Finals Game 4
By Lior Klinger
Yes Ramat Hasharon 64 - Elizur Ramla 61
Ramat Hasharon knew there was no tomorrow, and didn't want to let Ramla
celebrate on their home floor. We didn't get to watch great basketball
to
say the least, but it was more than enough to get your heart racing. No
team
managed to build a lead larger than 4 points, and the lead changed
hands
about as often as foul calls were made by the active refs. At the end,
a few
Ramla mistakes and clutch plays by Ramat Hasharon gave them the win in
their
last home game.
Ramla needed 3 minutes to get their first bucket, till Jackie Johnson
finished a fast break from midrange to make it 6-2. Ramla had too many
turnovers but was down only 9-13 with under 3 minutes to go in the
quarter.
A three by Liron Cohen gave Ramla their first lead of the game at
16-13, and
Ramla led 18-15 after 1. Ramat Hasharon regained the lead in the 2nd
after a
Tamar Maoz 3pointer, 22-19. Johnson scored 4 straight to put her team
up
again in a very slow quarter for both teams. Ramat Hasharon managed
only 3
points in 8 minutes and Ramla too was far from its normal form with 10
points in the quarter. Ramla led 28-25 at the break.
Things remained close in the 3rd quarter as the lead switched sides at
almost every possession. Mapp powered the ball into the hole to give
Ramat
Hasharon a 31-29 lead with 7:30 to go in the quarter. The ball barely
left
the net before Ina Gourevitch delivered an elbow to Ornit Shwartz�
face,
sending her to the floor in a great deal of pain. The game stopped, and
some
Ramla fans used the time to continue chanting disgusting curses at
Ramat
Hasharon's coach and players. The refs missed the elbowing, and gave
Tal
Natan a technical foul. Shwartz eventually got up and the game was
renewed.
Amber Hall hit 2 free throws with less than six minutes to go in the
quarter
to tie the game at 32. A drive by Johnson tied it at 39 with 2 mins to
play,
and on the other end Hall blocked Varbanova's shot, gained control of
the
ball and drew a foul. She again hit both FTs and Ramla build a 43-39
lead,
which was quite an accomplishment in this type of game. Varbanova
sealed the
quarter from the line, 43-41.
The 4th quarter began with a few 3 point plays. Mapp was first, than it
was
Liron Cohen who drew Varbanova's 4th, and finally it was Limor Mizrachi
who
hit an off balance jumper and the bonus FT to give Ramat Hasharon a
47-46
lead with 8:30 to go. Both teams reached the penalty in the next sloppy
few
minutes. A big steal and lay-up by Maoz gave Ramat Hasharon a 51-48
lead
with about 5 minutes to play. Cohen and Hall put Ramla up 1, but
Mizrachi
answered with a big 3. Varbanova made it 56-52 from the line after
drawing
Hall's 4th, but Ramla wouldn't let up. Cohen dished a quick assist to
Hall
and Gourevitch missed on the other end, leading to a Hall fast break
that
tied the game at 56 with 2 minutes to go. Mizrachi answered again with
another big shot from downtown with 90 seconds to go. Hall got to the
line
again and hit 1 of 2. On the other end, Varbanova threw a pass right to
Hall
who ran coast to coast, finished with a lay up and drew Varbanova's 5th
foul. Hall failed to complete the 3pt play, and Ramat Hasharon got the
ball.
Gulsah Akkaya recovered a miss by Mapp and was sent to the line where
she
made 1 of 2, with 48 seconds to play. On the other end Johnson
rebounded a
Shwartz miss and gave her team the lead with a put-back, 61-60, with 29
tics
on the clock. Mapp tried to push the title outside or Ramla�s reach
with a
jumper, but the locals had a chance to hold for the last shot, trailing
by 1
with 10 seconds left. Natasha Branchikova, who looked nothing like the
player who scored 25 pts in game 3, decided to take a shot in the lane
and
it didn�t go. Mapp got the rebound and was immediately fouled. She
nailed
both free throws, and Johnson�s last 3point attempt didn�t prevent a
5th
game.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Limor Mizrachi: 15 pts (2/7 2pt FGs, 2/3 3pt FGs, 5/5 FTs), 3 assts
Rhonda Mapp: 14 pts (5/14 FGs, 4/5 FTs), 11 rebs
Lidiya Varbanova: 12 pts (3/7 FGs, 6/6 FTs), 4 rebs
Tamar Maoz: 10 pts (3/8 FGs, 3/3 FTs), 4 assts
Gulsah Akkaya: 8 pts (3/7 FGs, 2/4 FTs)
Ina Gourevitch: 5 pts (1/11 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 7 rebs
For Ramla:
Amber Hall: 27 pts (9/14 FGs, 9/13 FTs), 14 rebs, 4 steals, 5 TOs
Jackie Johnson: 15 pts (5/14 FGs, 5/8 FTs), 7 rebs, 5 TOS
Liron Cohen: 14 pts (5/9 FGs, 3/3 FTs)
Taly Noy: 3 pts (1/1 3pt FG)
Natasha Branchikova: 2 pts (1/9 FGs, 3/3 FTs)
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.