Some news:
Valerie Muoneke left Jerusalem.
Danielle Crockrom unexpectedly left Haifa/Motzkin last weekend.
It is
currently unclear if the team will be able to sign a new foreigner in
her
place.
Ramat Hasharon 71 – Elizur Ramla 102
Ramla whipped the floor, and the glass, with Ramat Hasharon and rolled
to
what seemed like their easiest win of the season. Ramla completely
dominated
the boards, getting twice as many offensive rebounds as Ramat
Hasharon’s
defensive rebounds. Amber Hall alone got more rebounds than Ramat
Hasharon,
Ina Gurevitch didn’t miss on her way to 21 points and Ayana Walker
blocked
six shots without breaking a sweat. Ramat Hasharon scored the game’s
first
two baskets, but Ramla made a 10-0 run and led 30-17 after one. Ramat
Hasharon’s “defense” picked up a bit in the 2nd quarter but the offense
struggled and Ramla led 48-30 at the half. The 3rd quarter was much
like the
first, as Liron Cohen chipped in 3 threes. The 4th quarter was nothing
but
garbage time.
For Ramla:
Ina Gourevitch - 21 pts, 7 ast, 6 steals
Amber Hall – 21 pts, 19 rebs, 3 ast
Liron Cohen – 15 pts
Ayana Walker – 14 pts, 8 rebs, 6 steals, 6 blocks
Monika Veselovski – 11 pts
Draguslava Zakula & Nili Natho 8 pts each
Tal Salz - 4 pts
For Ramat Hasharon:
Gwen Jackson – 22 pts
Lidiya Varbanova – 18 pts
Aluma Goren – 9 pts, 11 ast
Tamar Maoz – 8 pts
Sharon Zeevi – 6 pts
Gunta Basko – 4 pts
Hapoel Petah Tikva 84 – Maccabi Ashdod 73
Ashdod came back from 15 points down in the 2nd half to make it just a
3
point game in the closing minutes, but couldn’t get the stops at the
end
when Petah Tikva went inside on every possession. Petah Tikva finished
the
game with a 9-2 run and earned an important home victory.
Ashdod was taking quick shots and missing early on, as the locals built
a
17-7 lead after six minutes thanks to fast breaks and threes by Taly
Noy.
After a short drought Ashdod made a 7-0 run to get back into the game,
and
trailed 21-14 after 1.
Ashdod’s momentum carried into the 2nd quarter. Kenya Larkin, who was
awesome, scored 5 quick points and Ashdod tied the game at 21. Larkin
hit a
three to put her team up 28-25, but Noy answered with yet another
three. Jo
Ruth Woods hit 2 FTs to make it 30-28 and left for the bench, Larkin
soon
joined her and Petah Tikva made a 7-0 run. Petah Tikva led 43-38 at the
half.
Noy had 16 points for Petah Tikva at the half and made up for the bigs’
foul
trouble. Larkin scored 15 for Ashdod. Woods fought under the baskets
but had
trouble finishing shots, while Lenae Williams wasn’t involved enough
and
scored just 3 points.
Jackie Moore picked up her 4th foul quickly and headed towards the
bench,
but Petah Tikva didn’t seem to mind. Molly Creamer with a 2 pointer, an
assist and a three helped them go on a 10-0 run to make it 53-38 with
6:30
to go in the quarter. Hen Shtain hit Ashdod’s first basket of the
quarter
from three point land, and a 3 point play by Michal Zarankin made it
55-45.
Petah Tikva was getting to the hoop way too easily, dominated the
offensive
boards, got to the line and increased the lead to 67-52 after three.
In the 4th, Kenya Larkin decided to bring her team back into the game.
She
scored five points, made a steal and an assist to Shtain that cut the
lead
to 10. Williams picked up where Larkin left off and buried a three in
the
defense’s face to make it 69-64. Woods added a steal & layup to make it
just
three with 6 minutes left. Petah Tikva’s coach had seen enough and
brought
back his posts. Chanel Wright-Green made two layups to make it a 7
point
game, but Williams again pulled up for a tough three and made it 73-69
with
about 4:30 to play. Creamer increased it to six, but Larkin cut through
the
D on the other end for a layup. Moore and Wright-Green scored back to
back
baskets and Ashdod couldn’t get the ball in the hole. A three by
Creamer
made it 82-71 with 80 seconds to go and put the nail in the coffin.
For Petah Tikva:
Taly Noy – 18 pts (4/6 threes), 5 ast
Molly Creamer – 17 pts, 8 ast, 4 stealsv
Chanel Wright Green – 16 pts, 10 rebs
Rivi Grinboym – 12 pts, 8 rebs
Neta Kromer – 9 pts
For Ashdod:
Kenya Larkin – 24 pts (8/13 FGs), 2 steals, 2 ast
Lenae Williams – 15 pts (5/11 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 2 rebs, 2 steals
Jo Ruth Woods – 12 pts, 8 rebs, 2 steals
Sarit Arbel – 10 pts, 6 ast
Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 77 – Maccabi Raanana 64
Despite being a foriegner short after Crockrom bailed, Motzkin beat
Raanana
to stay among the top of the standings.
For Motzkin:
Laine Selwyn 17 pts
Crystal Givens 15 pts
Lynn Pride & Adi Kindler 11 pts each
For Raanana:
Michelle Smith 30 pts
Ednisha Curry & Lili Latinovic 11 pts each
Bnei Yehua 81 – Elizur Holon 56
For Bnei Yehuda:
Erin Thorn 20 pts
Leigh Aziz17 pts
DeTrina White 15 pts
Hila Yizhar
6 pts
For Holon:
Sivan Balalis 21 pts
ASA Jerusalem 59 – Maccabi Ramat Hen 96
For Ramat Hen:
Tawona Alhaleem 21 pts
Plenette Pierson & Shira Haelyon 17 pts each
For Jerusalem:
Telisha Quarles 26 pts
Round 15 MVP – Ayana Walker
Walker is having a great season. She fits Ramla like a glove and gets
the
job done quietly. Walker was everywhere vs. Ramat Hasharon and
frustrated
them with six blocks. She shut down Varbanova, made the guards think
twice
about penetrating and added 14 points, 8 rebounds and 6 steals.
Round 15’s First Team:
Laine Selwyn – Another great game for the steal of the season. Scored
17
points in Motzkin’s win over Raanana.
Ina Gourevitch – Scored 21 points on 100% shooting in her best game of
the
season.
Amber Hall – Hall got more boards than Ramat Hasharon with 19 and added
21
points.
Chanel Wright-Green – Wright-Green pulled down 10 rebounds, including 4
offensives, and scored 16 points in Petah Tikva’s win over Ashdod.
Ayana Walker – Walker wasn’t too far from a quadruple-double in Ramat
Hasharon.
The Standings:
1) Ramla 15-0
2) Ramat Hen 11-4
3) Haifa/Motzkin 11-4
4) Ramat Hasharon 10-5
5) Bnei Yehuda 9-6
6) Petah Tikva 7-8
7) Raanana 6-9
8) Ashdod 3-12
9) Jerusalem 3-12
10) Holon 0-15