First, some news: Sheila Lambert was indeed released from Ramat Hasharon and the team will not be allowed to sign a new foreigner in her place. In the cup semi finals draw it was decided that Ramat Hen would play Haifa/Motzkin and Ramla would face Ashdod on the 15th of March. On to round 12…
Bnei Yehuda 57 – Ramat Hasharon 77
Ramat Hasharon left its troubles off the court and played an impressive
game
in Bnei Yehuda, which suffered its 5th straight league loss. Bnei
Yehuda did
get off to a good start though, and the game was close. Erin Thorn was
looking good driving and dishing while for Ramat Hasharon Aluma Goren &
Gwen
Jackson looked like they’ve been playing together for years. Bnei
Yehuda led
21-20 after 1.
The 2nd quarter was a completely different story. Varbanova picked up
where
Jackson left off for the visitors but for Bnei Yehuda things were
starting
to crumble. The threes weren’t falling, Aziz didn’t really get going
and
White was pretty much the only one still functioning. Ramat Hasharon
also
got a nice contribution off the bench from Sharon Zeevi, Tamar Maoz and
Anat
Goldberg. The visitors went up 38-26 but two threes in the final minute
of
the game helped Bnei Yehuda be down just 40-34 at the break.
Ramat Hasharon’s dominance continued in the 3rd, as Gunta Basko who had
just
3 points in the first half started to enjoy some of Goren’s assists
too.
Bnei Yehuda had no answers and fell behind 57-44 after 3. The Basko
show was
in full effect in the 4th, she even nailed a buzzer beating 3 to seal
the
game.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Gwen Jackson 23 pts, 8 rebs
Gunta Basko 22 pts, 12 rebs
Lidiya Varbanova: 14 pts
Sharon Zeevi 11 pts
Aluma Goren 5 pts, 8 assists, 6 TOs
Tamar Maoz 2 pts, 8 assists, 3 steals
For Bnei Yehuda:
Erin Thorn 13 pts, 5 assists
Hila Izhar 11 pts
DeTrina White 11 pts & 10 rebs
Leigh Aziz 10 pts, 9 rebs
Maccabi Ramat Hen 79 – Maccabi Raanana 74
Ramat Hen, who almost choked in the cup game on Thursday, didn't look
all
that great for most of this game either but made key runs at the right
moments to defeat Raanana. Raanana was dictating the pace early on with
good
3pt shooting and aggressive defense against Ramat Hen’s 1-on-1 plays.
Ramat
Hen however drew some late fouls and managed to gain a 16-15 lead after
1.
Ramat Hen opened the 2nd quarter with a 13-0 run, Ornit Shwartz scored
7
during the spurt. In her league debut, Shwartz showed a lot of
enthusiasm
but those 7 points were a short glimpse of what she can do. Inbal
Shnapper &
Michelle Smith got a couple of ‘and 1’s’ to bring Raanana back into it,
and
Latinovic cut it to 32-28 with 3 minutes left in the half. Shira
Haelyon
responded with back-2-back threes and Ramat Hen held a 42-31 edge at
the
break.
Tawona Alhaleem helped Ramat Hen make it 50-34, three minutes into the
2nd
half. Smith, who had a great league debut game, continued to get to the
line
and kept Raanana within striking distance, down just 59-51 after 3. The
pace
picked up in the 4th as Ramat Hen jumped to a 14 pt lead with about
5:30 to
go. Inbar Vaksman & Ednisha Curry with a 3 each narrowed it to 71-65,
but
Raanana made some crucial errors, which eventually cost them the game.
Smith
committed a flagrant foul to stop a fastbreak following Curry’s
turnover and
headed for the bench. Pierson made two from the line and in Ramat Hen’s
next
possession they got 5 offensive rebounds before Alhaleem finally put it
through the hoop with 2:30 left. Raanana couldn’t get the key stops and
ended up sending Ramat Hen to the line, where they didn’t miss.
For Ramat Hen:
Tawona Alhaleem 24 pts, 4 rebs
Plenette Pierson 19 pts, 7 rebs
Edwina Brown 13 pts, 6 rebs, 3 assists
Ornit Shwartz 7 pts, 7 rebs
For Raanana:
Michelle Smith 24 pts (14/20 FTs), 6 rebs
Edneisha Curry 16 pts
Inbar Vaksman 11 pts
Lili Latinovic 10 pts
Hapoel Petah Tikva 91 - ASA Jerusalem 64
Petah Tikva cruised to an easy win in Jackie Moore's debut.
For Petah Tikva:
Jackie Moore 26 pts, 12 rebs (7 offensives)
Chanel Wright-Green 25 pts, 10 rebs
Molly Creamer 16 pts, 4 steals, 3 assists
Taly Noy 13 pts, 9 assists
Rivi Grinboym 10 pts, 5 steals
For Jerusalem:
Valerie Muoneke 16 pts, 9 rebs, 6 TOs
Tijana Rus & Ivana Tuvic 13 pts each
Telisha Quarles 11 pts, 10 TOs
Orna Kesler 6 pts, 5 rebs
Maccabi Ashdod 62 - Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 84
For Haifa Motzkin:
Danielle Crockrom 17 pts, 12 rebs
Lynn Pride & Lena Mustafina 15 pts each
Crystal Givens 14 pts, Laine Selwyn 11 pts
For Ashdod:
Lenae Williams 15 pts
Sarit Arbel 14 pts
Elizur Holon 65 - Elizur Ramla 87
For Ramla:
Ina Gourevitch 21 pts
Ayana Walker 19 pts
For Holon:
Sivan Balallis 18 pts
Limor Peleg 16 pts
Round 12’s MVP: Gunta Basko
Basko scored 19 of her 22 points in a terrific 2nd half, almost without
missing. She added 12 rebounds, 7 of which on the offensive end,
against
Bnei Yehuda’s physical front line. Basko, known for her talent to
always be
in the right place at the right time, was a favorite target for many
assists
in the Ramat Hasharon offense, which finally seems to be clicking.
Round 12’s 1st Team
Tawona Alhaleem – Another day in the office for Alhaleem with 24 points
on
great shooting in Ramat Hen’s win over Raanana. She keyed an early 2nd
half
run and made the clutch free throws in the end.
Gunta Basko – This is Basko’s sixth 1st team selection and we’re still
not
at a lack for words. She’s an intelligent player who’s just fun to
watch.
Danielle Crockrom – Seems to be getting better with every passing game.
Finished with 17 pts & 12 boards in Motzkin’s win over Ashdod.
Gwen Jackson – Ramat Hasharon is officially done searching for
foreigners,
and they can certainly be pleased having Jackson under the baskets.
Jackson
scored 23 points and grabbed 8 boards in Ramat Hasharon’s win over Bnei
Yehuda.
Jackie Moore – Moore scored 26 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and got
Valerie Muoneke, one of the league’s best centers, in foul trouble. In
her
first game in Petah Tikva, Moore looked like she could help her team
greatly
as they fight to get to the playoffs.
The Standings
1) Ramla 12-0
2) Ramat Hasharon 9-3
3) Ramat Hen 9-3
4) Haifa/Motzkin 9-3
5) Bnei Yehuda 6-6
6) Petah Tikva 5-7
7) Raanana 5-7
8) Jerusalem 3-9
9) Ashdod 2-10
10) Holon 0-12