Round 21
By Lior Klinger
The outcome of the final round had no impact on the playoff bound
teams, but
did decide the order between places 5th to 7th.
Bnei Yehuda 86 – Maccabi Raanana 81
Raanana dropped a 20 point lead and found itself in a tight 4th
quarter.
Bnei Yehuda completed the big comeback in a terrific 3rd quarter,
making
more clutch plays and less mistakes down the stretch. Tatum Brown was
in
uniform but did not play due to a knee injury.
Raanana started out well going up 12-4. Their full court press forced a
lot
of turnovers on Bnei Yehuda, who called for a timeout down 14-6 with
4:30 to
go. Edwina Brown scored 10 pts in the quarter but Bnei Yehuda was down
just
20-15 after 1.
Tawona Alhaleem, who was quiet offensively in the 1st, scored 4
straight
early in the 2nd, but back-2-back threes by Nili Natho made it 31-19
for
Raanana. Sharon Zeevi made a big 3 to push the gap to 15, with under 4
to
play in the half. Seven points by Alhaleem to end the half did not help
the
locals who saw Zeevi and Shira Haelyon making sure their team take a
47-28
lead into the locker-rooms.
Both teams were trading baskets in the first minutes of the 3rd. Bnei
Yehuda
couldn’t build a momentum and Raanana didn’t exactly look like they
want to
keep pushing. In the closing minutes, things changed. Dragoslava Zakula
cut
it to 56-45 from the line, and Alhaleem drew a foul as well, connecting
on
both free throws. A minute later Leslie Johnson and Alhaleem added 4
more
FTs and the lead was only 5, but Zeevi answered with another three.
Zakula
nailed one from downtown on the other end, leaving Raanana with the
last
shot of the quarter. A nice team play found Anat Goldberg under the
basket
for two, and Raanana led 63-56 heading into the 4th. Bnei Yehuda scored
28
pts in the quarter, just like they did in the entire 1st half.
Danny Nachminovich didn’t like the offensive foul called on Edwina
Brown to
start the 4th, and picked up a technical. Alhaleem made 2 from the
line, and
Ina Boutenko buried a 3 to make it a 2-point game. Bnei Yehuda got a
stop
and Alhaleem, from the line, tied the game for the 1st time since
tip-off.
Edwina Brown quickly restored Raanana’s lead, but they couldn’t make it
a
two possession game again. A 3pt play by Johnson tied the game at 71,
with
5:30 to go. With 4 left in the game the visitors led 78-75, but Johnson
cut
it to 1 with a put-back. Bnei Yehuda finally got its first lead at
79-78
following a steal by Zakula and a coast-to-coast lay-up. Alhaleem from
beyond the arc made it a 4-point game with 2 minutes to play, but
Haelyon
from the line cut it to 3. With 53 seconds to play Zakula missed twice
from
the line, and the refs called Alhaleem for a travel after she got the
rebound. Fifteen seconds later, it was Snjeana Vasic’s turn to go to
the
stripe. She made the 2nd. Bnei Yehuda made use of the entire 24 sec
shot
clock on its next possession, as Alhaleem found Sarit Menashe under the
basket for a wild reversed lay-up. Down 84-81, Edwina Brown threw the
ball
away and Zakula was sent to the line again and didn’t miss.
For Bnei Yehuda:
Tawona Alhaleem 30 pts, Leslie Johnson 19 pts, Ina Boutenko 15 pts,
Dragoslava Zakula 13 pts
For Raanana:
Edwina Brown 25 pts, Sharon Zeevi 21 pts, Anat Goldberg 12 pts, Snjeana
Vasic 11 pts, Shira Haelyon & Nili Natho 6 pts each.
Maccabi Ashdod 75 – Elizur Ramla 87
Both teams will face off in the semi finals, Ramla let a big lead slip
away
in the 3rd but didn’t struggle too much.
For Ramla:
Alicia Thompson 24 pts, Amber Hall 18 pts
Jackie Johnson – 17 pts, 10 rebs, 8 ast
Natasha Branchikova 14 pts, Liron Cohen 9 pts
For Ashdod:
Vika Rudovski 19 pts, Kenya Larkin 16 pts, Crystal Givens
13
pts, Sarit Arbel 10
Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 87 – Maccabi Ramat Hen 93
A disappointing 7th place finish for Haifa/Motzkin, last game for Ramat
Hen
before the playoffs.
Simone Edwards had 29 pts for the winners; Aleksandra Music led
Haifa/Motzkin with 22.
Elizur Holon 60 – YES Ramat Hasharon 104
The less we say about this game the better...
Round 21’s MVP: Tawona Alhaleem
Bnei Yehuda was down 19 at the half. During the warm up prior to the
2nd
half, Alhaleem didn’t take any shots. She was too busy talking to all
the
players, making them re-group. After 3 quarters the gap was cut to 7,
and
Alhaleem was key in turning it into a 5-point win, scoring 30 pts in an
outstanding game.
Round 21’s First Team
Edwina Brown – In her final game of the season, Edwina leaves us
wanting
more with a 25 point game.
Tawona Alhaleem – Looking in very good shape for the up-coming Cup
semis
finals.
Sharon Zeevi – Had one of her best games of the season with 21 pts for
Raanana.
Simone Edwards – Dropped 29 pts on Haifa/Motzkin in Ramat Hen’s win.
Jackie Johnson – Was 2 assists shy of a triple double vs. Ashdod,
finishing
with 17 pts, 10 rebs and 8 assists. Welcome back Jackie.
The Final Standings:
1. Elizur Ramla 18-3
2. Maccabi Ramat Hen 15-6
3. YES Ramat Hasharon 14-7
4. Maccabi Ashdod 9-12
5. Bnei Yehuda 9-12
6. Maccabi Raanana 8-13
7. Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 8-13
8. Elizur Holon 3-18
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.