The regular season came to an end without any major surprises. The 3rd
round, or upper playoffs if you will, begin on Thursday. The 6 teams
that
advanced will play 5 more games and the top 4 make it to the semi
finals.
Maccabi Ramat Hen 107 - Maccabi Ashdod 78
Ramat Hen officially secured 2nd place as the regular season came to an
end.
Ramat Hen put up 107 points even though their leading scorer, Tawona
Alhaleem, did not play.
For Ramat Hen:
Plenette Pierson 29 points
Edwina Brown - 22 pts & 11 boards
Meirav Dori 12 pts
For Ashdod:
Lenae Williams 31 pts
Kenya Larkin 17 pts
Jo Ruth Woods 13 pts
Maccabi Raanana 66 - Hapoel Petah Tikva 64
Ednisha Curry hit a tough 3-pointer with 22 seconds left as the shot
clock
buzzer went off to lift Raanana to a meaningless win. Petah Tikva
played
very well in the first half but Raanana dictated the pace in a slow 2nd
half, making the game close at the end and coming away with a win.
Raanana finished the 1st quarter with just 9 points, as Inbal Shnapper
was
the only one to score until the very last second when Inbar Vaksman
beat the
buzzer with a jumper. Petah Tikva looked much better as Jackie Moore
and
Chanel Wright-Green dominated inside, and Molly Creamer swished 2
threes to
help the visitors go up 15-9 after 1.
Michelle Smith, who got off to a bad start and Ednisha Curry, who
hardly
took any shots, started the 2nd quarter on the bench but Raanana was
able to
cut the lead to 25-23 with 4 minutes left in the half. Petah Tikva took
a
timeout and came back with a 9-2 run, and led 38-31 at the break.
Shnapper
led Raanana with 10 points; Moore & Wright-Green scored 12 and 11
respectively on near perfect shooting.
In the 2nd half, Petah Tikva didn�t go inside enough and as a result
the
level of aggressiveness on the boards went down a notch. Petah Tikva
used
strong defense to gain its biggest lead of the game at 47-36 with 4:30
left
in the 3rd, and then Raanana made its move. Smith started to show some
signs
of life after a scoreless first half, Morchova nailed 2 threes and
youngster
Yael Cherkov scored 6 points including a buzzer beating layup to make
it 51
all after 3.
In the 4th it was Curry�s turn to join the party. She connected on a
three
to give Raanana its first lead of the game at 54-51. Michelle Smith
fouled
out with 4:30 left in the 4th. Petah Tikva was struggling on the
offensive
end and on defense Curry took advantage of her quickness and got an
�and 1�
and a jumper over Taly Noy. Creamer kept her team in it as she answered
Curry�s moves with a three and a drive on the other end, and keyed on
Curry
defensively to stop the run. Curry then decided to dish the ball to
Morchova, and she proved why she�s the #1 3pt shooter in the league as
she
hit one to put Raanana up 63-60, with 2 minutes to play.
Petah Tikva had too many turnovers but fought hard on defense and a
block by
Creamer on Curry sent Wright-Green on a fastbreak, which was stopped by
a
foul with 47 seconds left. Wright-Green made 1 of 2 to make it 64-63 in
favor of Petah Tikva. Raanana couldn�t find a good look against the
strong
visitors� defense, and Curry ended up taking a 3 with a hand in her
face as
the shot clocked expired. She found nothing but net, despite being just
1 of
6 from downtown prior to the shot. Petah Tikva had 22 seconds left to
win
the game, but they passed up on an open Jackie Moore in the lane in
order to
take more time off the clock, and ended up hoisting a desperation 3 at
the
buzzer.
For Raanana:
Alina Morchova 15 pts (4 threes)
Ednisha Curry � 13 pts (11 in the 2nd half), 3 assists
Inbal Shnapper 13 pts
Inbar Vaksman 9 pts (7 in the 2nd quarter)
Yael Cherkov 6 pts
Michelle Smith � 5 pts & 9 boards
Lili Latinovic 5 pts
For Petah Tikva:
Jackie Moore - 20 pts, 7 rebs
Chanel Wright-Green - 17 pts, 6 rebs
Molly Creamer - 15 pts, 4 rebs, 3 assists, 3 steals
Rivi Grinboym � 6 pts, 8 rebs, 5 assists
Taly Noy � 3 pts, 5 assists
Elizur Ramla 66 - Bnei Yehuda 55
Bnei Yehuda gave Ramla a good fight but Ramla pulled away in the 4th.
For Ramla:
Monika Veselovski 18 pts
Amber Hall 16 pts
For Beni Yehuda:
DeTrina White 22 pts
Erin Thorn 19 pts
Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 84 - ASA Jerusalem 52
Motzkin had no trouble against Jerusalem and finished in 3rd place,
which is
a great achievement for the club.
For Haifa/Motzkin:
Lynn Pride 17 pts
Crystal Givens 16 pts
Laine Selwyn 13 pts
For Jerusalem:
Telisha Qurales & Ayelet Cohen 15 pts each
Elizur Holon 43 - Ramat Hasharon 65
Winless season for Holon.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Gwen Jackson 17 pts
Lidiya Varbanova 16 pts
For Holon:
Kristina Covington 16 pts
Round 18�s MVP: Edwina Brown
Ramat Hen had to win to secure 2nd place, and Brown stepped up in the
absence of Ramat Hen�s leading scorer Tawona Alhaleem. Brown focused
less on
scoring and more in rebounds, assists and steals this season but
against
Ashdod she put up 22 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
Round 18�s First Team:
Ednisha Curry � Curry didn�t exactly have a brilliant game but took
responsibility in the 4th quarter and hit the game winning three.
Edwina Brown � Impressive double double for the most versatile guard in
the
league.
Alina Morchova � Made 4 for 7 3-pointers and helped Raanana get back in
the
game in the 3rd quarter, finishing with 15 points in the win.
Plenette Pierson � Abused the invisible Ashdod front court on her way
to 29
points.
Monika Veselovski � Led Ramla with 18 points to a tough win over Bnei
Yehuda.
The standings:
1. Elizur Ramla 17-1
2. Maccabi Ramat Hen 14-4
3. Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 14-4
4. Ramat Hasharon 12-6
5. Bnei Yehuda 10-8
6. Hapoel Petah Tikva 8-10
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7. Maccabi Raanana 7-11
8. Maccabi Ashdod 4-14
9. ASA Jerusalem 4-14
10. Elizur Holon 0-18