The Athena Wiener Women’s semi-final series continued tonight (Monday), when Maccabi Ashdod defeated Maccabi Haifa 68:79, completed a smooth 0: 3 and advanced to the playoff final. The new trophy holder, Hapoel Rishon Lezion, surrendered 80:74 at home to Elitzur Ramla, who went up to 1: 2 in the series.
Maccabi Haifa – Maccabi Girls Ashdod 79:68
After more than a week of rest, Maccabi Haifa had every reason in the world to come focused to the third game against Maccabi Banot Ashdod, which in turn experienced an embarrassing loss to Holon in the semifinals of the State Cup. But Haifa did not really manage to get into the game throughout the first half.
The first quarter was marked by an offensive display by Victoria Vivians, who took advantage of the opponent’s offensive weakness. Ashdod took the lead at the end of 17:20 and increased the gap to double digits at the beginning of the second quarter, when the other five players also got into the rhythm and created that Haifa had a hard time answering. Towards the end of the half, the green defense tightened and slightly reduced Ashdod’s excellent percentage, but that did not stop the visitors from going down to the break with a 36:40 advantage.
The third quarter opened with Ashdod’s onslaught on the green basket. The calmer the guest, the more frustrated Haifa seemed. She was far from creating any kind of run that would get her back on track and towards the end of the quarter the feeling was that a loss by 24 points, as in the second game in the series, was a logical scenario. 53:63 at the end of the third quarter. Haifa still made a few votes for a team that fought at the beginning of the last quarter, but Ashdod’s team game, in which five players score in double digits, was beyond what Haifa can handle. It ended 68:79 in favor of Ashdod, which decides the series in a sharp and smooth 0: 3 and secures its place in the playoff final.
They scored for Maccabi Haifa: Won 20 points, Mosby 17 points, Hopkins 11 points, Singer 7 points, Alon 6 points, Castan 5 points and Fun 2 points.
They scored for Maccabi Ashdod: Vivans 22 points, Dayan 13 points, Boone 13 points, Hightower 12 points, Cohen 10 points and Presley 9 points.
Hapoel Rishon LeZion – Elitzur Ramla 80:74
Anyone who thought Hapoel Rishon LeZion would come loose for the third game in the playoff semifinal against Ramla because of its victory in the state cup last week, probably does not know Ziv Erez’s team. Pretty impressive pressure from Ramla and a good entry into Emma Cannon’s affairs. Top Poetry summoned a timeout that proved to be particularly effective. Rishon Lezion did not score a point throughout the last three minutes of the quarter, and Ramla took advantage of this to run 0: 9 and equalize to 23:23 at the end of the first 10 minutes.
The second quarter, as usually happens, was Jenny Sims’ quarter. The Rishon LeZion star looked at her peak again, without the injury that bothered her at the end of the first game and throughout the second game in the series. Was busy with runs and set up a close game in which Rishon LeZion leads in the half 43:44.
Ramla rose more focused to the third quarter and managed not only to disrupt Rishon Lezion’s offensive streak but also to prevent it from using too much of one of its important weapons, offensive rebounds. Sims’ mistake under the basket less than two minutes to go, in a situation of 78:72 lag and in the half where Rishon LeZion does not score a three, was the straw that broke the camel’s back. In the semi-final series, on Thursday, at home, she will try to complete the task with a surprising 1: 3 and set a date with Ashdod in the playoff final.