|
|
At the Buzzer - Title to Ramat Hasharon
Orli Klinger
,04/12/2010 |
Sheri Sam inbounded the ball straight to Ambrosia Anderson who hit the layup with five seconds left to lift Ramat Hasharon to 64-63 win and their 2nd in a row and 6th overall Championship title.
Photo gallery
Ashdod 63 - Electra Ramat Hasharon 64
An emotional night ended with tears of joy in Ramat Hasharon and heartache in Ashdod, and a collective sad feeling by everyone that this series has to end. Lots of credit goes to Ashdod for an amazing season which swept an entire city with it, but Ramat Hasharon's winning spirit and experience was a little too much for them. Ramat Hasharon's players were beyond extatic, they've been through a long and hard season and truly proved to be the best team in the country.
The atmosphere was electrifying in Ashdod, a packed gym with over 1,200 fans and no sitting or standing room. Ashdod trailed by 5 with under two minutes to go but was able to tie the game and even take a 63-62 lead as Natasha Lacy split two free throws with under 10 seconds to play. The rebound went to Ashdod but Rivi Grinboym turned it over as she tried to inboud. Ashdod had a foul to give and left Ramat Hasharon 6 seconds. After a timeout Sam inbounded from mid court straight to Anderson for the game winner. Ashdod's fans stayed for the ceramony in order to thank their team for a wonderfull season.
In the first half there was a feeling that Ashdod is in control but Ramat Hasharon still led. Ashdod opened the 3rd with a 9-0 run and led 50-45 coming into the 4th, but in the final quarter Ramat Hasharon proved why they are the champions.
Ashdod led 53-49 before Selwyn with a layup and a three madie 54-53 with five minutes to go. The seesaw affair continued until Sam with a huge clutch three and Kia Vaughn with a shot clock beating basket made it 62-57 with under 2 to play. Ashdod came back to tie it with a drive by Shiran Zairy and a big three from Lacy, 46 seconds left. Anderson missed at the other end, and Lacy drew a foul with 9.6 seconds left. She hit the first to give Ashdod a 1 point lead and missed the 2nd, but Ashdod got the rebound. They failed to inbound and saw Ramat Hasharon execute the last play to perfection.
Ashdod got off to a good start while Ramat Hasharon had too many turnovers, but the scoreboard failed to reflect it. Grinboym with a three made it 13-9 before Ramat Hasharon cut it to 15-16 after 1.
Ashdod led 24-20 and but got stuck for two minutes with no baskets. Ramat Hasharon used it to make a run and take a 33-26 lead with 2 minutes left in the half. Ashdod was able to cut it to 31-35 at the break.
Ashdod came out on fire in the 3rd with a 9-0 run as Walker woke up and Shwartz hit a three, 40 - 35. Ashdod increased the lead to 46-38 but Ramat Hasharon wouldn't let it grow any bigger. Cohen and Dori cut it to 43-46, Christi Thomas with four points made it 50-46 after 3.
In the 4th the drama continued and it looked like Ramat Hasharon had it won with two minutes to go. 60 seconds later it looked like we're going to overtime, and 50 seconds after that it looked like we're going to game 5. Anderson however, thought differently.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Kia Vaughn 16 pts
Laine Selwyn 13 pts
Merav Dori 10 pts
Ambrosia Anderson, Sheri Sam & Ayelet Cohen 8 pts each
Yael Aharonov 1 pts
For Ashdod:
Natasha Lacy 16 pts, 10 rebs
Christi Thomas & Ashley Walker 14 pts each
Rivi Grinboym 8 pts
Ornit Shwartz 7 pts
Shiran Zairy 4 pts
Latest stories
|
Photo by: Motti Klinger |
|
Print
|
|
|
|
|