Playoffs Round 1
By Orli Klinger
No team in Israeli basketball, women's or men's, has ever bounced back
from
down 2-1 in a best of 5 series. Ramat Hen and Ramla protected their
home
court to win game 3 and take a commanding 2-1 lead.
As a result of the upcoming war in Iraq, Ashdod's Americans Crystal
Givens
and Valerie Muoneke have decided to leave the country tomorrow, which
leaves
Ashdod no chance against Ramla in game 4 on Thursday.
Ramat Hasharon's Rhonda Mapp is also planning on going back home.
However,
she might wait until after game 4.
Maccabi Ramat Hen 92 � YES Ramat Hasharon 78
Ramat Hen displayed great team play and enjoyed a wonderful performance
from
Marianna Raguz to go up 2-1 in their best of 5 semi final series. Ramat
Hasharon trailed for 40 minutes and wasn�t able to threaten the outcome
of
the game in the 4th, despite a relatively weak game from Vicky Hall.
Ramat
Hen has yet to lose when Raguz breaks the 15 point barrier, and after
game 3
one can only wonder why she doesn�t do it more often.
After two quiet games, Raguz started the 3rd game with two beautiful
drives
to the basket, much to the approval of the Ramat Hen camp. Her
teammates
also looked good on both ends of the court, getting back quickly on
defense
and running the break. Gulsah Akkaya was still fighting for Ramat
Hasharon,
but Limor Mizrachi and Ina Gourevitch were yet to join the effort. A
buzzer
beater by Sivan Balalis gave the locals a 27-15 lead after 1.
The Ramat Hasharon defense looked better in the 2nd quarter, and 3�s by
Tamar Maoz and Mizrachi helped them cut into the lead, but those were
Mizrachi�s only points of the game as she couldn�t handle Monika
Kovac�s
suffocating defense. Rhonda Mapp ended a 14-4 run that made it a 31-29
game,
with about 6 mins to go in the half. The pace was slowed by numerous
foul
calls, but Simone Edwards and Ramat Hen dominated the boards and
managed to
build a 43-36 lead going into halftime.
Ramat Hen continued to control the game in the 2nd half, as Hall scored
and
dished an assist to Raguz. Rivi Grinboym played very well and the lead
grew
to 59-44, but Gourevitch proved again that there�s something about the
halftime atmosphere in Ramat Hen that makes her go off. She cut the gap
back
into single digits with a three and a 3-point play, and Ramat Hasharon
was
down only 58-65 after 3.
Ramat Hasharon�s run didn�t panic Marianna Raguz, who railed off 6
points
and an assist to Grinboym. A 3 by Raguz increased the lead to 78-60 in
less
than 5 minutes. Gourevitch took over Ramat Hasharon�s offensive game
and
began to get closer to her impressive points average in the series, but
when
you�re trailing by this much you need to get stops, and Ramat Hasharon
hasn�t been able to do that in the last 35 minutes. Hall & Kovac
volunteered
to trade baskets with Gourevitch, and it ended with a win that brings
Ramat
Hen closer to the finals and the defending champs� back closer to that
famous wall.
For Ramat Hen:
Marianna Raguz � 21 pts (9/13 FGs, 2/2 FTs)
Simone Edwards � 19 pts (8/15 FGs, 3/5 FTs), 13 rebs, 2 ast
Rivi Grinboym � 17 pts (7/11 FGs, 3/3 FTs), 6 ast
Vicky Hall � 15 pts (6/16 FGs, 3/3 FTs), 6 rebs, 3 ast
Monika Kovac � 12 pts (6/9 FGs), 6 ast, 4 stl
Lena Fedoulova � 4 pts, 5 rebs
For Ramat Hasharon:
Ina Gourevitch � 24 pts (4/7 2pt FGs, 3/5 3pt FGs, 7/7 FTs), 2 ast
Lidiya Varbanova � 18 pts (7/12 FGs, 4/4 FTs), 3 rebs
Rhonda Mapp � 17 pts (7/15 FGs), 8 rebs, 6 TOs
Tamar Maoz � 9 pts (2/6 FGs, 4/4 FTs)
Gulsah Akkaya � 7 pts (3/5 FGS), 4 rebs
Limor Mizrachi � 3 pts (1/9 FGs), 5 ast, 2 stl & 5 TOs
Elizur Ramla 86 � Maccabi Ashdod 76
No more 60 pointers in Ramla. Jackie Johnson scored 27 points to lead
Ramla�s offensive game, which is starting to get back to what it used
to be.
Ashdod scored more points in the 1st quarter than in the following two
and
came back from behind to get within 1 in the 4th but it wasn�t enough
to
prevent Ramla from going up 2-1.
Ashdod started out well with 6 point from Sarit Arbel and 4 threes by
Vika
Rudovski. Ashdod led 26-19, but Johnson and Amber Hall helped set the
score
at 27-23 after 1. Rudovski�s 5th three quickly followed but Ramla, led
by
Hall & Johnson, made a 19-7 run and went up 42-34. Crystal Givens
scored 4
points as Ashdod made a little comeback. Liron Cohen sealed the half
with a
hoop, giving Ramla a 46-41 lead.
Tali Noy�s 2nd three of the game ended a sloppy start by both teams,
and
Ramla opened a 51-43 lead. Kenya Larkin sank a J off the dribble to cut
it
to 6, but Amber Hall answered with an �and 1�. Things were
deteriorating for
Ashdod as Noy and Natasha Branchikova swished threes and built a 62-47
lead
with 2 minutes to play in the 3rd. Ramla led 64-53 after 3.
It looked as if Ramla was about to cruise till the buzzer, as Hall
maintained a double-digit lead. A 3-point play by Valerie Muoneke, who
woke
up big time, made it 68-60. Ashdod came back pressing out of a timeout
and
got a stop. Givens rebounded a Hall miss and Rudovski buried a 3 to
make it
just 67-70 with 3 minutes to go. The visitors had all the momentum, and
Larkin got Ashdod within one with a steal and a lay up. Liron Cohen
answered
right away with a huge three. Ramla broke the press on their next
possession
and Tali Noy made a big backbreaking 3-point play. Arbel missed on the
other
end, and Ashdod fell behind 70-78 after a basket by Johnson. Ashdod
fouled
at the end, but the game was already out of their reach.
For Ramla:
Jaclyn Johnson � 27 pts
Amber Hall � 25 pts (11/11 FTs!)
Liron Cohen � 13 pts
Tali Noy � 11 pts
Natasha Branchikova � 6 pts
For Ashdod:
Vika Rudovski � 26 pts
Valerie Muoneke � 11 pts
Kenya Larkin � 11 pts
Sarit Arbel � 9 pts
Crystal Givens � 9 pts
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.