Finals Game 3
By Orli Klinger
Elizur Ramla 86 – YES Ramat Hasharon 72
Ramla outplayed Ramat Hasharon in most of the game, and tightened its
grip
on the game with each passing quarter. Natasha Branchikova with another
great game, Amber Hall with another day in the office and a total sense
of
urgency in the Ramla camp swept the locals to a 2-1 lead in the series.
The
title is close enough to smell for Ramla, but it’s worth mentioning
that
Ramat Hasharon also lost game 3 in the semi final series to Ramat Hen
quite
convincingly, and even by the same number of points. After that win,
you
could hear singing in Croatian in Ramat Hen’s arena, but they ended up
watching Ramat Hasharon celebrating on their own floor. The singing in
Ramla
was less pleasant to listen to, but there’s no doubt this win is a big
step
in the right direction.
Amber Hall’s complete dominance on the boards and Jackie Johnson’s
scoring
helped Ramla open a 15-7 lead, with 5:30 to go in the first. Lidiya
Varbanova ended Ramat Hasharon’s drought, and Orna Ostfeld called a
timeout.
Ramat Hasharon came back with a Varbanova 3pt play from a Limor
Mizrachi
assist, and boxed out much better on the defensive end. Johnson left
with 2
fouls, and Ramat Hasharon kept getting closer. A Rhonda Mapp put back
ended
an 11-4 run to bring Ramat Hasharon to within 18-19 after 1.
Ramla maintained the lead in the 2nd with balanced scoring. Katia
Agronowitz
twisted her knee severely midway through the quarter – ending her
season,
and things continued to get worse for the visitors. Ramla led 32-26
after an
assist from Liron Cohen to Hall, and then Johnson and Varbanova headed
for
the bench. Ina Gourevitch made it 32-34 from the line, but Mapp joined
Varbanova on the bench and Ramat Hasharon got stuck. Ramla ended the
half
with an 11-3 run and got the biggest lead of the game so far, 45-35.
Ramat Hasharon scored the second half’s first 4 points, and Ramla
replied
with better defense. A 3 by Mizrachi cut the gap to single digits, but
Johnson answered with a 3 of her own. Ramat Hasharon was struggling to
get
into their offense, and Ramla began to pull away. Gulsah Akkaya drew
Johnson’s 3rd foul and finished with a hoop, and Ramat Hasharon called
a
timeout down 11 with a little over 2 minutes to play in the 3rd.
Another
basket by Akkaya injected some life into her teammates and they trimmed
the
gap to 54-61 going into the 4th.
Branchikova nailed an open 3 to start the quarter, which didn’t stop
Ramat
Hasharon from leaving her open. Even Luda Rom’s 5th foul didn’t slow
down
the locals’ momentum, and the lead reached 12. Three questionable fouls
were
called in the next few seconds, handing Gourevitch, Johnson and Mapp
their
4th personal. But that didn’t break Branchikova’s concentration, as she
kept
swishing from every angle. She hit 2 free throws to give Ramla an 82-68
lead, and the gap remained intact till the buzzer.
For Ramla:
Natasha Branchikova – 25 pts (6/10 2pt FGs, 3/7 3pt FGs, 4/4 FTs), 4
rebs, 2
stls
Amber Hall – 23 pts (7/15 FGs, 9/11 FTs), 15 rebs, 3 ast
Jaclyn Johnson – 17 pts (8/14 FGs) 4 rebs, 4 assts
Liron Cohen – 9 pts (4/8 FGs), 2 assts
Luda Rom – 8 pts (4/7), 3 rebs
For Ramat Hasharon:
Rhonda Mapp – 21 pts (9/14 FGs, 3/3 FTs), 6 rebs
Lidiya Varbanova – 15 pts (6/9 FGs, 3/3 FTs), 3 rebs, 3 assts
Ina Gourevitch – 14 pts (3/12 FGs, 8/8 FTs), 6 rebs, 5 assts, 4 TOs
Limor Mizrachi – 12 pts (5/11 FGs, 1/2 FTs), 4 rebs, 3 assts
Gulsah Akkaya – 8 pts (4/7 FGs)
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.