Round 20
By Orli Klinger
With one round left in the season, the playoff seeds are finally
filled.
Ashdod won in Raanana to complete their incredible turnaround after a
0-8
start and clinch the 4th and final playoff spot.
Maccabi Raanana 69 - Maccabi Ashdod 72
Raanana didn't trail for 39 minutes and 15 seconds, but it wasn't
enough.
They had plenty of chances but they were stuck in the closing minutes,
and
not for the first time this season. Ashdod gutted out an enormous win,
ending the game with a 13-2 run in the last 5 minutes to get their
first
lead, for good. Haifa/Motzkin and Bnei Yehuda failed to postpone the
end of
the playoff race to next week so now it's official: the comeback has
been
completed. Ashdod is going to the playoffs.
Raanana started a small and pressing lineup, without the injured Tatum
Brown
(knee). They forced quite a lot of turnovers but didn't capitalize on
the
other end consistently. Sarit Arbel scored Ashdod's first basket to
make it
an 8-4 game with 6 mins to go in the 1st. Despite annoying blown
lay-ups,
Ashdod continued to dig into the lead and trailed only 14-12 after 1.
Valerie Muoneke picked up her 3rd foul two and a half minutes into the
2nd,
and Tatum Brown entered the game for Raanana. Her first basket gave the
locals a 25-20 lead with 4 minutes to halftime. Edwina Brown hit a
beautiful
shot over the out stretched arm of Crystal Givens to increase the gap
to 7
but Vika Rudovski's 2nd three in less than a minute cut it back to 4.
Raanana led 33-28 at the half thanks to 14 points courtesy of Edwina
Brown.
Ashdod on the other hand was still waiting for Kenya Larkin and Sarit
Arbel
who had just 2 points apiece.
Snjeana Vasic heated up in the 3rd, and Crystal Givens helped Ashdod
return
fire. Sarit Arbel hit a shot to make it just 33-35, but Vasic answered
with
a three pointer. She added to more threes on the next possessions, but
Raanana couldn't build a lead thanks to a foul that sent Rudovski to
shoot 3
FTs, and five straight points by Givens. Edwina Brown & Kenya Larkin
traded
some baskets and Vasic hit a buzzer beating 3 to end the quarter with
her
team up 58-52.
A three by Rudovski made it a one point game and Ashdod actually got a
stop
at the other end, but they missed two shots and watched Vasic swish
another
three to build a 4 point gap. Edwina Brown drew Larkin's 4th foul and
Ashdod
called a timeout trailing by five with a little over 6 minutes to play.
Both
teams continued to fight over every loose ball and Raanana began to
pull
away. Vasic hit a wild three to beat the shot clock and give Raanana
its
biggest lead of the night, 67-59 with 5:40 to go. But for some reason,
that
play gave Ashdod the momentum shot it needed. Fast break baskets by
Larkin
and Muoneke carried them to a 6-0 run, and Tatum Brown scored Raanana's
final points to give them a 69-65 lead with 4 minutes to play. The 39
year
old Vika Rudovski nailed a huge three to tie the game at 69 with under
2
minutes to go. Oksana Dovgalyuk laid it in for Ashdod's first lead,
71-69
with 45 ticks on the clock. Vasic missed a three, and Raanana stopped
to
clock on 29 seconds with a foul. Edwina Brown stole Kenya Larkin's pass
and
threw it to Anat Goldberg who missed under the basket. Ashdod got to
the
ball first, and Raanana sent Rudovski, one of the league's best FT
shooters,
to the line. She missed the 2nd shot and gave yet Raanana another
chance.
Edwina Brown missed a 3, but Raanana got the ball back with 5.4 seconds
to
play after a foul. Edwina Brown took another shot but got rejected by
Givens, setting off Ashdod's celebrations.
For Ashdod:
Vika Rudovski 21 pts, Crystal Givens 14 pts, Sarit Arbel & Kenya Larkin
11
pts each, Valerie Muoneke 8 pts.
For Raanana:
Edwina Brown 25 pts, Snjeana Vasic 24 pts (six threes!), Tatum Brown 7
pts.
Ramat Hasharon 105 � Bnei Yehuda 85
Bnei Yehuda had to win and held on for three quarters thanks to an
awesome
game by Tawona Alhaleem but Ramat Hasharon pulled away with beautiful
team
play in the 4th quarter.
Ramat Hasharon went up 13-4 early on, but Alhaleem led Bnei Yehuda to a
16-4
run to take a 20-17 lead. Ramat Hasharon regained the lead with a late
three
by Limor Mizrachi, 25-23 after 1. Alhaleem scored 12 points on perfect
shooting in the quarter.
Alhaleem gave the visitors a 31-29 lead with a three, but Ina
Gourevitch who
was also perfect from all ranges answered with a three of her own. The
Mizrachi/Mapp combination continued to prove itself, but the game
remained
close. A three by Gulsah Akkaya made it 42-38, and Mizrachi again
sealed the
quarter with a 3 to give her team a 48-44 lead at the half. Both teams
were
shooting very well as Alhaleem led all scorers with 19 points and
Gourevitch
led her team with 14.
Ramat Hasharon still turned it over too often in the 3rd, and a three
by Ina
Boutenko tied the game at 52. Mizrachi's 10th assist found Lidiya
Varbanova
who started to heat up, and Ramat Hasharon's set offense hit its
stride.
Alhaleem was getting lots of attention from the locals' defense, but
still
managed to get to the foul line and hit. Gourevitch nailed a three to
open
an 8 point game with 90 seconds to go in the 3rd but Goni Tanhelson
answered
right back. Varbanova, who scored 14 points in the quarter, helped
Ramat
Hasharon take a 73-65 lead after 3.
Gourevitch hit a three to collect her 22nd point on 100% shooting. Bnei
Yehuda also settled for threes but wasn't quite as a successful.
Varbanova
made it a 10 point game from the FT line, but Tanhelson replied with a
3.
Mizrachi wasn't impressed and also buried a three. She kept dishing out
assists to Mapp and Tracy Reid in a great offensive quarter. The gap
grew
till the end despite Tanhelson's efforts and to the pleasure of the
fans
that wanted to reach the century mark. Mizrachi, as usual, beat the
buzzer
with a three to set the final score.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Ina Gourevitch - 25 pts (4/6 2pt FGs, 4/4 3pt FGs, 5/6 FTs), 4 ast
Lidiya Varbanova - 21 pts (11/14 FGs, 2/3 FTs), 4 rebs, 4 ast
Limor Mizrachi - 17 pts (1/2 2pt FGs, 5/8 3pt FGs), 13 ast, 4 TO
Rhonda Mapp - 15 pts (7/8 FGs, 1/1 FTs), 9 rebs, 7 ast
Tracy Reid - 8 pts (4/10 FGs)
For Bnei Yehuda:
Tawona Alhaleem - 33 pts (8/13 2pt FGs, 1/3 3pt FGs, 14/15 FTs), 6 rebs
Goni Tanhelson - 23 pts (6/9 threes!). 3 ast & 3 steals
Dragoslava Zakula 10 pts
Leslie Johnson 12 pts
Elizur Ramla 79 � Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin
Ramla had little trouble at home against Haifa/Motzkin, despite the
fact
Haifa/Motzkin had to win while Ramla is already safe at the top of the
standings.
For Ramla:
Amber Hall & Liron Cohen 17 pts each.
Luda Rom & the returning Jaclyn Johnson 14 pts each.
For Haifa/Motzkin:
LaNisha Cartwell 21 pts, Rinat Zalts-Levin 15 pts
Maccabi Ramat Hen 99 � Elizur Holon 70
For Ramat Hen:
Vicky Hall 23 pts, Lena Fedulova 19 pts, Tal Salz 18 pts
For Holon:
Noa Ganor 21 pts, Hen Shtain 19 pts, Limor Peleg 12 pts
Round 20's MVP � Vika Rudovski
Rudovski led Ashdod in the huge win in Raanana with 21 points,
including a
big three to tie the game with two minutes to go. Rudovski's experience
showed through out the game and helped Ashdod's young squad to clinch a
playoff berth.
Round 20's First Team
Limor Mizrachi � A great game for Limor who was pure joy to watch. She
finished with 17 points and 13 assists for Ramat Hasharon.
Ina Gourevitch � Gourevitch scored 22 points before missing her first
shot
of the game. She ended up with 25, including 4 for 4 from three point
land.
Vika Rudovski � Just like Ashdod's season, Vika just keeps going and
going...
Tawona Alhaleem � Alhaleem's outstanding 33 point performance couldn't
keep
Bnei Yehuda's playoff hopes alive, but it was more than enough to get
her a
spot on our 1st team.
Crystal Givens � Givens showed lots of heart and had plenty of close
encounters with Raanana's hardwood. She scored 14 points and also
blocked
Edwina Brown's final shot to seal Ashdod's important W.
Just missed: Snjeana Vasic, Goni Tanhelson, Sarit Arbel & Lidiya
Varbanova.
Round 20's Bust Team
Nili Natho, Lili Latinovic, Ina Boutenko, Aleksandra Music, Anat
Goldberg.
The Standings:
1. Ramla 17-3
2. Ramat Hen 14-6
3. Ramat Hasharon 13-7
4. Ashdod 9-11
5. Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 8-12
6. Raanana 8-12
7. Bnei Yehuda 8-12
8. Holon 3-17
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.