Round 9 was the last round in the first half of the regular season.
Ramla
remained undefeated with an easy win in Bnei Yehuda, Petah Tikva got a
huge
win over Raanana, and the other three games ended in expected blowouts
as
Ramat Hen, Ramat Hasharon & Haifa/Motzkin faced the league’s worst
teams.
Hapoel Petah Tikva 73 – Maccabi Raanana 66
Both teams will probably fight for the 6th and final playoff spot till
the
bitter end, and Petah Tikva struck the first blow with their first home
victory. Petah Tikva opened an eight point gap in the closing minutes
of
this close game and, unlike their last home game, managed to hold on to
it.
Chanel Wright-Green excelled for the locals on both ends of the court
with
20 points and great deny defense on Michelle Greco.
Petah Tikva started out strong and held Raanana scoreless for over 2
minutes
until Greco buried a tough shot that made it 5-2. Petah Tikva built a
significant 20-13 lead following a Taly Noy three pointer with under 3
minutes to play in the 1st. Petah Tikva’s offense looked great, Greco
hardly
missed but was being defended tightly and didn’t get many touches, and
the
locals ended the quarter up 24-19.
Petah Tikva kept increasing the lead early in the 2nd, as Wright-Green
had
little trouble taking her defenders to the basket. A three by Molly
Creamer
who had a very good 1st half opened a 34-23 gap with over 6 minutes to
play
in the half. Youngster Yael Zerkov scored 5 points to keep Raanana in
the
game. Greco and her two fouls re-entered the game with about 3:30 to
play in
the half, with her team down 30-40. Raanana closed the half with an
11-4 run
which included 8 points by Greco who still made the most of every
touch, and
Petah Tikva’s lead was cut to just 44-41 after a very good offensive
first
half by them. Greco, who led everybody with 15 points at the half, got
into
more foul trouble and didn’t score in the 2nd half.
Tiffany Listenbee picked up her 3rd foul 13 seconds into the 2nd half,
Raanana tightened up their D and forced turnovers, and Ednisha Curry
hit a
three to give Raanana their first lead at 47-46 with about 6 minutes to
play
in the 3rd. Creamer hit a 3 to spark an 11-2 Petah Tikva run which
included
lots of free throws. Greco was called for her 4th foul during that
stretch
and things were not looking good for Raanana, but Yael Zerkov hit a
three in
the final minute of the 3rd to make it just a 52-57 game after three.
Inbar Vaksman made it 59-63 with over 7 minutes to play, but then
Raanana
went scoreless for about 6 minutes. Petah Tikva knew how to translate
those
stops on the other end, and built a 67-59 lead with about 5 minutes to
play.
Wright-Green ended a short local drought with two free throws, which
made it
a 10 point game. Hanna Hileli then woke up for Raanana and cut the lead
in
half with one minute to play. Rivi Grinboym found Listenbee for a
basket and
a foul, she missed the bonus free throw but Wright-Green snatched the
board
and sealed the deal.
For Petah Tikva:
Chanel Wright-Green – 20 pts, 6 rebs
Tiffany Listenbee – 17 pts, 10 rebs
Molly Creamer – 14 pts, 7 rebs
Rivi Grinboym – 13 pts, 5 ast
Taly Noy – 6 pts, 8 ast
For Raanana:
Michelle Greco – 15 pts
Ednisha Curry – 13 pts, 7 ast
Hana Hileli – 11 pts
Yael Zerkov – 8 pts
Bnei Yehuda 55 – Elizur Ramla 80
Ramla continues to destroy opponents, and used a 25-11 3rd quarter to
break
open the game.
For Ramla:
Ayana Walker – 17 pts, 13 rebs
Ina Gourevitch – 17 pts
Monika Veselovski – 16 pts, 6 ast
Amber Hall – 13 pts, 13 rebs, 4 stl
Tal Salz & Nili Natho – 6 pts each
Draguslava Zakula – 4 pts, 4 ast
For Bnei Yehuda:
Kelley Gibson 20 pts (4 threes)
Leigh Aziz 11 pts
Hila Yizhar 7 pts
DeTrina White 6 pts
Tal Milchen 5 pts
Maccabi Ashdod 70 – Maccabi Ramat Hen 106
Ramat Hen let out its entire impressive offensive arsenal against
Ashdod who
again played without the injured Ebony Tanner.
For Ramat Hen:
Tawona Alhaleem 25 pts
Plenette Pierson 22 pts
Lena Pedulova 16 pts
Ina
Boutenko & Edwina Brown 15 pts each
For Ashdod:
Sarit Arbel 22 pts
Kenya Larkin 19 pts
Jo Ruth Woods 18 pts
ASA Jerusalem 72 – Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 88
Motzkin cruised to an easy win.
For Motzkin:
Nakia Sanford 19 pts
Lynn Pride 18 pts
Crystal Givens 17 pts
Laine
Selwyn
& Lena Mustafina 12 pts each
For Jerusalem:
Valerie Muoneke 21 pts
Tijana Rus 19 pts
Telisha Quarles 16 pts
Ramat Hasharon 100 – Elizur Holon 59
Shala Reese injured her shoulder in the final minutes of the first
half.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Lidiya Varbanova 24 pts
Octavia Blue 14 pts
Anat
Goldberg & Gunta Basko 13 pts each.
For Holon:
Sivan Balalis 15 pts
Shala Reese 10 pts
Kristina Covington
9
pts
Round 9’s MVP: Chanel Wright-Green (Petah Tikva)
Wright-Green put on a show on both ends of the floor as she scored 20
points
on near perfect shooting and held Michelle Greco, who torched her last
two
opponents for 27 points per game, to just eight shots. Wright-Green
also
added six rebounds in Petah Tikva’s important win over Raanana.
Round 9’s 1st Team:
Ina Gourevitch – was always at the right place at the right time and
created
easy points that frustrated Bnei Yehuda through out the game. Finished
with
17 points on very good shooting.
Monika Veselovski – Ramla’s efficient Yugoslavian buried shot after
shot on
her way to 16 points and dished out six assists in Ramla’s road win.
Chanel Wright-Green – Kept Raanana’s best offensive weapon in check,
and led
her team with 20 points.
Tiffany Listenbee – Finished with an impressive double-double of 17
points
and 10 rebounds in Petah Tikva’s big win.
Ayana Walker – scored 17 points, pulled down 13 boards and helped Ramla
shut
down Bnei Yehuda’s posts.
The Standings:
1. Ramla 9-0
2. Ramat Hasharon 7-2
3. Ramat Hen 7-2
4. Haifa/Motzkin 6-3
5. Bnei Yehuda 6-3
6. Petah Tikva 4-5
7. Raanana 3-6
8. Ashdod 2-7
9. Jerusalem 1-8
10. Holon 0-9