Ramla destroyed Ramat Hasharon in their much-anticipated Championship
re-match. Those who have been following the league knew the game wasn’t
going to be no nail biter, and it wasn’t, but when such arch rivals
meet
it’s always special. In other games Haifa/Motzkin struggled in Raanana,
Bnei
Yehuda won in Holon but it wasn’t easy, Petah Tikva got an important
road
win and Ramat Hen cruised vs. Jerusalem.
Elizur Ramla 106 – Ramat Hasharon 79
Ramla, which won its first five games of the season by an average of 28
points, demonstrated just how deadly a team they are with a big win
over
Ramat Hasharon. Amber Hall & Ayana Walker owned the paint, Liron Cohen
was
hot from outside and Monika Veselovski & Ina Gourevitch also scored in
double figures. Ramla is ridiculously loaded, they wanted the win more,
and
it showed right from the tip off. The defending champions however,
didn’t
exactly come in as favorites. Still heavily undersized, the visitors
stayed
close in the 1st half but broke down in the 2nd as Ramla exploded
offensively and Amber Hall created havoc in the Ramat Hasharon defense.
She
was 1 assist shy of a triple double with 23 pts, 23 boards and 9
assists.
Ramat Hasharon started with a zone, as they’ve been doing in recent
games,
but Ramla quickly broke it and got the ball inside. Ramat Hasharon’s
offense
lacked the chemistry and together-ness we were used to see from them in
the
last few seasons, but still did well enough to stay in striking
distance. A
tough shot by Gunta Basko over Ayana Walker made it a 14-12 game with 4
minutes left in the 1st, but Ramla finished strong with two threes by
Liron
Cohen and a 3pt play by Hall. They led 29-22 after 1.
Lenae Williams, who missed her first six shots in her debut game,
scored 7
straight points and Lili Latinovic hit one from down town to cut
Ramla’s
lead to 37-34 with about 6:30 left in the half. Monika Veselovski from
the
line and Amber Hall off an offensive board helped maintain the local
lead.
Ramat Hasharon gave the zone another shot, and Liron Cohen again came
off
the bench to tear it apart, but a buzzer beater by Basko made it just a
52-47 game at the break.
The scoreboard didn’t reflect Ramla’s domination on the court, but in
the
2nd Ramla showed us why they’re also the league’s #1 defensive team.
Five
straight points by Veselovski pushed the lead back to around 10, and
things
stayed the same early on in the 3rd. Four points by Walker, a three by
Cohen
and a fast-break lay-up by Ina Gourevitch increased the lead to 15,
Ramla
led 81-64 after 3. Ramat Hasharon scored 6 in a row to start the 4th
and cut
the lead to 11, but Veselovski with a three and Hall with an old
fashioned
three made it 87-72. Williams kept racking up points but Ramat Hasharon
was
simply overmatched as the gap continued to grow, grow and grow.
What’s important to remember before handing Ramla the trophy right now,
is
that the season is still very young and Ramat Hasharon usually looks a
lot
different come playoff time. They have to get bigger somehow. Williams
is a
scorer with a scorer’s mentality and had she not been there with her 26
points things would’ve gotten mighty ugly, but whether this team can
jell
together remains to be seen.
For Ramla
Amber Hall: 23 pts (10/14 FGs), 23 rebs, 9 assts
Ayana Walker: 21 pts (10/14 FGs), 10 rebs
Liron Cohen: 21 pts (5/6 3pt FGs)
Monika Veselovski: 16 pts
Draguslava Zakula: 7 pts, 5 assts
Ina Gourevitch 12 pts
Nili Nataho 4 pts
Tal Salz 2 pts
For Ramat Hasharon:
Lenae Williams 26 pts (7/15 FGs, 10/14 FTs)
Octavia Blue 16 pts
Gunta
Basko 11 pts
Lili Latinovic 10
Natasha Bartskova 8 pts
Sharon Zeevi
&
Aluma Goren 4 pts each
Maccabi Raanana 76 – Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 82
Raanana was without recently waved Allison Trapp, and newly signed
Michelle
Greco arrived hours before the game and was watching from the stands.
Raanana made up for her absence with a crazy day from down town – 15 of
23.
They hung around till the very end, and came very close to upsetting
Motzkin.
Raanana’s first five buckets where 3pointers, as they led 15-10. After
one
it was 23-18 in favor of the hosts. They cooled off a tad in the 2nd,
with
only 4 threes, but the game stayed close and we were tied at 43 at the
half.
In the 3rd it was Motzkin’s turn to catch fire. Raanana suddenly looked
lost
on both ends of the court, as Motzkin raced to a 62-49 lead with about
5
minutes left in the quarter. Crystal Givens and Lena Mustafina had 6
pts
each during the run. Hanna Hileli had all 6 points for Raanana, but
Ednisha
Curry then decided to join her effort and together they didn’t let
Motzkin
break the game open. Raanana made only 3 filed goals in the 3rd but got
11
points at the free throw line and was only down 68-60, before Laine
Selwyn
scored at the buzzer to make it a 70-60 game.
A 3pt play by Givens pushed Motzkin’s lead to 77-63 with 7:30 to play.
A
huge three by Hileli, her 2nd in the quarter, and another one by Inbal
Shnapper quickly cut the lead. Motzkin took a timeout up 79-69 with
about
5:30 left, but it didn’t stop Raanana’s momentum. Two free throws by
Morchova, a bucket by Hileli and another Shnapper three made it a 79-76
game
with 4:10 left. Motzkin continued to play sloppy but Raanana didn’t
take
advantage. Two scoreless minutes passed by, before Lynn Pride was sent
to
the line. She missed twice, Raanana got the board but missed a three at
the
other end. They finished the game with a 4-minute drought, which
featured 5
missed shots and 3 turnovers. With 38 seconds remaining Pride made 1 of
2
from the line, Raanana missed another good look from downtown and
Selwyn
closed it out with 2 more free throws.
For Haifa/Motzkin
Crystal Givens: 20 pts (10/12 FGs), 5 rebs, 5 stls, 5 TOs
Nakia Sanford: 17 pts (6/8 FGs), 4 rebs
Lena Mustafina: 17 pts (4/7 3pt FGs)
Lynn Pride: 14 pts (4/12 FGs), 8 rebs, 4 assts, 2 blocks
Laine Selwyn: 13 pts (5/7 FGs), 6 stls, 3 assts, 1 TO
For Raanana
Alina Morchova: 24 points (6/6 3pt FGs!!!)
Hanna Hileli: 20 pts (4/7 3pt FGs)
Ednisha Curry: 17 pts, 7 assts, 5 rebs, 4 stls, 5 TOs
Inbal Shnapper: 14 pts
Susan Murray: 0 pts (0/5 FGs, 0/2 FTs)
Elizur Holon 67 – Bnei Yehuda 73
The only explanation for Bnei Yehuda’s success is the fact that they’re
an
extremely well coached team that plays great basketball despite having
only
a 7-player rotation. They execute coach Shiki Falah’s instructions to
the
fullest. Holon on the other hand need drastic changes, even with 3
Americans
they still look bad. No changes are expected though.
Bnei Yehuda led 19-13 after 1, Holon cut it to 29-27 in the 2nd but
Bnei
Yehuda dominated inside and led 34-27 at the half. The lead grew to
62-51
after 3 but Bnei Yehuda had major foul trouble with 3 players with 4
fouls.
Neither of them fouled out, Holon tired to get closer in the 4th but
Bnei
Yehuda played smart and got the win.
For Bnei Yehuda:
Leigh Aziz 25 pts
DeTrina White 19 pts
Kelley Gibson
10
pts.
For Holon:
Kristina Covington 17 pts
Aja Brown 14 pts
Shala Reese 12
pts
Maccabi Ashdod 63 - Hapoel Petah Tikva 76
Rivi Grinboym had 24 pts for the winners
Tiffany Listenbee had 16
Molly
Creamer added 12
Jo Ruth Woods led Ashdod with 27 pts
Kenya Larkin
scored
15
Maccabi Ramat Hen 96 – ASA Jerusalem 62
Edwina Brown scored 9 in the first quarter and helped Ramat Hen open an
18-10 lead. Plenette Pierson sealed the quarter with a 3pt play as
Ramat Hen
led 21-14. Ramat Hen hit two threes in the opening minute of the 2nd,
and
led 47-27 at the half. Tawona Alhaleem scored 13 pts in the 3rd and the
gap
ballooned to 74-39. The 4th was strictly for the record.
For Ramat Hen:
Tawona Alhaleem: 27 pts, 8 rebs
Edwina Brown: 18 pts, 14 rebs, 6 assts
Shira Haelyon: 10 pts
Ina Boutenko: 9 pts
For Jerusalem:
Valerie Muoneke 21 pts
Telisha Quarles 15 pts
Ivana
Tuvic
12 pts
Round 6’s MVP: Amber Hall
Last week we called her “Miss double double”, but it was wrong of us to
try
and categorize her like that. Hall put up an insane 23 & 23 game, and
was
just 1 assist shy of an historic triple double in Ramla’s big win over
the
defending champs.
Round 6’s First Team:
Liron Cohen: Made 5 of 6 threes on her way to 21 points off the bench,
repeatedly busted Ramat Hasharon’s zone defense.
Rivi Grinboym: Led Petah Tikva to an important road win over Ashdod
with 24 pts.
Crystal Givens: Motzkin didn’t play the best of games, but Givens
consistently got the job done with 20 points.
Amber Hall – 23 points, 23 rebounds, 9 assists. Simply amazing.
Ayana Walker – She was in the right place at the right time for Ramla
through out the game, finished with 21 pts and 10 boards in a great
game.
The Standings
1. Elizur Ramla 6-0
2. Bnei Yehuda 5-1
3. Maccabi Ramat Hen 4-2
4. Ramat Hasharon 4-2
5. Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 4-2
6. Hapoel Petah Tikva 3-3
7. Maccabi Raanana 2-4
8. Maccabi Ashdod 1-5
9. ASA Jerusalem 1-5
10. Elizur Holon 0-6