Maccabi Ramat Hen 99 – Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 88
Ramat Hen used a wonderful offensive performance to defeat
Haifa/Motzkin in
a great game for both teams. A superb 2nd half by Plenette Pierson
along
with great games for Tawona Alhaleem & Edwina Brown was just too much
for
the previously unbeaten Motzkin.
Motzkin led 9-2 four minutes into the game, but Brown & Alhaleem cut it
to
11-9 with 3:20 left in the 1st. Following Lynn Pride’s only 4 points of
the
half, Motzkin led 15-11 but soon lost PG Laine Selwyn to the bench with
two
fouls. Ramat Hen took advantage of Selwyn’s absence and finished the
quarter
with a 9-0 run to take a 20-15 lead after 1.
Motzkin had a 7-2 run to start the 2nd but five straight points by
Alhaleem
made sure the lead stays with Ramat Hen. Motzkin trailed 32-25 but
brought
their full starting line up back for the final 3 minutes of the half.
Nakia
Sanford controlled the paint and Selwyn buried two 3pointers to give
her
team a 42-40 edge at the break. Edwina Brown led all scorers with 16
points,
Alhaleem and Sanford scored 13 each.
Ramat Hen started getting Pierson the ball where she likes it to start
the
3rd quarter. Pierson, who had just six points at the half, scored 6
more in
the first 3 minutes of the quarter but the score was tied at 49. A
three by
Alhaleem broke a 53 all tie, and was a sign of things to come. A steal
by
Brown set up an easy lay-up for Alhaleem, and she followed it with
another
3. Five straight points by Sanford kept Motzkin in the game as Ramat
Hen was
torching the nets. Ina Boutenko and Nomi Kolodny hit 2 more threes
each, no
defensive scheme seemed to help Motzkin stop the local’s shooting
clinic.
After that crazy 3rd quarter, in which Ramat Hen nailed six straight
threes
and won 37-26, the score was 77-68.
Edwina Brown, who picked up a silly 4th foul at the end of the 3rd,
didn’t
start the final quarter. A three by Lena Mustfina and a basket by Pride
cut
it to 79-73, but Pierson pushed it back to nine with a 3pt play. A nice
move
by Pride to finish a fast-break made it an 82-76 game with 6 minutes
left.
Ramat Hen was scoreless for almost 90 seconds and called a timeout.
They
came back and broke the press with a great dish from Kolodny to
Pierson. She
then added another 3pt play which made it 85-76, and Alhaleem made sure
Motzkin won’t get closer than 7 the rest of the way.
For Ramat Hen:
Tawona Alhaleem: 32 pts (12/14 2pt FGs, 2/4 3pt FGs, 6/6 FTs), 4 rebs
Plenette Pierson: 26 pts (11/14 FGs, 4/4 FTs), 6 rebs
Edwina Brown: 20 pts (5/9 2pt FGs, 1/1 3pt FGs, 7/7 FTs), 9 assts, 5
steals,
5 TOs
Naomi Kolodny: 10 pts (4/6 FGs), 4 assts
For Haifa/Motzkin:
Nakia Sanford: 30 pts (14/16 FGs, 2/5 FTs), 10 rebs
Laine Selwyn: 17 pts (1/2 2pt FGs, 3/4 3pt FGs, 6/6 FTs), 3 steals, 3
assts,
1 board, 4 TOs
Lena Mustfina: 13 pts (4/10 FGs, 3/4 FTs)
Lynn Pride: 12 pts (5/11 2pt FGs), 2/3 FTs), 7 rebs
Crystal Givens: 10 pts (3/6 FGs, 4/4 FTs), 2 rebs, 3 assts
Maccabi Ashdod 83 - Ramat Hasharon 85
Ashdod led by 16 with 5 minutes to go but Ramat Hasharon came storming
back,
taking advantage of the local foul trouble. Ashdod led 46-40 at the
break,
behind 21 points by Kenya Larkin. The 3rd quarter was even better for
Ashdod, as they led 67-53. Jo Ruth Woods fouled out with 5 minutes left
to
play and that started Ramat Hasharon’s comeback. They scored 18
straight
points to tie the game at 80 with 1:50 left. Larkin fouled out with 30
seconds to play and her team up 82-80 and Ramat Hasharon managed to get
over
the hump.
Ashdod played without injured center Ebony Tanner. Ramat Hasharon was
without Michelle Snow who was recently released from the team. Tamar
Maoz
also sat out due to injury. Ramat Hasharon is trying to get center
Lidiya
Varbanova back, who spent the last 2 seasons with the team and won two
straight Championships.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Gunta Basko 23 pts
Octavia Blue 17 pts
Lili
Latinovic
15 pts
Aluma Goren 13 pts
For Ashdod:
Kenya Larkin 33 pts
Jo Ruth Woods 22 pts
Bnei Yehuda 97 – ASA Jerusalem 52
Beni Yehuda proved again why they are one of the league’s top teams.
For Beni Yehuda:
Detrina White 27 pts
Leigh Aziz 20 pts
Kelley Gibson
18
pts
For Jerusalem:
Telisha Quarles 17 pts
Elizur Holon 75 – Hapoel Petah Tikva 88
Both teams got off to a slow start, Petah Tikva dominated inside and
took
the lead. Shala Reese came off the bench for Holon and made the
difference
with 6 straight points. Holon led 22-21 after 1. Petah Tikva played to
the
level of competition and Holon increased the lead to 39-31 with 3
minutes
left in the half. At the break Holon led 44-35.
Petah Tikva’s posts, Tiffany Listenbee & Chanel Wright Green, had their
way
in the 3rd despite foul trouble but Holon still led 63-60. Tali Noy
gave
Petah Tikva a 66-65 lead with 7:30 left, Holon had three players with 4
fouls already. Petah Tikva kept pushing, Holon didn’t give up but Molly
Creamer and Rivi Grinboym didn’t let them get too close.
For Petah Tikva:
Chanel Wright Green: 24 pts, 9 rebs
Tiffany Listenbee: 22 pts, 11 rebs
Molly Creamer: 20 pts, 7 assts
Rivi Grinboym: 13 pts
For Holon:
Shala Reese 27 pts
Sivan Ballalis 23 pts
Kristina
Covington 10
pts
Elizur Ramla 82 – Maccabi Raanana 39
Ramla continues to show no mercy, boarder line abuse.
For Ramla:
Ina Gourevitch & Amber Hall – 15 pts each
Monica Veslovski
12
pts
Ayana Walker 10 pts
For Raanana:
Susan Murray 13 pts
Hana Halleli 8 pts
Round 4’s MVP: Tawona Alhaleem
Alhaleem led Ramat Hen to a big win over Haifa/Motzkin with 32 points
on
great shooting. Ramat Hen wasn’t short on scorers last night, but
Alhaleem
got the job done from tip off till the final buzzer with 13 points in
the
1st half and 19 in the 2nd.
Round 4’s First Team:
Edwina Brown – She did it all in Ramat Hen’s victory, finishing with 20
pts,
9 assists, 5 steals and 4 rebs.
Kenya Larkin – Had an outstanding game with 33 points against Ramat
Hasharon. Ashdod may have been able to complete the upset had she not
fouled
out with 30 seconds left.
Tawona Alhaleem – Fell 4 points shy of her Israeli league career high,
and
she made it look so easy.
Plenette Pierson – Wasn’t in the game in the 1st half but was virtually
unstoppable in the 2nd. Pierson didn’t back down from the much bigger
Nakia
Sanford and went strong to the basket. She scored 20 in the 2nd half
out of
a total of 26, on 79% shooting.
Nakia Sanford – A near perfect game by Sanford with 30 points (14/16
shooting) and 10 boards wasn’t enough for her team to get a win, but
was
more than what she needed to crack the 1st Team.
The Standings
1. Elizur Ramla 4-0
2. Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 3-1
3. Bnei Yehuda 3-1
4. Ramat Hen 3-1
5. Ramat Hasharon 3-1
6. Hapoel Petah Tikva 2-2
7. Maccabi Raanana 1-3
8. ASA Jerusalem 1-3
9. Maccabi Ashdod 0-4
10. Elizur Holon 0-4