Round 19
By Lior Klinger
The positioning between the top 3 teams has been decided. The race for
4th,
however, has just gotten a whole lot more interesting. Ashdod won its
4th
game in a row and with 2 games left in the season looks like the
favorite to
make the playoffs. There's a 4 team tie for forth place, Haifa/Motzkin
is
currently ahead due to tie-breakers.
Bnei Yehuda 78 – Maccabi Ramat Hen 80
The playoffs are still a few weeks away, but one could have easily
mistaken
this game for a battle for a ticket to the finals. Ramat Hen squeezed
out a
win thanks to a Monika Kovac 3pointer with under a minute to go. The
threes,
however, were Bnei Yehuda’s main weapon through out the game.
Marianna Raguz started out well for the visitors, scoring six points as
they
led 9-8 despite a couple of threes by Ina Boutenko. Ramat Hen later
opened a
17-11 gap, but Dragoslava Zakula and Tawona Alhaleem hit 5 free throws
to
cut it to one. After 1 Ramat Hen led 21-18.
Boutenko swished another 3 to start the 2nd, Bnei Yehuda tightened its
defense and trailed just 30-28, with 5 minutes remaining in the half.
Ramat
Hen’s offense then really got into a rhythm, finding players for easy
layups
and building a 38-31 lead. Moments later things were starting to get
out of
hand. First it was Vicky Hall who demanded a flagrant foul from the
refs and
ended up getting called for a technical. Still outraged, she missed
both of
her free throws and Alhaleem connected on the technical with 20 seconds
left. Bnei Yehuda still had possession and Alhaleem drew a foul from
Raguz
with 4.5 on the clock. It was Raguz’ 3rd, and she was also called for a
technical (T’s count as personal fouls). Raguz, one of the most laid
back
players in the entire league, headed towards the bench in disbelief.
Alhaleem made just 1 of her 3 FTs, but managed to get to the line again
and
hit 2 more to set the halftime score at 39-35 in favor of Ramat Hen.
Lena Fedoulova started the 3rd quarter in place of Raguz, much to the
delight of Alhaleem who was held without a field goal in the 1st half.
As
usual, Boutenko hit a 3 early on giving her team a 40-39 edge.
Alhaleem’s
first basket arrived with 5:30 left and the locals led by 4, but Vicky
Hall
banked a jumper to beat the shot-clock on the other end. Raguz came
back
with under 4 minutes to play, but was immediately called for a
questionable
offensive foul, her fifth. The make up call shortly followed, as
Alhaleem
got whistled for a loose ball foul, her forth. Boutenko with her 5th
three
kept taking advantage of the Ramat Hen zone, increasing the lead to
54-49.
Zakula ended the quarter with a buzzer beating 3 to making it 57-53.
Another 3 by Zakula (the team’s 9th) put the locals up 60-57, two
minutes
into the 4th. Rivi Grinboym scored from the line following a Leslie
Johnson
technical foul, and Simone Edwards tied the game at 60. Goni Tanchelson
was
quick to reply with a 3, and Alhaleem made it 65-60. It wasn’t looking
good
for the visitors, but Kovac finally hit her team’s first three of the
evening. Grinboym hit one too to cut it to 69-68, with under 5 to play.
Hall
scored 4 straight and Ramat Hen led 77-75, but Boutenko buried a big
three
with 1 minute remaining. In Ramat Hen’s next possession Kovac decided
to
hoist another three instead of passing to Hall who had good low-post
position on Alhaleem. After hitting every inch of the rim, the shot
went in
with 44 seconds to play.
Ramat Hen had 2 fouls to give and used them wisely, leaving Bnei Yehuda
13
seconds to make a shot. Zakula penetrated the lane all the way to the
hoop
but came up short. Edwards got the rebound, and the win.
For Ramat Hen:
Vicky Hall – 24 pts (11/16 FGs, 2/4 FTs), 11 rebs
Simone Edwards – 15 pts (6/13 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 13 rebs
Monika Kovac – 11 pts (4/7 FGs, 1/2 FTs)
Marianne Raguz – 6 pts (3/5)
Tal Salz – 6 pts (3/5)
For Bnei Yehuda:
Ina Boutenko – 21 pts (6/9 3pt FGs, 1/2 2pt FGs, 1/2 FTs), 4 rebs
Dragoslava Zakula – 19 pts (5/14 FGs, 7/7 FTs), 4 rebs
Tawona Alhaleem – 12 pts (3/8 FGs, 6/8 FTs), 7 rebs, 4 TOs
Leslie Johnson – 11 pts (5/9 FGs, 1/2 FTs), 4 rebs
Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 86 – Maccabi Ashdod 93
Ashdod keeps on winning and is now the main candidate to finish in 4th
place
and make the playoffs. Amazing.
For Ashdod:
Kenya Larkin: 23 pts (2/4 2pt FGs, 4/8 3pt FGs, 7/7 FTs), 8 assts, 4
TOs
Valerie Muoneke: 22 pts (9/14 FGs, 4/5 FTs), 7 rebs
Sarit Arbel: 21 pts (9/16 FGs, 3/3 FTs), 7 rebs, 5 assts
Crystal Givens: 16 pts (5/11 FGs, 5/6 FTs), 10 rebs, 4 TOs
Vika Rudovski: 9 pts (3/7 3pt FGs)
For Haifa/Motzkin:
LaNisha Cartwell: 18 pts (6/12 FGs, 6/7 FTs), 6 rebs, 6 TOs
Aleksandra Music: 17 pts (7/11 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 4 rebs
Lili Latinovic: 16 pts (5/7 FGs, 5/5 FTs), 4 asst, 2 steals
Yelena Mustafina: 15 pts (5/7 FGs, 2/2 FTs)
Adi Kindler: 11 pts (4/10), 3 assts
YES Ramat Hasharon 88 – Maccabi Raanana 80
Raanana usually gives Ramat Hasharon a tough game, but not this time.
The
defending champions took control early and led by 15-17 points several
times, but Raanana was able to get it back to a single digit deficit.
In the
4th Raanana cut a 15 pt lead down to 4, but Ramat Hasharon held on.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Tracy Reid: 26 pts (11/17 FGs, 4/5 FTs), 11 rebs
Gulsah Akkaya: 21 pts (8/13 FGs, 3/4 FTs)
Ina Gourevitch: 16 pts (6/12 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 4 assts
Limor Mizrachi: 9 pts (4/7 FGs, 1/2 FTs), 7 assts
Rhonda Mapp: 8 pts (3/8 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 6 rebs, 5 TOs
For Raanana:
Snjeana Vasic: 18 pts (6/15 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 3 steals
Edwina Brown: 16 pts (5/17 FGs, 6/6 FTs), 9 rebs, 3 steals
Tatum Brown: 13 pts (4/6 FGs, 5/9 FTs), 10 rebs
Nili Natho & Shira Haelyon 7 pts each
Sharon Zeevi: 6 pts
Elizur Holon 47 – Elizur Ramla 95
Just 2 more games to go, Holon.
For Ramla: Amber Hall 21 pts, Mor Ben-Barak 18 pts
For Holon: Anat Berkovitz 10 pts, Limor Peleg 8 pts
Round 19’s MVP: Sarit Arbel
Arbel has become the 2nd most significant Israeli player after Limor
Mizrachi in terms of transforming the team she joined. Ashdod was 0-7
before
Arbel came along, and has now won eight of 12. In round 19, Arbel
finished
with 21 pts, 7 boards and 5 assists in a win that officially put Ashdod
in
the running for the 4th and final playoff ticket.
Round 19’s First Team:
Kenya Larkin – 23 pts, 8 assists, a win. What more can one ask from a
point
guard?
Tracy Reid – Had 26 points and 11 rebs in a great game for Ramat
Hasharon.
Vicky Hall – Scored 24 pts on great shooting and pulled down 11
rebounds in
Ramat Hen’s tough road win.
Sarit Arbel – Another excellent game in an important Ashdod win.
Simone Edwards – Posted a nice double double of 15 & 13 in the win
which
secured Ramat Hen the #2 seed in the playoffs.
Just missed: Gulsah Akkaya, Valerie Muoneke, and Ina Boutenko.
No busts this week, we didn’t have enough...
The standings:
1. Elizur Ramla 16-3
2. Maccabi Ramat Hen 13-6
3. YES Ramat Hasharon 12-7
4. Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 8-11
5. Maccabi Ashdod 8-11
6. Maccabi Raanana 8-11
7. Bnei Yehuda 8-11
8. Elizur Holon 3-16
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.