent shooting touch in the league this
side of Latinovic.
Just missed: Amber Hall, Jackie Moore, Tawona Alhaleem, Edwina Brown.
Round 13's Bust Team:
Juana Brown - only 3 points on 1 for 8 shooting in the loss to Bnei Yehuda.
Mariana Raguz - 27 years old, 5'11, long brown hair, was last seen wearing a
blue #12 Ramat Hen jersey during the first quarter of the game in Ramat
Hasharon. Anyone who has details on her whereabouts is asked to contact Eli
Rabi immediately.
Rinat Zalts-Levin - went scoreless in 26 minutes against Raanana.
Tatum Brown - A very weak showing for Raanana's post, who wasn't even
allowed into the locker room at the half by coach Dani Nachminovic. Fouled
out in 14 minutes and finished with 5 points.
Elena Minaeva - another less than mediocre performance for Holon's center
with 8 points in 31 minutes.
The Standings:
1. Ramla 11-2
2. Ramat Hen 9-3
3. Ramat Hasharon 8-5
4. Haifa/Motzkin 6-7
5. Raanana 6-7
6. Bnei Yehuda 6-7
7. Holon 3-10
8. Ashdod 3-10
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.