It was an unusual cycle in the women’s basketball league, which included one thriller that ended in favor of Ashdod (the only one in the league that still has a perfect record), a huge surprise with Haifa’s victory in Ramla, the first victory of the season for Ramesh, and two more games from which Maccabi Ramat Gan and Elizur Holon emerged victorious Big (respectively) on Hapoel Bnei Pat and ASA Jerusalem.
Maccabi Girls Ashdod – Hapoel Rasheltz 78:79
The surprising team that finished the regular season last year in first place met the one aiming for that title this season. In the opening, Ashdod went to one and only address – Kelani Brown, who took control of the paint and scored points at almost every opportunity. In front of her were the Israelis of Rashtrak – Hila Karsh and Eden Tzipal – who hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter, which the guests finished with a 19:21 advantage. The one who took the command in Ashdod in the second quarter was Shatori Walker, who created points for the locals even when the paint was tight, when the second forward Jordan Hopper and Kayla Charles suffered from low percentages. The gap at the break grew to 29:39 in favor of the yellows.
Hopper and Charles entered the game in the second half and finished it with a combined 38 points, Tzipel also recorded a nice achievement of 18 points of her own, and Rishon Lezion made a complete turnaround in the last quarter, which by the end was already leading 71:78. But Ashdod came into the game with a perfect balance and intended to keep it. A record game by Brown and Walker (49 joint points) ended with a perfect turnaround in the final seconds. Alex Cohen scored once out of two attempts from the line, and put the team from the port ahead 78:79. Rashalat managed to throw three times during the remaining 15 seconds but did not score any of them. A narrow victory for Ashdod, which maintains first place this week as well.
AS Ramesh – Herzliya girls 58:78
The host went through a transformation, when Eli Rabi, the strongest man in the club who was the professional manager, took the reins as the team’s coach. Daniela Reuven, who was the coach, remained at the club as his assistant.
Ramat Hasharon built a team this season that could compete for a championship and at the same time compete in the Eurocup, but the start of the season slapped the red team in the face and three losses in the local team left it the last one that has yet to record a league victory this season. The players from Sharon came to correct this problematic figure this evening against the determined team from Herzliya, who opened the season against all the majors of the league and looked excellent for parts, but fell behind this evening 39:26 at halftime, due to terrible percentages from the field that continued deep into the third quarter.
The guests did miss all 15 of their shots from outside the arc in the first three quarters, but in the third quarter they at least managed to drag Ramat Hasharon into a battle that kept the gap between them at 13 points heading into the last quarter. Just before the end, Herzliya made three three-pointers, but the air had already left the lungs. Alicia Jenkins and Jazmin Jones sealed the result of the game at 58:78 for the team in red, which also enjoyed a good game from its Israelis and recorded its first victory of the season, hoping to quickly join the top team.
Elizur Ramla – Maccabi Haifa 97:75
The first half was marked by Tal Lev. The former captain of Maccabi Ramat Gan, who moved to Carmel this summer, looked like the reinforcement player they expected her to be. A record showing of 15 points (6 of 7 from the field) gave Haifa a big and convincing lead of 17:32 at the end of the first quarter. However, the players of Shira Havler did not give up and Shakira Austin’s 18 points by halftime brought the champion back to business even before the break, when the gap was reduced to only 49:42. Ramla’s locker room apparently decided to pay attention at the beginning of the second half, so the one who started to produce the points for the Haifaites was the other acquired player – Emi Okonkwo, who even contributed a three-pointer to the 7 shots from the paint.
In general, Ramla’s defense did not function and on the offensive side as well, Haifa managed to prevent the yellow-blacks from flowing, except for the points scored by Alyssa Baron, who left the champions in the picture. Haifa’s performance continued in the last quarter as well, when it seemed that Ramla simply threw up her hands, perhaps succumbing to the accumulated fatigue from the last few weeks and the games in the European arena. Five players in Haifa finished in double figures – and a team figure of 50 percent from the field, including 14 three-pointers that dived in, determined a final result no less than amazing – 75:97 for the guests from Haifa, who prove that they have a lot to sell this season, even against the talented and deep champion team.
Maccabi Ramat Gan – Hapoel Bnei PT 77:90
The host lost in the first round to the champion Marmela, but since then her improvement is noticeable, and it seems that the champion from two years ago definitely intends to challenge for the title this season. Tonight, against Hapoel Bnei Pat, she didn’t even need an exciting game, when three foreigners scored from every situation in the first half, which the home team finished with 61 points against only 37 of the visitors. Alaine Jillian, Brittany Brown and Maya Caldwell scored a combined 46 points – all with more than 70 percent from the field, while in Petah Tikva no player reached double digits before the break.
Ramat Gan’s tendency to slow down in the second half was also felt tonight, but not that the drastic drop in point production could have changed anything critical in the game in favor of the Malavasians. Although they won 13:19 in the third quarter, they collected 13 rebounds less than the opponent, who still led by 18 points heading into the last ten minutes. The guest continued to tail in Ordoniya and narrowed the gap even in the last quarter, when Jalian was still the only one who regularly created points for the team from Ramat Gan, but as the cliché goes, it was already too little and too late – 77:90 for Ramat Gan at the end.
ASA Jerusalem – Elitzur Holon 86:66
The first quarter in the capital perhaps tells the story of the newcomer this season. Only two players – Danielle Adams with 11 points and Tyler Wertz with 5 – scored for the home team, while the visitors, still without Jenny Sims, were helped by six players to lead 16:21 after 10 minutes. Noa Shalom and Mor Shabtai added two more points each until halftime, but against the Holon team it was too little – 35:44 for the guests at the break.
If the score at the end of the first half was still close, then Sholon took advantage of the fatigue of the two Jerusalem scorers in the third quarter and increased the gap to 20 points. Courtney Hurt and Daniel Reber kept more than 50 percent of the field and the teams advanced to the last quarter with the identity of the winner almost certainly known. The game in the closing minutes was already played at rest and allowed Nikol Michalich to add some points to the Jerusalemites. In Holon they will be especially happy about the easy victory, which frees the team for its European tasks with a clean head, after 66:86 in the capital.