Round 2
By Orli Klinger
After a relatively predictable opening round, it didn't take long for things
to get back to normal - surprises and close finishes. Ramla got a big road
win in the marquee match up of the round, Haifa upset Bnei Yehuda and
Raanana came storming back for its first win of the season.
Ramat Hen 65 - Elizur Ramla 69
Elizur Ramla got an important win in Ramat Hen after a tight and thrilling
game between two of the top teams. Amber Hall & Ramla controlled the
offensive rebounds, got another good game from Jackie Moore, caused Ramat
Hen serious problems with their zone defense and protected its perfect
record. Ramat Hen had a number of opportunities to steal the win at the end,
but the ball didn't get to the right hands in crucial possessions as Vicky
Hall and Simone Edwards combined for just two points in the 4th quarter.
A 7-0 Ramla run gave them a 12-5 lead as Ramat Hen was bricking against the
zone. After a timeout Ramla switched to man-to-man defense and saw Ramat Hen
go on a 10-2 run and take a 15-14 lead. Tal Natan (Ramla's coach) put Liron
Cohen in the game and she replied with two 3pointers, one of which beat the
shot clock buzzer. Ramla led 22-21 after 1.
The beginning of the 2nd quarter was messy for both teams, and Jackie Moore
was the first to settle down. She scored seven straight points to give the
visitors a 33-27 lead. Vicky Hall and Simone Edwards cut the lead to just
two with less than a minute to play. Jackie Johnson sealed the half with a
buzzer beating 3pointer and gave Ramla a 39-33 lead.
Edwards scored 6 points in an 11-2 local run, which ended with a Mariana
Raguz 3pointer that gave the locals a 44-41 edge. Tal Zalts made it 52-49 in
favor of Ramat Hen with two minutes to play in the 3rd but Ramla responded
with a 6-2 run to end the quarter up 55-54.
Both teams tightened up the D in the 4th. The first field goal of the
quarter was a big 3pointer by Ornit Shwartz, which increased Ramla's lead to
60-54. Ramat Hen failed to score for the first 3:30 minutes. A 3pointer by
Raguz started another local run, and the lead was cut to 64-63. Moore made
it a four-point game, but Jackie Johnson got called for a charge and gave
Ramat Hen another chance, with 2 minutes to go. Ramat Hen had a shot clock
violation, and Monika Kovac missed on a fast break after a Ramla turnover.
Amber Hall could have put the game away from the FT line but missed twice.
Edwards made two FTs on the other end and cut it to 67-65. With 14 seconds
to go Amber Hall was sent to the line again and only made the first but
Ramla got the offensive rebound and Shwartz sealed the deal from the line.
For Ramla:
Amber Hall - 17 pts (6/12 FGs, 5/8 FTs), 11 rebs (5 offensives) and 5 TOs.
Jackie Moore - 20 pts (9/13 FGs, 2/3 FTs) and 4 rebs.
Jackie Johnson - 8 pts (1/4 2pt FGs, 1/1 3pointers, 3/4 FTs), 7 rebs, 6
assists and 5 TOs.
Liron Cohen - 8 pts (0/1 2pt FGs, 2/4 3pointers, 2/4 FTs).
For Ramat Hen:
Simone Edwards - 21 pts (9/16 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 6 rebs, 3 assists.
Vicky Hall - 18 pts (9/18 FGs), 6 rebs, 3 steals.
Mariana Raguz - 10 pts (1/5 2pt FGs, 2/5 3pointers, 2/2 FTs).
Rivi Grinboiem - 6 pts (3/5 2pt FGs, 0/4 3pointers), 4 rebs, 3 assists.
Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 70 - Bnei Yehuda 67
Haifa's two bosman players and Adi Kindler stood out in a close game. Bnei
Yehuda ended the 1st quarter up 17-16. The lead switched sides at the half
as Alexsandra Music and Ljilijana Latinovic carried Haifa to a 34-30 edge
while Bnei Yehuda was turning the ball over endlessly. Both teams shot
poorly from the field, but things looked much better in the 2nd half.
After an evenly matched 3rd quarter Bnei Yehuda jumped to an early lead in
the 4th thanks to good minutes from Blazenka Cipcic, but turnovers by Goni
Tanhelson and Dragoslava Zackola sent Haifa on a 13-1 run, led by Latinovic.
A great 3pointer by Kindler gave Haifa a three-point lead in the closing
moments. Travesa Gant made 2 FTs to cut the gap to 1 with seven seconds to
play. Latinovic sank two FTs to ice the game for the locals.
For Haifa/Motzkin:
Alexandra Music - 21 pts (9/10 2pt FGs!!!, 0/2 3pointers, 3/4 FTs), 3 rebs,
3 assists, 4 steals and 2 TOs.
Ljilijana Latinovic - 15 pts (4/7 2pt FGs, 0/4 3pointers, 7/7 FTs), 7
assists, 4 steals, 2 rebs and 4 TOs.
Adi Kindler - 11 pts (3/5 2pt FGs, 1/4 3pointers, 2/3 FTs), 2 rebs, 3 steals
and 4 TOs.
Jackie Higgins - 9 pts (1/5 2pt FGs, 2/2 3pointers, 1/2 FTs), 3 rebs. 3
steals.
For Bnei Yehuda:
Tawona Alhaleem - 15 pts (6/13 FGs, 3/3 FTs), 6 rebs and 5 TOs.
Dragoslava Zackola - 16 pts (4/9 2pt FGs, 2/3 3pointers, 2/3 FTs), 5 rebs
and 5 TOs.
Travesa Gant - 14 pts (4/15 FGs, 6/7 FTs), 10 rebs and 5 TOs.
Blazenka Cipcic - 10 pts (5/9 FGs), 5 rebs and 2 assists.
Maccabi Raanana 64 - Maccabi Ashdod 54
Ashdod scored the first 11 points of the game and led 25-9 after 1, causing
Raanana unpleasant flashbacks of Monday's defeat at the hands of Ramat Hen.
But led by Nomi Kolodny and Tatum Brown, Raanana turned things around in the
2nd quarter and trailed only 25-33 at the half.
Raanana got its first lead five minutes into the 2nd half as Brown was
controlling the boards. They increased their lead through out 4th quarter
and got their first win.
For Raanana:
Tatum Brown - 21 pts (7/12 FGs, 7/14 FTs), 17 rebs (9 offensives!) and 9
TOs(!).
Nomi Kolodny - 11 pts (2/9 2pt FGs, 2/3 3pointers, 1/4 FTs), 5 assists and 6
TOs.
Nikki Thompkins - 13 pts (3/9 FGs, 7/14 FTs), 14 rebs (6 offensives) and 5
steals.
Nili Natho - 10 pts (2/6 2pt FGs, 2/3 3pointers, 0/1 FTs), 3 steals.
For Ashdod:
Vika Rudovski - 14 pts (2/6 2pt FGs, 1/3 3pointers, 7/8 FTs), 7 rebs.
Valerie Muoneke - 13 pts (6/15 FGs, 1/2 FTs), 9 rebs, 5 assists and 5 TOs.
Crystal Givens - 10 pts (5/6 FGs, 0/1 FTs), 3 assists.
Oksana Dovgalyuk - 10 pts (5/7 FGs, 0/1 FTs), 6 rebs.
Ramat Hasharon 91 - Elizur Holon 67
The game remained close for about three minutes as Ramat Hasharon shot 66%
from the field and cruised to an easy home victory. Orna Ostfeld (RH's
coach) tried hard not to humiliate Holon and used her reserves for most of
the game.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Ina Gorevich - 20 pts (8/12 FGs, 4/5 FTs), 4 assists, 4 steals.
Mirna Paunovic - 18 pts (8/10 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 3 rebs.
Lidiya Varbanova - 12 pts (6/6 FGs), 2 rebs.
For Holon:
Octavia Blue - 24 pts (8/16 2pt FGs, 1/4 3pointers, 5/6 FTs), 7 rebs, 3
steals.
Lena Pedulova - 15 pts (7/11 FGs, 1/2 FTs), 9 rebs.
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Player Of Round 2- Gotta be a Haifa player. It was a tough call between
Music and Latinovic as the former was scoring and the latter was passing.
Latinovic wins it cause of her defense, steals and leadership.
Round 2 First Team:
Ljilijana Latinovic - Haifa's point guard defended, passed and made clutch
free throws. A very good game by a very good player.
Adi Kindler - Kindler makes the team only for having the guts to take and
sink the huge three that won the game for Haifa.
Alexandra Music - Nickname's Sony. Quality is Sony. Used her soft touch to
hit 9 of 10 shots from inside the arc against Bnei Yehuda. Could be the
surprise of the league.
Amber Hall - Dominated the boards against Simone Edwards and Vicky Hall, was
the first to get to any loose ball and finished with 17 points and 11
rebounds.
Tatum Brown - Made 7 of 12 shots on her way to 21 points and added 17 boards
in Raanana's win over Ashdod. Do we have here a real challenger for Amber
Hall's rebounding title?
The Standings:
Elizur Ramla 2-0
Ramat Hasharon 2-0
Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 2-0
Maccabi Ramat Hen 1-1
Maccabi Raanana 1-1
Bnei Yehuda 0-2
Maccabi Ashdod 0-2
Elizur Holon 0-2
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.