Women: Maccabi Ashdod in the final, Elitzur Ramla went up to 2: 1 | Israel today

If today's dramatic game (Monday) was in Rishon Lezion, where the new trophy holder, Hapoel Rishon LeZion, suffered a dramatic loss to Elitzur Neve David Ramla and got into a problematic situation of a 2: 1 deficit in the series, then the real announcement was in Haifa. And came back with an unquestioned victory from the first moment and a 0: 3 share in the playoff semifinal series.

Maccabi Haifa - Maccabi Girls Ashdod 79:68

(3: 0 in the series)

After more than a week of rest, Maccabi Phoenix Haifa had all the reasons 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 Chelsea Hopkins' offensive weakness and Bernice Mosby's difficulties in color against Kelsey Boone.

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.

Haifa was unable to produce baskets from orderly exercises and went for personal actions of foreigners, but even these were far from saving.

When Haifa already scored, it suffered a sloppy drop to the defense, and Ashdod knew how to take advantage of this well and widen the gap to the 15-point districts.

The calmer Ashdod became, 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 excellent offensive play, with a ball inside and good scoring space, led the visitors to a 57:70 advantage seven minutes to go.

Crystal Wen still tried to produce quick points to win Haifa, but throughout the quarter, the game and the entire series, it did not seem to have forces.

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.

Scorers for Haifa:

Wen 20, Mosby 17, Hopkins 11, Singer 7, Alon 6, Kastan 5, Kiuf 2.

Scorers for Ashdod:

Vivians 22, Dayan 13, Boone 13, Hightower 12, Cohen 10, Presley 9.

Crystal Dangerfield, Photo: Courtesy of the Director of the Women's Basketball Premier League

Hapoel Rishon LeZion - Elitzur Neve David Ramla 80:74 (2: 1 in the series)

Anyone who thought that 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. Rishon LeZion not only started the game great but also looked more focused than ever.

In the first four minutes she sniped five threes, and 7 minutes into the half already led 12:23, despite a pretty impressive pressure play 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 of the series. The visitors did not think to raise a white flag.Alisa Barron's aggressive defense and Crystal Dangerfield's execution created another run in a game that was already full of runs and set up a close game in which Rishon LeZion leads 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 - the offensive rebound.

Courtney Douglas was accurate when she got chances and inside the point Rishon LeZion was a bit soft due to Christy Block's offense problem. A run of her own, but four fouls from three prevented her from getting into a good pace and for the final quarter she came up 62:58 behind.

Jenny Sims, Photo: Courtesy of the Director of the Women's Basketball Premier League

With the exception of The Sims, who gave an offensive play from every range and in every aspect of the game, and perhaps also a determined game by Dakia Cohen, Rishon's Israeliness failed to enter the game.

Eden Tzipel has not scored a point since the first quarter and went down to the bench in the crucial minutes, Ettinger and Karsh failed to produce points in its place and the loss of the ball on the side of Dangerfield's excellent shooting ability kept Ramla ahead.

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.

Scorers for Rishon LeZion:

Sims 31, Cohen 12, Block 12, Tzipel 8, Revach 5, Ettinger 4, Karsh 2.

Scorers for Ramla:

Dangerfield 24, Cannon 21, Baron 16, Douglas 13, Hressler 3, Eisner 3.

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