Finals Game 2
By Lior Klinger
YES Ramat Hasharon 86 - Elizur Ramla 83
It took them one game, but Ramat Hasharon showed up for the finals
series.
They controlled the tempo most of the game, but Ramla didn't give up in
an
intense playoff battle with a great atmosphere in Ramat Hasharon. Ramat
Hasharon played better in the 1st quarter, but didn't have a
significant
lead to show for it. In the 2nd the locals got their biggest lead of
the
game, but Ramla wouldn't let it last. In the 3rd the tables turned and
Ramla
got the lead, building up to the final and most exciting quarter.
Luda Rom made the first shot of the game, but Ramat Hasharon followed
with a
9-0 run. Ramla's next points came with just 5:24 left in the quarter,
courtesy of Jaclyn Johnson at the line. Ramla cut the lead to 11-8, but
Ina
Gourevitch punished their zone with a 3. A 3rd three by Gourevitch made
it
19-12, and after 1 Ramat Hasharon led 23-18.
Gourevitch gave her team the biggest lead of the game with a 3pt play
to
make it 34-21, 5 minutes to halftime. Ramla responded with a 9-2 run
and it
was just 36-30 with 3:30 to go. They got as close as three by halftime,
trailing 44-41. Gourevitch had 16 pts at the half, Amber Hall & Jackie
Johnson led Ramla with 13 each.
Early in the 3rd Ramat Hasharon held on to a 6-8 pt lead, until a three
by
Ornit Shwartz got it down to 53-50 again. Thirty seconds later Shwartz
drew
Gourevitch's 3rd foul, and sent her to the bench for the remaining 5:30
minutes of the 3rd. Shwartz made her free throws, Taly Noy found a hole
in
the defense and Ramla was down just 55-54. They later had a chance to
get
the lead but blew it. With 2:30 left in the 3rd Amber Hall was sent to
the
line with her team down 1. She made one of two and the game was tied at
57.
Ramla got its first lead since 2-0 later with another free throw, and
after
3 they still led 65-63.
A lay-up by Amber Hall made it 67-63 to start the 4th, that would be
Ramla's
biggest lead. Ramat Hasharon went ahead 69-68 with 4 straight pts by
Gourevitch, who also picked up a 4th foul but stayed on the floor with
under
7 minutes to play. 40 seconds later it was Johnson's turn to pick up
her
4th, and five seconds later she was charged with her 5th. The foul was
clearly committed by Amber Hall, but the ref still called it on
Johnson. Yes
both players were supporting similar looking Afros, but that�s why they
wear
numbers and that was a big call. Even without Johnson, Ramla wouldn�t
let
Ramat Hasharon go up by more than 4. Free throws by Natasha Branchikova
following Gourevitch�s 5th foul made it just 77-75 in favor of Ramat
Hasharon, with 2:30 left to play. Limor Mizrachi, who scored 11 pts in
the
quarter, drove the lane to push it back to four, but Hall was accurate
from
the line at the other end. Hall then switched to defending Mizrachi,
and
Ramla got a stop. The teams exchanged some free throws and with 18
seconds
left Ornit Shwartz was on the line with her team down 83-81. She made
just
one and Tali Noy stopped the clock with a foul on Mizrachi, who also
hit
just 1 of 2. Ramla got the ball with 16 seconds to play, and Amber Hall
put
it through the net with 3.5 left. Ramla quickly fouled and Mizrachi
made
them both. Amber Hall�s full court pass found Shwartz with her foot out
of
bounds, and that was it.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Lidiya Varbanova: 22 pts (10/14 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 6 rebs
Ina Gourevitch: 21 pts (4/5 2pt FGs, 3/4 3pt FGs, 4/5 FTs), 4 rebs
Rhonda Mapp: 15 pts (7/10 FGs, 1/2 FTs), 7 rebs
Limor Mizrachi: 15 pts (5/13 FGs, 5/6 FTs), 6 assts
Gulsah Akkaya � 8 pts (3/5 FGs, 2/3 FTs)
Tamar Maoz � 5 pts (1/4 FGs, 2/2 FTs)
For Ramla:
Amber Hall � 28 pts (9/19 FGs, 10/14 FTs), 12 rebs
Jaclyn Johnson � 18 pts (7/8 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 7 rebs, 6 TOs
Liron Cohen � 11 pts (3/4 3pt FGs, 2/2 FTs)
Ornit Shwartz � 10 pts (2/5 FGs, 5/8 FTs)
Natasha Branchikova � 9 pts (3/6 FGs, 3/4 FTs)
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.