Round 3
By Lior Klinger
Bnei Yehuda 74 - Ramat Hasharon 64
This was the biggest upset of our young season. Bnei Yehuda got their first
win at the expense of the defending champs, who were handed their first
loss.
Ramat Hasharon jumped to a 10-4 lead, and later 14-8 with center Lidiya
Varbanova leading the way with 8 pts and Ina Gourevich scoring the other
six. The locals got their first lead of the game with 1:20 left in the
quarter, as Blazenka Cipcic completed a 3 pt play to make it 17-16. The
quarter ended with a 9-2 Bnei Yehuda run, and they led 21-18 after 1.
Bnei Yehuda extended its lead to 25-18 early in the 2nd, with Tawona
Alhaleem shutting down Gourevich. The visitors snapped out of their drought
and tied the game at 25 with 6 minutes left in the half, but it didn?t last
long. Back up PG Guni Tanhelson nailed back-2-back threes to push the local
lead to 36-26. At the half the score was 42-32.
Bnei Yehuda increased their lead in the 3rd, and the upset was looking more
and more real as the score was 55-42 with 3 left in the quarter. Ramat
Hasharon did some damage control before the quarter break, and ended up
being down by just nine, 55-46. It was clear that if Ramat Hasharon doesn?t
go on a run soon, it would be too late.
Down 59-48 following a Jackula three, Ramat Hasharon went on a 12-0 run led
by Tamar Maoz to gain the lead back, 60-59. Travesa Gant scored to put Bnei
Yehuda on top again but youngster Katia Levitzky, who started the 4th
quarter, answered right back. Mirna Paunovic made it 64-63 in favor of the
visitors with under 3 minutes to go, but her team did not score again.
Tanhelson started an 11-0 local run with a three and ended it as well, with
a mid-court buzzer-beater. Ramat Hasharon had its chances but several under
the basket misses by Danielle McCulley and a few turnovers got in the way.
For Bnei Yehuda:
Guni Tanhelson: 15 pts (4/4 3pt FGs, 3/4 FTs)
Tawona Alhaleem: 15 pts (6/7 2pt FGs, 1/3 3pt FGs), 4 rebs, 5 ast, great
defense.
Travesa Gant: 14 pts (5/11 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 12 rebs.
Blazenka Cipcic: 11 pts (5/9 FGs, 1/1 FT)
For Ramat Hasharon:
Lydia Varbanova: 14 pts (7/11 FGs)
Tamar Maoz: 13 pts (6/6 2pt FGs, 0/6 3pt FGs, 1/1 FT)
Ina Gourevich: 8 pts (2/6 FGs, 4/4 FTs)
Aluma Goren: 8 pts, 5 ast
Danielle McCulley: 5 pts (1/6 FGs, � FTs), 9 rebs
Elizur Holon 62, Maccabi Raanana 67
Limor Mizrachi returned to the Israeli league as she signed with Holon the
day of the game, but despite her efforts Holon suffered its 3rd defeat of
the season.
The game started with a 12-4 Holon run, but Raanana got back into the game
and it remained close through out. Raanana's SG Nili Nataho fouled out with
3:30 left to play, and that allowed Holon to get the lead back, but Raanana
used a few Holon misses and turnovers to walk away with the victory.
For Raanana:
Tatum Brown: 17 pts
Nikki Thompkins: 13 pts
For Holon:
Octavia Blue: 17 pts
Limor Mizrachi: 13 pts.
Elizur Ramla 67 - Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 49
With Ramat Hasharon's loss and their win over Haifa, Ramla is the only
undefeated team left standing. At the half Ramla?s lead was just two, 28-26,
but in the 2nd half they blew the game open and didn't look back.
For Ramla:
Jackie Johnson 24 pts (8/14 2pt FGs, 2/2 3pt FGs, 2/3 FTs), 7 rebs
Amber Hall: 17 pts (6/14 FGs, 5/7 FTs), 9 rebs, 4 steals
Jackie Moore: 11 pts (5/9 FGs), 9 rebs
For Haifa/Motzkin:
Jamie Lewis: 17 pts (7/14 FGs, 3/5 FTs), 5 rebs
Jackie Higgins: 9 pts (2/11 FGs, 5/6 FTs)
Ljiljana Latinovic: 6 pts (3/7), 3 ast
Maccabi Ashdod 62 - Maccabi Ramat Hen 68
Ashdod remains winless.
For Ramat Hen:
Vicky Hall: 23 pts (9/17 FGs, 4/4 FTs), 5 rebs
Rivi Grinboiem: 22 pts (3/4 2pt FGs, 5/7 3pt FGs!!)
Simone Edwards: 11 pts (4/11 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 10 rebs
Marianna Raguz: 8 pts (3/8 FGs, 2/2 FTs)
For Ashdod:
Vika Rudovski: 16 pts (5/13 FGs, 6/7 FTs)
Crystal Givens: 15 pts (5/13 FGs, 5/6 FTs), 8 rebs
Valerie Muoneke: 14 pts (7/16 FGs), 10 rebs
-------------------------------------------------------------
Player of Round 3: Tawona Alhaleem
Ina Gourevich got off to a quick start with 6 points, but that was before
Alhaleem started guarding her. As if handcuffed, Gourevich added just 2 more
points the rest of the game. Alhaleem also scored 15 pts in the win.
Round 3 First Team:
Guni Tanhelson: Helped Bnei Yehuda hold off Ramat Hasharon?s comeback with
her big threes and clutch free throws.
Tawona Alhaleem: Great game on both ends of the court.
Jackie Johnson: First great outing of the season for her, with 24 pts & 7
rebounds.
Vicky Hall: Led Ramat Hen with 23 pts & 5 boards in the win at Ashdod.
Tatum Brown: Still leading the way for Raanana, had 17 pts vs. Holon.
Honorable Mentions: Rivi Grinboiem, Jamie Lewis and Amber Hall.
Comeback of the round: Limor Mizrachi. She demonstrated how missed she
really was with superb play-making and important threes. Once she's back in
last season's form, Holon could start fantasizing about avoiding relegation.
Round 3's All-Bust team: Ina Gourevich, Danielle McCulley, Rinat
Zaltz-Levin, Ljiljana Latinovic & Kenya Larkin (2pt in 40 mins).
The Standings:
1. Elizur Ramla 3-0
2. Maccabi Ramat Hen 2-1
3. Maccabi Raanana 2-1
4. Ramat Hasharon 2-1
5. Hapoel Hifa/Motzkin 2-1
6. Bnei Yehuda 1-2
7. Maccabi Ashdod 0-3
8. Elizur Holon 0-3
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.