Round 14
By Lior Klinger
Ramat Hasharon survived to win by 1 in Raanana, and Bnei Yehuda got an
important win at Ramat Hen, also by 1. Ashdod beat Haifa/Motzkin and pushed
Holon to the bottom of the standings.
Maccabi Raanana 59 - YES Ramat Hasharon 60
Following a horrific 1st quarter, Raanana recovered and seemed capable of an
upset. They dictated the tempo, got a big contribution from Nili Natho and a
chance to go up by 2 with 18 seconds to play. But, Edwina Brown made just 1
of 2 from the line, Raanana failed to use its foul to give and watched Limor
Mizrachi nail the winning shot at the buzzer.
Tracy Reid & Lidiya Varbanova led the way for Ramat Hasharon early on.
Edwina Brown got her team's first basket with almost 6 minutes gone by.
Raanana struggled to get a normal shot off and trailed 17-6 after 1.
In the 2nd the locals resorted to a 3pt shootout against the zone. Ramat
Hasharon maintained it's double figure lead but Natho swished 3 threes (out
of the team's five) to keep her team in it. At the half it was just 34-27 in
favor of the visitors.
Raanana's momentum carried on to the 3rd, as Edwina Brown scored on a 1-on-3
fastbreak to give her team its 1st lead of the game, 39-37 with 4 minutes
left in the quarter. From that point on no team led by more than 3. Raanana
slowed down Varbanova and Ramat Hasharon was settling for outside shots.
Four consecutive points by Tracy Reid gave Ramat Hasharon the lead back,
47-46 after 3.
The game stayed close in the 4th as well. With the score tied at 58 with 2
minutes to go Raanana fouled Mizrachi. The shot somehow went in but the ref
waved it off despite Ramat Hasharon's pleads. They ended up with an inbound
and a missed three. Edwina Brown was sent to the line with a minute to play,
but missed the 2nd. On the other end Rhonda Mapp turned it over, but Raanana
didn't get a shot off on its next possession - leaving Ramat Hasharon with
one last chance. A chance Mizrachi grabbed with both hands. The locals had a
foul to give but didn't use it. Mizrachi missed a shot but the rebound came
back to her and this time it was nothing but net from 18 feet away.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Lidiya Varbanova: 17 pts (8/12 FGs), 4 rebs
Limor Mizrachi: 13 pts (2/3 2pt FGs, 3/7 3pt FGs), 6 assts
Tracy Reid: 13 pts (6/13 FGs, 1/4 FTs), 7 rebs
Gulsah Akkaya: 7 pts (2/7 FGs. 2/2 FTs), 4 rebs
Rhonda Mapp: 5 pts (1/2 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 4 rebs
For Raanana:
Edwina Brown: 21 pts (10/19 FGs, 1/2 FTs), 7 rebs, 3 steals
Nili Natho: 16 pts (5/8 3pt FGs)
Tatum Brown: 7 pts (2/7 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 9 rebs
Sharon Zeevi: 7 pts (3/7 FGs), 5 rebs
Maccabi Ramat Hen 69 - Bnei Yehuda 70
Ramat Hen couldn't end its losing streak vs. the fighting Bnei Yehuda. After
a close and quite sloppy game by both teams, Monika Kovac had a chance to
send it to overtime at the line with 2.3 left. She missed the 2nd shot,
Vicky Hall got the rebound but the refs did not call the obvious foul as
time ran out.
Ramat Hen led 17-16 after one, as Marianna Raguz scored 5 pts. Ina Boutenko
hit 2 threes to help make up for Tawona Alhaleem's 1 for 5 shooting.
In the 2nd Ramat Hen turned a 20-19 deficit into a 28-20 cushion. They later
led 39-28, but Dragoslava Zakula made a 3pt play to spark a run. Alhaleem
followed with two consecutive 3pt plays of her own, and Bnei Yehuda was only
down 39-37. At the half it was tied at 41, as Ramat Hen again managed to let
a good lead go down the drain at the end of a quarter. With 12 points in the
quarter Alhaleem led the way with 14 pts. Vicky Hall had 12 for the locals.
In the 3rd things were still close, as the lead kept changing sides. Bnei
Yehuda led 56-55 going into the 4th. It seemed as if Ramat Hen was already
worrying about the possibility of yet another loss and Bnei Yehuda was
playing loose with nothing to lose.
Simone Edwards knocked down a 3 to give Ramat Hen the lead it lost somewhere
in the 3rd, 64-62, with 6 minutes to go. Those were her only points in the
2nd half. A sweet move by Raguz made it 66-62 with 5:30 to play, but four
minutes later it was 70-68 in favor of the visitors.
With 55 seconds to play Simone got a steal but passed it right back to
Zakula. Alhaleem then missed right under the basket and Hall failed to
connect on the other end. Time was winding down and Ramat Hen was not using
its foul to give but Bnei Yehuda threw the ball away with 12 seconds to
play. However, they still had 2 fouls to give. Zakula committed three,
sending Kovac to the line and herself to the bench with the 3rd one. The
ending you already know, 1/2 for Kovac, no call by the refs.
For Bnei Yehuda:
Tawona Alhaleem: 23 pts (7/15 FGs, 8/8 FTs), 3 rebs
Leslie Johnson: 18 pts (8/11 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 10 rebs
Ina Boutenko: 12 pts (4/7 3pt FGs)
Goni Tanchelson: 8 pts (3/9 FGs)
Dragoslava Zakula: 5 pts (2/5 FGs, 1/1 FT)
For Ramat Hen:
Vicky Hall: 21 pts (8/13 FGs, 5/6 FTs), 12 rebs
Marianna Raguz: 14 pts (6/9 FGs, 1/1 FT)
Rivi Grinboym: 10 pts (3/7 FGs, 4/4 FTs), 5 rebs, 3 assts
Simone Edwards: 9 pts (4/8 FGs, 0/4 FTs), 10 rebs
Maccabi Ashdod 85 - Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 79
Ashdod escaped from the last place with a great game by Crystal Givens. A
critical turnover by Orly Kesten and clutch free throws by Givens sealed the
deal for Ashdod.
For Ashdod:
Crystal Givens: 25 pts (9/15 FGs, 7/7 FTs), 12 rebs, 5 assts, 2 blocks
Valerie Muoneke: 23 pts (10/16 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 7 rebs, 4 assts, 3 steals
Oksana Dovgalyuk: 12 pts (4/6 FGs, 4/6 FTs)
Kenya Larkin: 11 pts (3/4 3pt FGs, 2/4 FTs - scored all of her points in the
2nd half), 4 assts
Sarit Arbel: 8 pts (4/6), 3 assts, 3 steals
For Haifa/Motzkin:
Jamie Lewis: 26 pts (12/15 FGs, 2/3 FTs), 9 rebs
Lili Latinovic: 15 pts (5/5 FGs, 4/6 FTs), 6 assts, 4 rebs
LaNisha Cartwell: 11 pts (5/8 FGs, 1/1 FTs), 3 assts
Aleksandra Music: 11 pts (5/8 FGs, 1/2 FTs)
Elizur Holon 71 - Elizur Ramla 87
Holon falls to last place for the first time in club history.
For Ramla: Amber Hall 20 pts, Jackie Johnson 13 pts
For Holon: Octavia Blue 16 pts, Elena Maneieva 12 pts
Round 14 MVP: Crystal Givens
Dominated the game vs. Haifa/Motzkin - was too strong for Rinat Zaltz-Levin,
too fast for Jamie Lewis and too athletic for any opposing defender who
tried to stop her. Givens finished with 25 pts, 12 boards, 5 assists and 2
rejections.
Round 14's 1st team:
Limor Mizrachi - Ramat Hasharon has yet to lose since Limor joined, and it's
no coincidence. She had 13 pts, 6 assists and of course the game winner at
the buzzer.
Tawona Alhaleem - 23 pts on great shooting for Bnei Yehuda's #1 scorer in a
win that puts them right back in the playoff picture.
Crystal Givens - Outstanding game, but it's a shame it only happens once a
month.
Leslie Johnson - With 18 pts and 10 rebounds, Johnson had her way against
Simone Edwards.
Valerie Muoneke - Ashdod's center collected 23 pts, 7 boards, 4 assts and 3 steals
in the win that lifted Ashdod from last place.
Round 14's All Bust team:
Snjeana Vasic - Three points in 13 minutes is not what you'd expect to get
from a Bosman player.
Monika Kovac - Missed a crucial free throw that would've sent the game to
overtime, finished with 3 points.
Tatum Brown - Another quiet outing, seven points on 2 for 7 from the field.
Simone Edwards - First time for Simone on our bust team, didn't match up
well with Leslie Johnson and went 0 for 4 from the line.
Rhonda Mapp - Wasn't a factor in the game at Raanana despite the fact nobody
there can guard her.
Comeback player of the round: Nili Natho
Had a season high 16 points (hit 5 threes) in her best game this season
after being out with an injury or benched for an extended period of time.
The Standings:
1. Elizur Ramla 12-2
2. Maccabi Ramat Hen 9-5
3. YES Ramat Hasharon 9-5
4. Bnei Yehuda 7-7
5. Maccabi Raanana 6-8
6. Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 6-8
7. Maccabi Ashdod 4-10
8. Elizur Holon 3-11
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.