Round 15
By Lior Klinger
Before we get to the actual games, I have some bad news. YES Ramat Hasharon
announced today that the team is quitting the Euro Cup after 11 years of
taking part in FIBA competition. Maccabi Ramat Hen quit a couple of weeks
ago due to financial reasons. This leaves Israel with no teams in European
competition.
Ramat Hasharon requested FIBA's permission to add Limor Mizrachi to its
roster under special circumstances, and after being denied, they pulled out
of the cup. The circumstances are that Mizrachi only joined the team because
team captain Aluma Goren recently underwent an operation for a benign growth
in her head. As a result of the operation Goren lost her sight in one eye.
Under FIBA rules a club can only register two new players during the season.
Ramat Hasharon had already added Tracy Reid and Ronda Mapp, so FIBA
refuesed.
In the past there have been quite a few precedents in which teams were
allowed to register more than two players, but this time for some obscure
reason FIBA insisted to go by the book. If having your starting point guard
and team captain diagnosed with a brain tumour so unexpcetedly and
tragically does not qualify as "special circumstances", I don't know what
does.
Elizur Ramla 65 - Maccabi Raanana 63
Raanana loses yet another nail biter, though this time not quite at the
buzzer. Ramla's defense came up with the big plays in the end, getting some
help from the visitors who committed two critical turnovers.
Raanana dictated the pace in the 1st half, leading 16-13 after one. A nice
assist by Nili Natho to Tatum Brown made it 27-21 with 4:30 to go in the
half. Coach Tal Natan didn't hide his displeasure picking up a technical
foul, and his team responded with an 8-2 run. With 2:15 left in the half it
was just a two point lead, and Raanana led 35-31 at the break.
Raanana's defense continued to set the tone in the 3rd as well, as Natho
drilled a three to increase the lead to 44-37, 5 minutes into the quarter.
Natasha Branchikova picked up her 6th point out of Ramla's 9 to make it a
44-40 deficit. Amber Hall then scored off an offensive rebound and Liron
Cohen connected on a jumper to tie the game. After 3 it was still tied at
46.
All injured Jaclyn Johnson could do was watch from the sidelines as the
game's closing minutes were approaching, as did Alicia Thompson - her
temporary replacement who was still in street clothes. Tynesha Lewis was
sitting besides them, as a very interested spectator. Meanwhile on the court
Liron Cohen raised the roof with a 3pointer, giving Ramla it's first lead in
the 2nd half at 49-46. At the other end it was Edwina Brown who drove the
lane at every possible chance, despite facing one of the league's top
defenders, if not the best, in Amber Hall. She scored 7 straight points to
give Raanana the lead back at 53-49, with under 6 minutes remaining. Jackie
Moore decided to join the party with a big 3pt play to cut it to one, but
Edwina Brown who simply took over the game answered right back with a 3pt
play of her own.
With 2:30 to go, Ramla trailed 60-57. Liron Cohen hit another big 3 to tie
it, but the opposing PG Snjeana Vasic hushed the crowed with a 3pt play at
the other end, making it 63-60. Amber Hall cut it to one with 45 seconds to
play, and added another block on Edwina Brown. With 14 seconds to go Hall
was fouled, and even made the tough shot but the refs waved it off. At the
free throw line, Hall made the first and missed the second. Vasic got the
rebound, and as she was being forced out of bounds she tried to save the
ball, but it found its way to a waiting Amber Hall right under the basket.
Down by two Raanana still had 8 seconds to try to score, but Kolodny turned
it over with a bad pass.
For Ramla:
Amber Hall: 23 pts (6/18 FGs, 11/16 FTs), 19 rebs, 8 blocks (!), 4 steals, 7
TOs
Liron Cohen: 13 pts (2/3 2pt FGs, 3/9 3pt FGs), 2 assts
Ornit Shwartz: 11 pts (3/9 FGs), 7 rebs
Natasha Branchikova: 8 pts (4/12 FGs), 5 rebs
Jackie Moore: 7 pts (3/9 FGs), 1 board
For Raanana:
Edwina Brown: 26 pts (9/22 FGs, 8/9 FTs), 5 rebs, 4 steals
Snjeana Vasic: 12 pts (3/5 FGs, 5/5 FTs), 4 rebs, 7 TOs
Tatum Brown: 8 pts (3/5 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 2 rebs, 5 fouls
Nili Natho: 7 pts (3/7 FGs)
Sharon Zeevi: 4 pts (2/8 FGs)
Nomi Kolodny: 4 pts, 2 assts, 3 steals, 1 TO
YES Ramat Hasharon 96 - Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 84
Ramat Hasharon rallied back from a 12-point deficit in the 3rd quarter to a
96-84 victory over the shorthanded Haifa/Motzkin who was without Jamie
Lewis.
Haifa/Motzkin started out well jumping to a 16-5 lead. Yelena Mustafina from
beyond the arch and Lili Latinovic slashing the lane abused the local
defense, as foul plagued LaNisha Cartwell and injured Jamie Lewis watched
from the bench.
Haifa/Motzkin led 45-35 at the half, with six threes and 5 steals.
Six straight points by Cartwell put the visitors up 52-40, but from that
point on Ramat Hasharon slowly but surely started to come back. Gulsah
Akkaya hit a 3 to give Ramat Hasharon the lead in the closing moments of the
3rd. Ina Gourevitch and Lidiya Varbanova led the way to start the 4th as
Ramat Hasharon led 74-66, but Haifa/Motzkin wasn't willing to give up and
cut it to 74-70. Ramat Hasharon again built an eight point lead, which later
became 12, as they capitalized on almost every possession.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Ina Gourevitch: 28 pts (20 in the 2nd half, 9/14 FGs, 10/12 FTs), 4 rebs, 3
steals
Lidiya Varbanova: 22 pts (18 in the 2nd half, 10/14 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 6 rebs, 3
assts
Gulsah Akkaya: 14 pts (5/8 FGs, 3/5 FTs), 7 rebs, 5 assts
Rhonda Mapp: 11 pts (5/10 FGs, 1/2 FTs), 7 rebs, 6 assts
Tracy Reid: 10 pts (3/8 FGs, 4/5 FTs), 11 rebs
Limor Mizrachi: 8 pts (3/7), 8 assts
For Haifa/Motzkin:
Yelena Mustafina: 20 pts (4/5 2pt FGs, 4/10 3pt FGs)
LaNisha Cartwell: 18 pts (9/13), 3 rebs
Aleksandra Music: 12 pts (5/10 FGs, 2/4 FTs), 4 rebs, 3 assts
Lili Latinovic: 12 pts (4/9 FGs, 2/3 FTs), 10 assts, 3 steals
Rinat Zaltz-Levin: 9 pts (3/9 FGs. 2/4 FTs), 5 assts, 5 rebs
Bnei Yehuda 75 - Elizur Holon 74
With one second left in the game Tawona Alhaleem made a huge 3pt play to
clinch the win for Bnei Yehuda.
For Bnei Yehuda:
Tawona Alhaleem: 30 pts (8/15 FGs, 14/16 FTs), 8 rebs, 6 steals
Leslie Johnson: 16 pts (6/10 FGs, 4/5 FTs), 5 rebs
Dargoslava Zakula: 15 pts (7/10 FGs, 1/4 FTs), 4 rebs
Ina Boutenko: 10 pts (3/4 3pt FGs, 2/2 FTs), 4 steals
For Holon:
Octavia Blue: 30 pts (12/22 FGs, 4/6 FTs), 5 rebs
Elena Minaeva: 16 pts (5/7 FGs, 6/7 FTs), 13 rebs
Tali Klain: 9 pts (3/9)
Hen Shtain: 8 pts (2/7 FGs, 2/2 FTs)
Maccabi Ramat Hen 99 - Maccabi Ashdod 62
Ramat Hen took advantage of Ashdod's visit to snap out of their recent
slump. At the half they led just 43-35, but made a 31-10 run in the 3rd
quarter to open a 29 point gap which kept on growing.
For Ramat Hen:
Vicky Hall: 23 pts (10/13 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 8 rebs
Simone Edwards: 22 pts (9/17 FGs, 4/6 FTs), 15 rebs
Rivi Grinboym: 18 pts (2/2 2pt FGs, 4/6 3pt FGs, 4/4 FTs), 4 rebs
Marianna Raguz: 18 pts (7/10 FGs)
Sivan Balalis: 8 pts (3/5 FGs)
For Ashdod:
Kenya Larkin: 16 pts (5/13 FGs. 4/4 FTs)
Oksana Dovgalyuk: 10 pts (3/5 FGs, 4/6 FTs)
Crystal Givens: 10 pts (5/8), 4 rebs
Sarit Arbel: 9 pts (4/7 FGs, 1/2 FTs)
Valerie Muoneke: 8 pts (4/13 FGs), 11 rebs
Round 15's MVP: Amber Hall
The heart & soul of Ramla scored 23 points, collected 19 rebounds and
rejected 8 (count'em!) shots. Hall was all over the place; determined not to
let her team lose. She got the winning hoop with 8 seconds to go.
Round 15's First Team:
Ina Gourevitch - Scored 20 of her 28 points in the 2nd half, helping Ramat
Hasharon turn a 12 point deficit to a 12 point victory.
Edwina Brown - Brown was Raanana's go to player in clutch time, penetrating
the lane as if Ramla's bigs weren't there. She finished with 26 pts, 5
boards and 4 assists.
Tawona Alhaleem - With every round that passes, Alhaleem is proving herself
to be one of the best scorers to ever play here. She rapped up another 30
point outing with a game winning 'and 1'.
Octavia Blue - She's all Holon's got, and with 30 points she nearly pulled
off a major upset in Bnei Yehuda.
Round 15's All bust team:
Jackie Moore - Wasn't a factor in the game versus Raanana, getting just 7
pts and one rebound.
Tatum Brown - Looks like she's making herself at home on the bust team...
This time she fouled out with over 5 minutes left in the game, leaving with
8 pts and 2 rebs.
Valerie Muoneke - Her 8 points on low percentages were just a part of
Ashdod's problems in Ramat Hen.
Vika Rudovski - Only 5 points for Vika, everybody knows she can do better.
The Standings:
Elizur Ramla 13-2
Maccabi Ramat Hen 10-5
YES Ramat Hasharon 10-5
Bnei Yehuda 8-7
Maccabi Raanana 6-9
Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 6-9
Maccabi Ashdod 4-11
Elizur Holon 3-12
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.