Round 9
By Lior Klinger
There are no more undefeated teams in the league. Ramat Hen paid a visit to
Ramla and managed to come out on top after a hard fought battle. Maccabi
Ashdod got its first win of the season and Ramat Hasharon won for the 2nd
time in a row.
Now for a bit of news. Aluma Goren, Ramat Hasharon's captain point guard and
former captain of the Israeli national team, will be out of action for about
a month. Goren is currently recovering from a successful surgery to remove a
tumor from her head. As a result, Ramat Hasharon signed current Israeli NT
captain, PG Limor Mizrachi, for the remainder of the season. Goren supports
the signing and there is no doubt that Mizrachi will help Ramat Hasharon
greatly.
Elizur Ramla 65 - Maccabi Ramat Hen 66
This was one of the best games of the season so far. For 40 minutes the two
teams slugged it out and as the buzzer sounded Ramla was 1 point short of
maintaining its perfect record.
Two minutes into the game Ramat Hen was up 8-3. They managed to stay in
front the rest of the quarter and led 21-15 with 33 seconds left but Jackie
Johnson drew a foul with 0.9 on the clock to cut it to 21-17 after one.
A Natasha Branchikova 3 finally gave Ramla the lead, 24-23. Ramat Hen got
it's first field goal 30 seconds later - 4 minutes into the 2nd courtesy of
Vicky Hall. The lead kept switching sides but with 3 minutes till halftime
the visitors were up 35-30. A Liron Cohen three and a buzzer beater jumper
by Ornit Shwartz made sure Ramla would take a 37-36 lead into the locker
room.
Vicky Hall put Ramat Hen up again with a three to make it 40-39, but Johnson
answered with a 3 as well. A three point play by Jackie Moore extended
Ramla's lead to 49-44, and Shwartz put the finishing touch on the 15-6 run
with a three to make it 56-46 after 3. With just 10 pts in the quarter
Ramat Hen's offense seemed stuck, as individual plays by Marianna Raguz and
Hall did not prevail.
Ramla has been known as a 2nd half team, and as Amber Hall completed a 3 pt
play with 6 mins to go things weren't looking good for Ramat Hen which was
down just 3 earlier in the 4th and trailed 59-51. But, understanding the
importance of the game, the visitors fought back.
They got key stops as Hall, Rivi Grinboym and Monika Kovac led the way in an
8-0 run to tie the game with a bit over 3 minutes to play. Jackie Moore got
an 'and 1' to go and put her team up 62-59, two minutes to go. Simone
Edwards cut it to 1 from the line, and Ramla missed on the other end. Vicky
Hall recovered the ball and decided to bring it up. Amber Hall has been
doing a good job denying the ball from her for some time. V.Hall found
Grinboym on the 3pt line and she swished it to give Ramat Hen a 64-62 lead
with a minute to go. Jackie Johnson went 1 for 2 from the line with 44
seconds left, and on the other end Grinboym made both of her FTs with 21
secs to go. Down 66-63 Johnson missed a 3pt attempt. Moore got the put back
but it was too little too late.
For Ramat Hen:
Vicky Hall 28 pts, 9 rebs.
Rivi Grinboym 13 pts
Simone Edwards 10 pts
Marianna Raguz 9 pts
Monika Kovac 6 pts
For Ramla:
Amber Hall: 23 pts & 13 rebs
Jackie Moore: 15 pts
Jaclyn Johnson: 14 pts
Ornit Shwartz & Liron Cohen 5 pts each.
Elizur Holon 72 - Ramat Hasharon 82
Holon made Ramat Hasharon sweat in the 1st half and some of the 3rd quarter,
but in the end the visitors' depth showed as they cruised the rest of the
way.
Ina Gourevitch had her way with Yulia Rozova in the opening minutes. With no
true point guard, Juana Brown had to play the 1. She proved she can do a lot
of things well, but running the offense isn't one of them. Gulsah Akkaya
scored 8 straight points to put Ramat Hasharon up 17-13. Brown made sure
Holon stays in it and they trailed just 21-18 after one.
Octavia Blue was starting to feel it in the 2nd, and Holon regained the
lead. The pace increased and both teams exchanged a three for a three and a
deuce for a deuce. A full court pass by Brown to Blue set the halftime score
at 42 apiece. Ramat Hasharon was without foul plagued Gourevitch in the 2nd,
and was still waiting for a real contribution from Tracy Reid. Rhonda Mapp,
by the way, was watching with interest from the bench in street clothes.
In the 3rd quarter Holon, who played with just 6 players, ran out of gas.
After being down 54-50, Ramat Hasharon went on a 21-2 run spanning over 2
quarters. Tamar Maoz started it with 5 straight points, Reid added 4 of her
own and by the time Holon got a bucket they score was 71-58 with less than 8
minutes to play. The outcome of the game was not in doubt until the end.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Lydia Varbanova: 22 pts
Ina Gourevitch: 17 pts
Tracy Reid: 16 pts
For Holon:
Juana Brown: 21 pts
Octavia Blue: 19 pts
Maccabi Ashdod 71 - Maccabi Raanana 54
First win for Ashdod. Raanana displayed a weak offensive game yet again.
For Ashdod:
Kenya Larkin: 23 pts (6/10 2pt FGs, 3/7 3pt FGs, 2/2 FTs), 5 ast
Crystal Givens: 13 pts, 8 rebs
For Raanana:
Snjezana Vasic: 17 pts (5/9 2pt FGs, 2/6 3pt FGs, 1/1 FT), 5 rebs
Tatum Brown: 11 pts (3/6 FGs, 5/10 FTs), 7 rebs
Bnei Yehuda 49 - Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 61
Haifa/Motzkin took advantage of Bnei Yehuda's lacking roster and advanced to
the 3rd place in the standing.
For Haifa/Motzkin:
Jackie Higgins: 15 pts
Adi Kindler: 10 pts
For Bnei Yehuda:
Tawona Alhaleem: 15 pts
Ina Boutenko: 12 pts
Round 9 MVP: Vicky Hall
Played one of her best games of the season in the most important game of the
season. Hall's 28 pts, 9 rebounds and fighting spirit against Ramla's strong
frontline were the key for Ramat Hen's big win.
Round 9 first team:
Kenya Larkin - Led Ashdod to its first win of the season with 23 pts.
Rivi Grinboym - Scored Ramat Hen's final 5 points with a big 3 to give her
team their first lead in the 4th with 1 minute left, and two FTs with 21
seconds to go.
Lidiya Varbanova - With 22 pts against Holon, she's been smiling ever since
Tracy Reid arrived.
Octavia Blue - Impressive game against Ramat Hasharon.
Vicky Hall - The undisputed MVP of the round.
Just missed: Amber All, Ina Gourevitch, Jackie Higgins, Juana Brown.
Round 9 bust team: Jackie Johnson, Ornit Swartz, Tatum Brown, Sharon Zeevi,
Jackie Moore.
The Standings:
1. Ramla 8-1
2. Ramat Hen 7-2
3. Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 5-4
4. Bnei Yehuda 5-4
5. Maccabi Raanana 4-5
6. YES Ramat Hasharon 4-5
7. Elizur Holon 2-7
8. Maccabi Ashdod 1-8
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.