Elizur Ramla 84 – Hapoel Haifa/Motzkin 81 (2 OTs)
Ramla won the Cup, but last night was a victory for women’s basketball
in
Israel. Haifa/Motzkin and Ramla battled for 50 minutes in front of a
packed
arena full of screaming fans for both teams, but Ramla came out on top
and
won its 1st ever Israeli Cup. Adan Inbar and his players deserve a ton
of
credit, playing in their 2nd double overtime game in less than 48
hours. It
was truly a heroic performance. But in Ramla, nobody expected anything
less.
“I thought it was going to be this tough, even tougher”, said the
winning
coach, Tal Natan, after the game. “It’s not easy having a history of 8
losses in the finals. Every season these fans come to the cup finals
and
leave empty handed. Playing with such pressure is like having weights
on
your arms and legs, give all the credit to the players”. Natan
dedicated the
cup to the fans.
The scoreboard declared Ramla as the winner, but there were no losers
in
that arena last night. It hasn’t been 48 hours since her amazing
3-point
shot vs. Ramat Hen, and Laine Selwyn proved again that she has ice
water in
her veins. Motzkin seemed out of it at the end of regulation but Selwyn
found Givens with a great assist to force overtime. In the closing
moments
of the 1st extra period the game again seemed out of reach for Motzkin,
but
Selwyn forced another overtime like only she can, with a huge three.
Selwyn
was brilliant, finishing 1 rebound and 1 assist shy of a triple double.
At
the end, she couldn’t really stop the tears from falling but also
realized
her team took part in something truly great. “I’m upset, but I’m also
happy”, she said. “I’m happy because we gave it our all, played our
hearts
out, and there’s nothing more to ask. I’m proud of my team”.
Right from the start Motzkin made it clear to Ramla that they will not
own
the boards like they’re used to doing. The 1st quarter was close as
Ramla
led by small margins almost the entire way and 17-16 after 10 minutes.
Ramla
caught fire from downtown in the 2nd, and hit 3 straight threes to gain
a
29-22 edge, with 5:40 to play in the half. Motzkin struggled for a few
minutes but Givens kept them in it as they trailed 37-30 at the break.
Amazingly enough, Motzkin had a 20-11 edge on the boards but turned it
over
10 times compared to only 3 Ramla turnovers.
A big three by Lena Mustafina cut the Ramla lead to just 41-39 in the
3rd.
Lynn Pride with a sick rebound and a jumper on the other end tied the
game
with under 4 minutes left in the 3rd, and Ramla called a timeout.
Selwyn
gave Motzkin its first lead since the 1st quarter with a 3, but it was
short
lived. Liron Cohen, who played big minutes for Ramla and was their best
option at the 1, answered right back and gave Ramla a 47-46 lead after
3.
Cohen had 4 points and an assist to Walker to help Ramla take a 53-48
lead
with 7:13 left in the 4th. Inbar called a time out, as Motzkin was
getting
frustrated with the refs. The level of officiating was not suited for a
cup
final. The game resumed and Pride went all the way to the rim to get
the
ball rolling again for her team. On the other end though, Walker got an
‘and
1’ off an offensive rebound, and she was just getting started. She
scored 17
of her 29 points in the 4th and umm 5th quarters. Walker made it a
64-58
game with 2 free throws and 1:06 left to play.
A lot of teams would have accepted their bitter destiny at this point
and
allow big bad Ramla to pull away, but not Motzkin. Givens with a big
basket
cut it to 4, Motzkin got a steal and Mustafina went for the layup. She
made
it but the refs called it off, saying the foul was before the shot.
Mustafina made 2 from the line and Ramla got the ball back, up 64-62
with 24
seconds left. Motzkin had a foul to give, and they committed it after 7
seconds. Just like they did in the semis, Motzkin didn’t allow Ramla to
inbound the ball and they turned it over with 17 seconds left. Selwyn
led
Motzkin’s last possession, and found Givens under the basket. Givens
scored
9 of her team’s last 14 points and sent the game into overtime #1.
Three minutes into the extra period we were still tied, but Ramla
gained a
73-69 lead with 1 minute to go. Unlike Lynn Pride who couldn’t buy a
call,
Givens made her way to the FT line and hit one of two with the clock on
46
seconds. Motzkin forced a turnover and got the ball back down 73-70,
with 21
seconds to go. Ramla called a timeout but did not try to foul. Selwyn
made
them regret it, as she buried the 3 to send the game to overtime #2.
Pride gave Motzkin a 77-75 lead, Ina Gourevitch missed twice from the
line
and Pride got the important rebound but it turned into an unforced
Motzkin
turnover. Veselovski tied the game from the line and Gourevitch scored
off
an offensive rebound after another Motzkin turnover. Pride again got no
love
from the refs, and on the other end Walker picked up a loose ball under
the
basket, scored and got the call. She made the free throw and Ramla led
82-77, with 52 seconds to go. Motzkin’s Ms clutch, Selwyn obviously,
accepted the challenge. She hit yet another incredible three and it was
just
a 2-point game with 40 seconds left. Pride with a mean block gave
Motzkin
one more chance, but this time it didn’t go. Cohen was sent to the line
with
4 seconds left to ice it for Ramla. Pride, after playing 100 minutes in
48
hours, suffered an asthma attack and had to be taken to the hospital.
Talk
about leaving it all on the floor.
Ayana Walker, the game’s MVP, was all smiles at the end. “It feels
good”,
she said about getting Ramla its first and long awaited cup, but she
isn’t
satisfied. “We still have unfinished business to take care of”. Her
coach
agreed. “This is the beginning of Ramla’s period of dominance. These
things
happen in sports, just like it did for Ramat Hasharon when they won
their
first cup. Now it’s our turn”.
For Ramla:
Ayana Walker - 29 points (9/17 2pt FGs, 11/14 FTs), 7 rebs (5
offensives), 4
steals
Liron Cohen - 17 pts (4/11 FGs, 7/8 FTs)
Amber Hall – 15 pts (6/15 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 14 rebs
Monika Veselovski – 9 pts (2/7 FGs, 4/4 FTs), 9 rebs, 5 assists
Ina Gourevitch – 7 pts (3/11 FGs, 1/6 FTs), 5 rebs, 4 steals
Darguslava Zakula 4 pts
Nili Natho 3 pts
For Haifa/Motzkin:
Lena Mustafina – 23 pts (4/8 3pt FGs, 11/11 FTs), 4 assists
Laine Selwyn – 20 pts (4/10 2pt FGs, 3/5 3pt FGs, 3/5 FTs), 9 rebs, 9
assists, 3 steals
Crystal Givens – 19 pts (8/15 FG), 5 rebs
Lynn Pride – 17 pts (7/18 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 13 rebs, 3 steals
Michal Miron – 2 pts
The cup is the 2nd most important title in the Israeli league, there is
still a championship to be won. The playoffs best of 5 semi final
series
will tip off this Monday. Ramla will host Ramat Hasharon and Motzkin
will
pay a visit to Ramat Hen.