Round 4
By Orli Klinger
Ramat Hasharon 73 - Elizur Ramla 86
The main challenger for the Championship crown made a big statement with an
important road win, despite being down double digits in the 2nd half. Ramla
became just the second Israeli team to get a road win in Ramat Hasharon in
the last two years, led by those who failed to do so in last's season's
final - Amber Hall and Jackie Johnson who combined for 39 points.
Ramla's pair of Jackies, Moore & Johnson, raced to a 9-2 lead but Ina
Gorevich and Ramat Hasharon quickly tied the game and even gained a slim
advantage, 18-16 after 1.
Danielle McCulley managed to score 4 straight points before the refs had to
stop the game due to the loud and ugly curses that came out of the mouths of
some of the Ramla fans. On the court it didn't bother the locals who opened
a 39-29 gap till the break. Jackie Johnson had 10 points at the half but
Ramla looked disorganized and got only 1 point from Hall, while Gorevich and
McCulley led a balanced attack for Ramat Hasharon who was shooting 65% from
the field.
Two fast breaks by Tamar Maoz increased the lead to 42-31 early in the 3rd,
but then began a great 24-8 Ramla run to end the quarter. Two threes by Tali
Noy and Ornit Shwartz fired up Ramla and started a momentum which showed on
both sides of the court. Amber Hall got her first basket in the 24th minute
and helped the visitors to a 55-50 lead after 3.
Ramla didn't lose the lead all through the 4th and held off any comeback
attempts by Ramat Hasharon. Six straight points by Amber Hall made it 80-71
with 1:20 to play, and a couple of threes by Liron Cohen and Jackie Johnson
started the Ramla celebrations.
For Ramla:
Jackie Johnson - 21 pts (6/10 2pt FGs, 1/3 3pt FGs, 6/12 FTs), 9 rebs, 4
assists, 3 steals, 4 TOs.
Amber Hall - 18 pts (5/11 FGs, 8/10 FTs), 11 rebs, 4 assists, 3 steals, 3
TOs.
Jackie Moore - 17 pts (8/15 FGs, 1/1 FTs), 6 rebs.
Ornit Shwartz - 10 pts (0/3 2pt FGs, 2/4 3pt FGs, 4/7 FTs), 7 assists, 3
rebs. 3 TOs.
Natasha Branchikova - 10 pts (2/2 2pt FGs, 2/3 3pt FGs).
For Ramat Hasharon:
Ina Gorevich - 15 pts (7/12 FGs), 4 assists, 6 TOs.
Mirana Paunovich - 15 pts (5/10 2pt FGs, 1/3 3pt FGs), 5 rebs.
Danielle McCulley - 12 pts (6/8 FGs), 5 rebs.
Tamar Maoz - 11 pts (2/5 2pt FGs, 1/2 3pt FGs, 4/8 FTs), 5 assists.
Aluma Goren - 8 pts (4/9 FGs), 7 rebs, 6 assists, 7 TOs.
Maccabie Ramat Hen 84 - Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin
The locals started out well and went up 12-9. A 3pt play by Alexandra Music
tied the game with 4 minutes to go in the quarter and another 3pt play,
courtesy of Jackie Higgins, gave Haifa/Motzkin their first lead, 15-12.
Ramat Hen regained the lead at the end of the 1st, 20-19.
Rinat Zaltz-Levin scored 9 of her 10 points in a row at the start of the 2nd
and kept Haifa/Motzkin in the game. The visitors gained some momentum in the
closing minutes of the half and took a 49-43 lead at the break, despite a
good game by Vicky Hall.
Ramat Hen wasn't brilliant at the beginning of the 3rd but Haifa/Motzkin
kept sending them to the foul line. A steal and basket by Mariana Raguz, who
was very quiet up until that moment, made it 57-54 in favor of the locals
and they led 61-57 after 3.
Ramat Hen tried to break the game open but Haifa/Motzkin wasn't going away.
The gap was narrowed to less than 5 points for the first time in the quarter
after a Music assist to Higgins who made it 68-71 with about 5 minutes to
go. A free throw by Ljiljana Latinovic and two more by Adi Kindler tied the
game at 71, but Raguz answered with a big three. Two more penetrations by
her gave Ramat Hen a 4-point lead, despite Latinovic's efforts. A big basket
by Vicky Hall made it 84-80 with 3 seconds to play, and the basket plus foul
Music managed to draw wasn't enough.
For Ramat Hen:
Vicky Hall - 33 pts (13/19 FGs, 7/10 FTs), 4 rebs, 3 ast.
Simone Edwards - 18 pts (8/11 FGs, 2/3 FTs), 10 rebs.
Mariana Raguz - 17 pts (7/7 2pt FGs & 1/1 3pt FGs!!!), 3 rebs, 4 TOs.
Monika Kovac - 6 pts (1/5 FGs), 4 steals, 2 ast.
For Haifa/Motzkin:
Jackie Higgins - 21 pts (6/12 2pt FGs, 1/1 3pt FGs, 6/7 FTs), 7 rebs.
Alexandra Music - 17 pts (8/14 FGs, 1/2 FTs), 3 rebs.
Ljiljana Latinovic - 17 pts (4/4 2pt FGs, 1/2 3pt FGs, 6/8 FTs), 4 TOs.
Rinat Zaltz-Levin - 10 pts (3/5 2pt FGs, 1/2 3pt FGs, 1/2 FTs), 3 TOs.
Adi Kindler - 9 pts (2/4 FGs, 4/4 FTs).
Maccabie Raanana 56 - Bnei Yehuda 57
Bnei Yehuda recovered from two loses and evened their record with a win in
Raanana. Bnei Yehuda jumped to an early lead that later on reached 18, but
Raanana came storming back. The locals got their first lead of the game in
the final minute, but then left Blazenka Cipcic open to give Bnei Yehuda a
57-56 lead with 4 seconds to play and Tatum Brown missed Raanana's last
shot.
For Bnei Yehuda:
Travesa Gant - 20 pts (9/18 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 15 rebs, 3 steals, 3 TOs.
Tawona Alhaleem - 16 pts (3/6 2pt FGs, 2/3 3pt FGs, 4/6 FTs), 4 rebs, 5 ast,
5 steals, 3 TOs.
Blazenka Cipcic - 12 pts (3/8 FGs, 6/8 FTs), 7 rebs, 3 TOs.
For Raanana:
Tatum Brown - 16 pts (5/10 FGs, 6/7 FTs), 18 rebs(!!), 5 blocks(!), 4
steals, 6 TOs.
Nikki Thompkins - 14 pts (6/8 FGs, 2/5 FTs), 6 rebs.
Nili Natho - 9 pts (3/6 2pt FGs, 1/6 3pt FGs), 4 steals, 5 TOs.
Elizur Holon 91 - Maccabie Ashdod 81
Somebody was going to get their first win, and Limor Mizrachi made sure it
was the locals.
For Holon: Octavia Blue 24 pts, Limor Mizrachi 20 pts.
For Ashdod: Valerie Muoneke 19 pts, Kenya Larkin 18 pts.
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Player Of Round 4: Amber Hall
A great second half by a wonderful player swept Ramla to its biggest win of
the season in Ramat Hasharon. Hall finished with 18 points & 11 rebounds and
took responsibility in the closing minutes.
Round 4 First Team:
Limor Mizrachi - Took a team heading to Division II and led them to an
important win against a caller-dwelling rival.
Mariana Raguz - 17 points, most coming in crunch time, on 100% shooting in
Ramat Hen's narrow victory over Haifa/Motzkin.
Jackie Johnson - Led all scorers with 21 points on good shooting and added 9
rebounds for Ramla.
Vicky Hall - Scored 33 points for Ramat Hen against Haifa/Motzkin.
Amber Hall - 17 second half points in Ramat Hasharon.
Just missed out: Tatum Brown, Ornit Shwartz & Travesa Gant.
Round 4 All-Bust Team:
Aluma Goren who had 7 TOs & a technical; Jamie Lewis who probably won't last
much longer; Draguslava Jakula who doesn't look like the player she was last
year; Ina Boutenko who can't hit water from a boat this season; and Lydia
Varbanova who scored in single digits for the first time in a long time.
The Standings:
1) Elizur Ramla 4-0
2) Maccabie Ramat Hen 3-1
3) Bnei Yehuda 2-2
4) Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 2-2
5) Maccabie Raanana 2-2
6) Ramat Hasharon 2-2
7) Elizur Holon 1-3
8) Maccabie Ashdod 0-4
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.