Round 17
By Lior Klinger
Before we get to round 17, I would like to take this opportunity to direct your attention to a magazine featuring a cover story on one of the foreigners that had a huge impact on the Israeli league. I'm of course talking about Vickie Johnson who's gracing the cover of the Jan/Feb issue of Women's Basketball Magazine (wbmagazine.com). VJ played in Israel for four seasons, winning the Israeli Championship, Israeli cup and making it to the Ronchetti Cup final with Ramat Hasharon in a breakthrough season for women's basketball in Israel. Maybe you'd like to check it out.
Ramat Hasharon 85 - Elizur Ramla 76
Ramat Hasharon had 4 players score 16 pts or more in a terrific game. They
took charge early and managed to hold on till the end.
Alicia Thompson was first out of the blocks, scoring 7 of her team's first 9
points as Ramla held a 9-7 edge, with 6 minutes left in the first. Limor
Mizrachi gave the locals their first lead and Ina Gourevitch increased it
with a long-range bomb of her own to make it 17-12. After one Ramat Hasharon
led 19-16.
Ornit Shwartz tied the game with her 2nd 3pt-pointer of the game, but Tracy
Reid was quick to reply with a steal and a lay-up. Gourevitch ended the 11-2
local run from the line, and Ramat Hasharon led 30-21, with 6 minutes left
in the half. Ramla came back to its senses with a drive by Tynesha Lewis and
points courtesy of Thompson and Shwartz but Ramat Hasharon kept pushing.
Mizrachi with a 3pt play made it 40-30, and Amber Hall added 2 free throws
to set the halftime score at 40-32.
Gourevitch had 10 pts to lead Ramat Hasharon, Mizrachi and Lidiya Varbanova
had 8 each and Tracy Reid had 7. Things were going smoothly for Orna
Ostfeld's bunch, as they were frustrating Ramla's defense. Thompson stood
out with 11 points for the visitors, Shwartz added 9. But, in the first
meeting between these two clubs at Ramat Hasharon, Ramla was down 10 at the
break and ended up winning.
In the 3rd, 5 straight points by Liron Cohen brought some life back to the
Ramla, but Varbanova increased it to 46-39 two minutes into the quarter.
Ramat Hasharon found an answer for each Ramla move, preventing them from
building momentum. Mizrachi was dishing assists left and right, one of them
finding Tracy Reid who made it 53-44. With under 3 minutes to play in the
3rd, Tali Noy connected from beyond the arc and suddenly the gap was just
four, 57-53. Two turnovers later, Mizrachi found Reid with a full court pass
for an easy hoop. After 3 the lead was eight again, 63-55.
Amber Hall started the 4th with an 'and 1', and Thompson put back her missed
free throw in a 4pt Ramla play. But, Mizrachi from the line and Gourevitch
with a 3 made it 68-59, showing they weren't about to start getting
comfortable with the lead. Ramla was still down 9 with 5 minutes to play,
but Lewis hit a J, stepping on the 3pt line, and Ramat Hasharon was called
for a charge. Amber Hall added 2 more pts from the line and it was just a
74-67 game. Ramla then finally got a key stop, but Shwartz's 3 went in &
out. Reid got the rebound and Mizrachi buried a huge three to push it back
to 10. In the final 3 minutes Ramla tried to press but it didn't work, Ramat
Hasharon held on to the win.
Picking the MVP in Ramat Hasharon was not easy, as each player left
everything on the floor. It was clear which team wanted the win more. Ramla
is still in first place and will almost certainly stay there for the rest of
the season. That's pretty comforting for them, but they can take a lot of
food for thought from this game. Aside from the professional aspect, it is
about time somebody talks to their fans who yet again chanted swears at
Ramat Hasharon. It happens every single time these teams play, but that
doesn't make it right. I for one don't understand why the coach or the
Israeli players continue to look away and not say a word. Ramla's got
hardcore, loyal fans who stick behind their team 110%, but don't be a
hypocrite and enjoy the support while pretending not to hear your fans abuse
Ramat Hasharon's players (including the Israeli NT captain) and coach.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Ina Gourevitch - 19 pts (4/6 FGs, 9/10 FTs), 5 rebs, 4 assts
Tracy Reid - 17 pts (8/16 FGs, 1/6 FTs), 7 rebs
Limor Mizrachi - 16 pts (5/12 FGs, 3/3 FTs), 10 assts, 6 rebs
Lidiya Varbanova - 16 pts (7/9 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 5 rebs
Gulsah Akkaya - 9 pts (3/6 FGs), 4 rebs
Rhonda Mapp - 6 pts (3/9), 8 rebs
For Ramla:
Alicia Thompson - 21 pts (10/22 FGs), 11 rebs, 4 steals
Amber Hall - 16 pts (6/13 FGs, 4/5 FTs), 8 rebs
Liron Cohen - 12 pts (4/9 2pt FGs, 1/6 3pt FGs, 1/2 FTs), 5 assts
Tynesha Lewis - 12 pts (5/8 FGs), 4 rebs in 23 minutes off the bench
Ornit Shwartz - 9 pts (3/4 3pt FGs), 4 assts
Maccabi Ramat Hen 71 - Maccabi Raanana 64
Raanana needed a win to catch Haifa/Motzkin and Bnei Yehuda in the race for
4th place and they were close, but Ramat Hen knew it was must win for them
to stay 2nd. A 14-0 Ramat Hen run turned a 5 pt deficit into an important
win.
Raanana threw the first punch scoring the game's first 4 pts, but Ramat Hen
answered with a 12-0 run within 4 minutes. Raanana called a timeout and came
back behind threes by Nili Natho and Edwina Brown. They kept clawing their
way back with good minutes for Tatum Brown, and a Nomi Kolodny three gave
them the lead back at 21-19. After one we were tied at 21. Raanana's defense
dictated the pace in the 2nd quarter and didn't let Ramat Hen establish a
lead. Vicky Hall helped the locals maintain a slight lead in a bad offensive
quarter for them. Raanana kept fighting but was down 35-31 at the half.
Raanana was using a 4-guard line up, resulting in a situation where 6'4
Simone Edwards was defending 5'10 Snjeana Vasic. Vasic scored 9 pts in the
3rd quarter and Ramat Hen switched to a zone only to see Kolodny hit a 3 to
give her team a 45-42 lead with 5:30 left in the 3rd. Edwards was doing
better on offense, helping her team end the quarter with a 10-2 run and a
52-47 lead.
As usual, Edwina Brown started to take over Raanana's offense in the 4th,
scoring 7 straight points to tie the game at 56. Vasic fouled out with less
than 6 minutes to play, and as if that wasn't enough Tatum Brown took a hard
hit to the face and struggled to recover. In the meantime, Anat Goldberg
scored Raanana's next 6 points and they led 62-57 with 4 minutes to play.
From that point up until 2 seconds before the buzzer, Raanana didn't score a
single point. Vicky Hall scored 8 straight and Ramat Hen got a 64-62 lead
with 2 minutes to go. Tatum Brown got back in the game and Raanana had some
chances, but their shots weren't falling. Marianna Raguz put the nail in the
coffin from downtown, much to the delight of Haifa/Motzkin's and Bnei
Yehuda's players in attendance.
For Ramat Hen:
Vicky Hall - 25 pts (9/12 FGs, 7/8 FTs), 2 rebs
Simone Edwards - 16 pts (6/10 FGs, 4/5 FTs), 9 rebs
Marianna Raguz - 11 pts (4/6 FGs, 2/2 FTs)
Rivi Grinboym - 7 pts (3/7), 3 assts
For Raanana:
Edwina Brown - 16 pts (7/14), 3 rebs, 2 steals, 4 TOs
Tatum Brown - 13 pts (5/7 FGs, 3/5 FTs), 9 rebs
Snjeana Vacis -11 pts (5/7 2pt FGs, 0/5 3pt FGs, 1/1 FT), 4 rebs
Anat Goldberg - 10 pts (4/5 FGs, 1/2 FTs)
Nomi Kolodny - 8 pts (3/7), 4 TOs
Bnei Yehuda 69 - Maccabi Ashdod 72
Ashdod continues to provide upsets, this time winning in Bnei Yehuda with
five players in double figures.
For Ashdod:
Kenya Larkin - 17 pts (5/8 FGs, 5/6 FTs), 3 steals
Vika Rudovski - 13 pts (5/10 FGs, 2/2 FTs)
Crystal Givens - 12 pts (5/10 FGs, 2/6 FTs), 9 rebs
Valerie Muoneke - 12 pts (4/8 FGs, 3/3 FTs)
Oksana Dovgalyuk - 10 pts (5/8)
Sarit Arbel - 8 pts (3/5 FGs, 2/5 FTs), 8 rebs
For Bnei Yehuda:
Ina Boutenko - 24 pts
Tawona Alhaleem - 21 pts
Dragoslava Zakula - 17 pts
Elizur Holon 59 - Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 100
Lopsided win for Haifa/Motzkin over foreigner-less Holon. With Bnei Yehuda's
and Raanana's losses, Haifa/Motzkin is now 4th in the standings.
For Haifa/Motzkin: LaNisha Cartwell 20 pts, Aleksandra Music 19 pts.
Round 17's MVP: Limor Mizrachi
Mizrachi gave her team the lead with a 3pointer late in the first, and made
sure they held on to it the rest of the way. In 40 minutes, Limor scored 16
pts and dished out 10 assists. Ramat Hasharon is still 3rd in the standings
but they don't plan to stay there much longer.
Round 17's First Team:
Limor Mizrachi - She's the best point guard in our league, period.
Kenya Larkin - Carried her team to yet another upset with 17 pts.
Ina Gourevitch - Led Ramat Hasharon with 19 points, 5 rebs and 4 assists in
the big win over Ramla.
Tracy Reid - Reid's energy and aggressiveness have been just what the doctor
prescribed for Ramat Hasharon. She had 17 points on 50% shooting and 7
rebounds.
Vicky Hall - Hall finally came through when her team needed her the most
with 8 straight points in the closing 14-0 Ramat Hen run to seal the win.
Round 17's Busts:
Leslie Johnson (7 pts on 2/7 shooting for Bnei Yehuda)
Nili Natho (3 pts in 35 minutes for Raanana)
Natasha Branchikova (started the game, finished with 3 pts)
The standings:
1. Elizur Ramla 14-3
2. Maccabi Ramat Hen 11-6
3. YES Ramat Hasharon 11-16
4. Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 8-9
5. Bnei Yehuda 8-9
6. Maccabi Raanana 7-10
7. Maccabi Ashdod 6-11
8. Elizur Holon 3-14
Player of the month - Amber Hall,br>
Amber Hall is one of the best players to ever land in Israel, certainly the
best rebounder among them. A quick look at her numbers in January made
choosing her as our player of the month pretty easy.
In five games this months Hall spent a total of 6 minutes on the bench,
averaging 18.8 ppg, 16 rpg, 4 spg and 2 bpg. Even the relatively weak game
in Ramat Hasharon can't take this honor from our chairwoman of the boards
and league leader in steals. Hall is definitely in the running for season
MVP this season as well.
We realize we forgot to tell you guys about our previous players of the
month, sorry about that. In October it was Jackie Moore, as Ramla went
undefeated. In November it was Limor Mizrachi for her performances with the
Israeli national team. In December it was Mizrachi again, for turning things
around in Ramat Hasharon.
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.