Round 6
By Lior Klinger
Maccabi Ramat Hen 87 - YES Ramat Hasharon 75
Ramat Hasharon came into the game knowing a loss would mean 4 in a row.
Ramat Hen on the other hand just wanted to keep up with Ramla. Vicky Hall
and her teammates made sure the latter would happen.
The locals jumped to a quick 13-6 lead, but Ramat Hasharon replied with an
8-0 run to gain a 1 pt lead. With 48 secs to go in the quarter Ramat
Hasharon again led by 1 but Ramat Hen regained the lead, 25-21 after 1.
Varbanova gave Ramat Hasharon its first lead in the 2nd at 30-29, with 6:30
to play in the half. Ramat Hen struggled on offense, they had trouble
getting the ball inside to Edwards. The visitors' biggest lead was 7, but at
the break it was just 42-38. Danielle McCulley, who was defended mostly by
undersized guards, had 14 pts for Ramat Hasharon already.
Ramat Hen's defense improved in the 2nd half, with Monika Kovac leading by
example. A 3pt play by Vicky Hall capped off a 14-2 local run, with 6:37
left in the 3rd. Ina Gourevitch then stroked a three trying to get her team
back into it. Tamar Maoz cut it to 58-55 with 1 minute to go, and Vicky Hall
added 2 FTs to make it 60-55 after 3.
The game remained close in the 4th quarter as well, but Ramat Hen hung on to
the lead. With 4 minutes to play and her team down 69-65, Varbanova
committed her 5th foul and Edwards pushed it to six. Maoz followed Varbanova
to bench shortly, but despite that Ramat Hasharon was down just 71-67 as
Gourevitch scored from the line. Aluma Goren added a FT of her own to cut it
to 3, but Edwards completed a big 3pt play at the other end. The finish
belonged to Ramat Hen, as they pushed the lead and managed 2 nice looking
ally-hoops before the buzzer.
For Ramat Hen:
Vicky Hall: 28 pts (8/16 FGs, 11/16 FTs), 5 rebs
Simone Edwards: 17 pts (5/13 FGs, 7/10 FTs), 15 rebs, 3 blocks
Marianna Raguz: 16 pts (5/8 FGs), 4 rebs.
Monica Kovac: 9 pts (4/5 FGs, 1/4 FTs), 3 steals
For Ramat Hasharon:
Danielle McCulley: 20 pts (5/12 FGs, 9/12 FTs), 5 rebs
Ina Gourevitch: 19 pts (5/10 FGs, 8/8 FTs), 4 rebs
Lidiya Varbanova: 16 pts (8/9 FGs)
Maccabi Ashdod 78 - Elizur Ramla 83
Ramla maintained its perfect record after unexpected battle at Ashdod who
remains winless.
Ramla was already up 36-16 during the 2nd quarter, but Ashdod made a huge
comeback led by Kenya Larkin who showed a lot of potential. Jackie Johnson
fouled out in the 23rd minute after being called for questionable 4th foul
and sounding off to the ref about it, which resulted in a technical. Amber
Hall got her 5th with just over 4 minutes to play.
Valerie Muoneke scored with 1 minute to go and cut Ramla's lead to just
79-76. Jackie Moore didn't panic and made sure to keep the W in Ramla's
hands as the two other members of 'the triplets' watched with interest from
the bench.
For Ramla:
Jackie Moore: 21 pts
Ornit Shwartz: 16 pts
Amber Hall: 14 pts
Jackie
Johnson: 14 pts
Tali Noy: 11 pts
For Ashdod:
Kenya Larkin: 31 pts
Crystal Givens: 10 pts
Tali Ben-Ishay 10 pts
Elizur Holon 74 - Bnei Yehuda 88
For Bnei Yehuda:
Travesa Gant 27 pts
Blazenka Cipcic 21 pts
Tawona
Alhaleem 10 pts
Guni Tanchelson & Ina Boutenko 8 pts each
Dragoslava
Jakula 7 pts
For Holon:
Limor Mizrachi 21 pts
Octavia Blue 18 pts
Revital Karmon 10 pts
Maccabi Raanana 48 - Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 43
No, this is not a halftime score.
For Raanana: Sharon Zeevi 13 pts (5/9 FGs, 1/2 FTs), 7 boards
Nikki Thompkins: 11 pts (4/8 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 8 rebs
Snjeana Vasich: 10 pts (3/7 3pt FGs, 1/2 FTs), 8 rebs, 7 assists
Tatum Brown: 7 pts (3/8 FGs, 1/3 FTs), 8 rebs
For Haifa Motzkin:
Adi Kindler: 14 pts (1/1 2pt FG, 4/8 3pt FGs)
Aleksandra Music: 8 pts (3/8 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 6 rebs
Jamie Lewis: 8 pts (3/10 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 3 rebs
Ljiljana Latinovic: 6 pts (3/10 FGs), 5 ast, 5 steals, 5 TOs
Jackie Higgins: 6 pts (2/8 FGs, 2/6 FTs), 13 rebs
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MVP of the round: Vicky Hall
Finished with 28 pts, quite a few of them in the clutch, as she led Ramat
Hen to a win over the 2-time defending champs. It doesn't look like she's
going to pass on individual scoring title, and it's definitely not the only
title she's got in mind.
Round 6 - 1st Team:
Monica Kovac: Was one of the main factors in Ramat Hen's win with terrific
play-making, tough defense and great energy.
Kenya Larkin: scored 31 pts and was in charge of Ashdod's remarkable
comeback. Ramla couldn't find the answer to her quickness and determination
but her efforts still fell short.
Sharon Zeevi: Stood out in Raanana's upset win over Haifa/Motzkin with 13
pts & 7 boards off the bench.
Vicky Hall: Finally got the long awaited win over her ex team (played there
in 01/02).
Simone Edwards: Not a stellar offensive performance but she dominated the
boards and ended up with a nice double-double of 17 & 15.
All-bust team:
Aluma Goren: More fouls than points (5 to 1)
Nili Nataho: Continued her slump this year with 3 of 9 FGs and 7 TOs.
Ljiljana Latinovic: The league leader in FG% who was averaging 16 ppg
finished with just 6 on 30% shooting in the loss.
Rinat Zalts-Levin: Started the game and finished with 1 point.
Jackie Johnson: Fouled out early in the 2nd half after getting a T, causing
Ramla to sweat a lot more than expected.
The Stadings:
1. Elizur Ramla 6-0
2. Maccabi Ramat Hen 5-1
3. Bnei Yehuda 4-2M
4. Maccabi Raanana 4-2
5. Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 3-3
6. YES Ramat Hasharon 2-4
7. Elizur Holon 1-5
8. Maccabi Ashdod 0-6
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.