In what was almost an exact re-creation of the first meeting between
Ramla &
Ramat Hen in round 2 this season, Ramla once again dominated and won
easily
over the formally 2nd placed Ramat Hen. Ramat Hasharon escaped with a
win
against Petah Tikva & Motzkin defeated Bnei Yehuda. Raanana & Jerusalem
also
got wins, and the league will now break for two weeks. Expect to see a
lot
of changes when the games resume. We have some news already:
Michelle Greco & Susan Murray will not return to Raanana. Lijljana
Latinovic
who started the season with Ramat Hasharon signed in Raanana and
they're
expected to bring in a center.
Nakia Sanford signed to play in Korea after the holidays and will not
be
back to Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin.
Jackie Moore will replace Tiffany Listenbee in Petah Tikva.
Kelley Gibson was released from Bnei Yehuda due to personal reasons.
Elizur Ramla 76 � Maccabi Ramat Hen 60
It was supposed to be a good game between the two top teams in the
league,
but Ramat Hen came in as a total underdog and aside for one quarter,
looked
completely lost against Ramla's tough defense. Ramat Hen got off to a
good
start led by Edwina Brown and Tawona Alhaleem, but Monika Veselovski
kept
Ramla firmly in it with prefect shooing. Ramat Hen still led 17-12
after
one. Their main problem was Plenette Pierson, who couldn't shake off
the
Amber Hall curse from round 2 (when she scored 4 pts on 2/13 shooting,
the
only game she finished with under 14 pts this season).
In the 2nd quarter Ramla exploded with 29 points while holding Ramat
Hen to
just 11. Six of those 29 points came in the final 90 seconds of the
half,
and took the wind out of Ramat Hen's sails. Hall & Veselovski gave
Ramla the
lead in the middle of the 2nd quarter and it just kept growing. At the
half
the locals led 41-28, as they held Ramat Hen to 30% shooting.
Ramat Hen kept falling apart in the 3rd, and even a rare Pierson bucket
wasn't enough to lift their spirits up. Ramat Hen had no answers for
Ramla's
D, and was a two-woman show. Good minutes by Meirav Dorri brought some
life
back to the visitors but the scoreboard didn't seem to mind. Ramat Hen
was
able to cut it to 9 but Ayana Walker scored 4 straight to push it back
to
double figures. By the end of the 3rd Ramla was up 62-42. In the 4th
the
lead reached 30, but just like in round 2 Brown & Alhaleem did some
damage
control to regain some of Ramat Hen's dignity back.
For Ramla:
Monika Veselovski 20 pts
Amber Hall � 19 pts, 17 rebs, 4 assts, 4 blks
Ayana Walker- 15 pts, 11 rebs, 4 blks
Ina Gourevitch 9 pts
Liron Cohen 8 pts
Dragolsava Zakula � 5 pts, 6 assts
For Ramat Hen:
Tawona Alhaleem � 24 pts, 6 rebs
Edwina Brown � 21 pts, 7 rebs
Lena Fedoluva � 4 pts, 8 rebs
Plenette Pierson � 4 pts, 6 TOs
Ina Boutenko � 3 pts
Meirav Dorri & Shira Haelyon 2 pts each
Ramat Hasharon 77 � Hapoel Petah Tikva 75
Petah Tikva has every right to feel disappointed, going into the break
with
a 4-7 record after losing yet another close game to a top team. Ramat
Hasharon's Americans spent most of the game on the bench but Gunta
Basko,
Lidiya Varabnova & Aluma Goren did enough to get the W.
Ramat Hasharon jumped to a 10-3 lead early on, while Petah Tikva was
busy
going one on one. It was working for Molly Creamer, as she scored her
team's
first 8 points as they trailed 15-8. Chanel Wright Green took a blow to
the
face 3 minutes into the game and that didn't help either. She returned
with
3:30 left in the 1st and made two free throws, but Basko & Goren helped
the
locals reach their biggest lead at 25-10. Petah Tikva trailed 25-16
after
one.
Wright-Green and Listenbee made it just a 7 point game, and the pace
cooled
down. Lenae Williams, who didn't play in the first, didn't find her
rhythm
when she came off the bench. Petah Tikva kept inching closer and was
down
just 32-28 but Ramat Hasharon finished the half well and was up 39-32.
Creamer, by the way, was still with those 8 points after spending six
minutes on the bench with 2 fouls in the 2nd.
Octavia Blue & Williams started the 3rd on the bench, but Ramat
Hasharon
jumped to a 45-33 lead. Petah Tikva answered with a 6-0 run but Ramat
Hasharon wasn't impressed and went up 50-39. With 3 minutes left in the
quarter the lead shrunk to 54-48 following 5 straight points by
Wright-Green, and Creamer sealed the quarter with another short
shooting
clinic, scoring 8 straight and putting her team up 56-54.
Six straight points by Wright-Green and a three by Rivi Grinboym made
it
65-60, with 6:30 to play. However, Petah Tikva managed just 1 point in
the
next 4 minutes and 20 seconds. Williams gave Ramat Hasharon the lead
back at
67-66, and Varbanova followed with a 3pt play. Petah Tikva didn't give
up
and Wright-Green tied the game at 72 after drawing two quick fouls from
Basko and sending her to the bench with 1:45 to go.
A huge three by Creamer gave Petah Tikva a 75-73 lead but Varbanova
scored
on the other end and later drew a foul. Following a timeout, she made
the
first and missed the 2nd. Wright-Green got the rebound with 21 seconds
left
and dribbled the clock down. As she began to make her move, she was
called
for a charge with 6 seconds left. Petah Tikva wasted no time before
fouling,
Tamar Maoz made 1 of 2. Creamer had the last ball but committed another
offensive foul and that was it. Petah Tikva's coach was fired after the
game, the assistant coach will now take over.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Lidiya Varbanova: 20 pts (8/16 FGs, 4/9 FTs), 7 rebs
Gunta Basko: 16 pts, 6 rebs, 6 steals
Aluma Goren: 12 pts, 6 assts
Natasha Bratzkova 10 pts
Tamar Maoz 7 pts
Lenae Williams 6 pts
Sharon
Zeevi 4 pts
Octavia Blue 2 pts (17 minutes)
For Petah Tikva:
Chanel Wright-Green: 24 pts, 9 rebs
Tiffany Listenbee � 21 pts, 4 steals
Molly Creamer � 19 pts (5/6 3pt FGs), 4 assts
Rivi Grinboym � 9 pts, 4 assts
Taly Noy � 2 pts, 5 TOs
Maccabi Raanana 67 � Maccabi Ashdod 60
Raanana climbed to 6th place thanks to an awesome and final game by
Michelle
Greco. It's been a pleasure.
For Raanana:
Michelle Greco � 29 pts, 11 rebs
Ednisha Curry � 18 pts, 6 assts
Alina Morchova & Inbal Shnapper 8 pts each
For Ashdod:
Ebony Tanner 14 pts
Sarit Arbel 13 pts
Vika Rudovski 12 pts
Jo Ruth
Woods
9 pts
Kenya Larkin 7 pts
ASA Jerusalem 78 � Elizur Holon 68
For Jerusalem:
Valerie Muoneke 30 pts
Ivana Tuvic 14 pts
Telisha
Quarles
12 pts
For Holon:
Sivan Ballalis 17 pts
Shala Reese 15 pts
Aja Brown 10 pts
Kristina Covington 8 pts
Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 79 � Bnei Yehuda 48
4th straight loss for Bnei Yehuda.
For Haifa/Motzkin:
Crystal Givens 16 pts
Nakia Sanford 15 pts
Lynn Pride 13 pts
For Bnei Yehuda:
DeTrina White 15 pts
Leigh Aziz 12 pts
Round 11's MVP � Amber Hall
Hall continues to lead Ramla to one blowout after another, with her
10th
double double of the season. She dominated inside and finished with 19
pts,
17 boards and 4 assists. Hall also played a fantastic defensive game,
adding
4 blocks and shutting down Plenette Pierson.
Round 11's First Team
Michelle Greco � Led Raanana to a victory over Ashdod with 29 pts & 11
rebounds and stayed in the game even after breaking her nose. This is
Greco's 3rd selection to the 1st team in her five games in Israel.
Monika Veselovski � She was virtually unstoppable against Ramat Hen,
scoring
20 pts on great shooting.
Gunta Basko � Basko regained her usual form after two slow games with
16
points, 6 steals and 5 boards. She's just a joy.
Amber Hall � The frustration on Pierson's face said it all. Just like
in the
first meeting between the two, Hall limited Pierson to just 4 points
while
going off for her usual numbers.
Ayana Walker � Walker proves in each game what an efficient player she
is
and just how well she complements Amber Hall. She had 15 pts, 11 rebs &
4
blocks vs. Ramat Hen.
The Standings
1. Elizur Ramla 11-0
2. Ramat Hasharon 8-3
3. Ramat Hen 8-3
4. Haifa/Motzkin 8-3
5. Bnei Yehuda 6-5
6. Maccabi Raanana 5-6
7. Petah Tikva 4-7
8. Jerusalem 3-8
9. Maccabi Ashdod 2-9
10. Holon 0-11