Ramat Hasharon visited Burgas of Bulgaria for a Europe Cup game Thursday night. Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin and Hapoel Petah Tikva made up the first of two 1/8 finals Israeli Cup games that were postponed earlier this month. The 2nd game is set for November 13.
Burgas 67 – Ramat Hasharon 68
Michelle Snow hit the game winner with 44 seconds left to play to lift
Ramat
Hasharon to an important win. After building a 43-31 lead at the half,
Ramat
Hasharon managed just 25 points in the 2nd half but was able to hold on
for
the win.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Octavia Blue: 18 pts (5/10 FGs, 7/8 FTs), 4 rebs
Gunta Basko: 15 pts (5/9 FGs, 5/6 FTs), 7 rebs
Michelle Snow: 13 pts (5/9 2pt FGs, 0/2 3pt FGs, 3/8 FTs), 7 rebs
Sharon Zeevi & Lili Latinovic: 7 pts each
Hapoel Petah Tikva 57 – Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 83
Petah Tikva is still searching for its first win, while Haifa/Motzkin
just
might lose count. Petah Tikva did get off to a good start, leading 6-2
after
setting a rare screen for Molly Creamer who stroked a 3 as the first
play of
the game. Haifa/Motzkin answered with a 7-0 run but Petah Tikva ended
the
quarter up 20-15. Lynn Pride and Haifa/Motzkin missed good shots and
just
didn’t seem very focused. That was about to change.
About 3 minutes into the 2nd quarter Petah Tikva was still up 26-19.
Nakia
Sanford helped Motzkin cut it to 28-24, and Petah Tikva switched to a
zone
due to foul trouble. Lena Mustafina, who didn’t get a shot off in the
1st
thanks to Creamer’s tight defense, took advantage of the switch to
drain her
first 3pointer. Motzkin gained a 31-30 lead with 2 minutes to go, after
Pride made an open 3. Petah Tikva greatly missed Tali Noy who was
benched
during that stretch. She came back following a timeout but Motzkin
still led
35-34 at the break.
Center Tiffany Listenbee picked up two fouls in 7 seconds to start the
3rd,
Petah Tikva stayed in their zone and Mustafina caught fire. She scored
7 pts
in a row out of her 15 in the quarter. Haifa/Motzkin ended the quarter
up
62-49. Petah Tikva continued to struggle offensively in the 4th, which
at
times looked like a Pride & Sanford lay-up drill. The gap just kept
growing
until the buzzer.
For Haifa/Motzkin:
Mustafina: 23 pts (5/5 3pt FGs)
Nakia Sanford: 22 pts (8/14 FGs, 5/7 FTs), 11 rebs
Lynn Pride: 19 pts (10/22 FGs, ½ FTs), 6 rebs, 5 assts, 4 steals
Crystal Givens: 8 pts (4/14), 12 rebs, 4 assts
Laine Selwyn: 6 pts (1/6 2pt FGs, 1/1 3pt FGs, ½ FTs), 10 assts, 5
rebs, 3
TOs, 1 steal
For Petah Tikva:
Chanel Wright-Green: 23 pts (10/18 FGs, 3/6 FTs), 9 rebs
Molly Creamer: 11 pts (4/11 FGs, 2/4 FTs), 5 rebs
Tiffany Listenbee: 8 pts (4/9), 7 rebs
Rivi Grinboym: 8 pts (3/13 FGs, 2/3 FTs), 6 assts, 4 steals
Tali Noy: 6 pts, 6 assts
‘Safsal’s Player Of The Month: Nakia Sanford
Even though the season is just over a week old, Haopel Haifa/Motzkin
managed
to play 3 games and win them all in a convincing manner. One of the
main
reasons for Haifa/Motzkin’s success is their Center, Nakia Sanford, who
scored 21.3 points and pulled down 13 rebounds per game. The league’s
dark
horse is looking great, and Sanford deserves quite a bit of the credit.