March 22, 2018

Both series continued on Thursday.  Maccabi Ashdod controlled the game in Holon, winning 70-57 to give themselves the chance to win the series at home on Monday.  Elitzur Ramla was down a foreign player, but got tremendous games from Adut Bulgak and Alexis Jones again.  That was enough to win 95-88 despite good games from Renee Montgomery and Nia Coffey for the visitors.  Maccabi Ramat Hen will be in an unexpected position on Monday, needing to win at home to extend their season.

Elitzur Holon vs. Maccabi Ashdod 57-70 HOL Adams 19/7r Pelleg 9 Chong 7 ASH Doron 18 Hayes 15/9r Hopkins 14/10r/7a Jackson 10/14r/6a Levitsky 8 Presley 2 Hattis 0

Maccabi Ashdod leads series 2-0

Elitzur Ramla vs. Maccabi Ramat Hen 95-88 RAM Bulgak 33/8r Jones 30/6r/8a Cohen 11/9r Ganor 10 Feder 7 Shafir 4/6a GAN Montgomery 25 Coffey 23/6r Zairy 16/6a Baron 0 Graves 8/7r Diamant 2 Kedem 0

Elitzur Ramla leads series 2-0

March 19, 2018

Both semifinals series started on Monday.  Maccabi Ramat Hen thought that they had the advantage at the top seed, getting a good game from Renee Montgomery.  Elitzur Holon built some momentum at the end of the last stage and carried it into this game with both Adut Bulgak and Alexis Jones helping them steal the first game on the road 78-73.  Maccabi Ashdod has found their form during the postseason in recent years and they started well with a 74-54 win.  Elitzur Holon did get good games from Crystal Bradford and Danielle Adams as they will continue to be more reliant on their foreign trio than other teams in the playoffs.  The teams will now swap venues for the second games on Thursday.

Maccabi Ramat Hen vs. Elitzur Ramla 73-78 GAN Montgomery 28 Coffey 15/13r Diamant 10/7r Graves 9/8r Baron 4 Kedem 2 RAM Bulgak 22/15r Jones 21/6r/6a Ibekwe 15 Cohen 10 Shafir 10 Feder 0

Maccabi Ashdod vs. Elitzur Holon 74-54 ASH Hopkins 18/8r/6a Jackson 12/15r Ben Nun 12 Levitsky 10 Hayes 7 Doron 7 Presley 6 Hattis 0 HOL Bradford 21/13r Adams 21/13r Pelleg 6 Chong 4

March 15, 2018

The last round of this stage was played on Thursday with the top three teams playing teams from the bottom half.  Maccabi Ashdod took care of business with an 83-57 win over Hapoel Petah Tikva.  Elitzur Holon also won, leaving Hasharon with a 77-70 victory.  That left one game to determine the final standings.  Maccabi Ramat Hen looked to be cruising early, but Alexis Jones and Elitzur Ramla fought back to win 62-61, creating a three-way tie at the top of the standings and giving the top teams something to think about in the playoffs, although the visitors are still the top seed.

Maccabi Ashdod vs. Hapoel Petah Tikva 83-57 ASH Jackson 19/9r Hayes 15 Hopkins 10 Levitsky 10 Hattis 9/9r Presley 9 Doron 6 PET Simms 19/9r Peterson 15 Vaturi 11/9r Abboud 4 Zimmerman 2/7r

Ramat Hasharon vs. Elitzur Holon 70-77 HAS Kelley 19/13r Rotberg 12 Harden 11/8r/7a Aharonov-Shmueli 10 Katz 10 HOL Adams 19/13r Bradford 16/10r Chong 15 Pelleg 8/7r/8a

Elitzur Ramla vs. Maccabi Ramat Hen 62-61 RAM Jones 21/6r Bulgak 10/9r Ibekwe 10/9r Feder 9 Shafir 6/6a Cohen 6 GAN Montgomery 14 Coffey 12/9r Kedem 8 Graves 6/17r Baron 6/6r Diamant 6

Standings:

1. Maccarbi Ramat Hen 17-6
2. Maccabi Ashdod 17-6
3. Elitzur Holon 17-6
4. Elitzur Ramla 13-10
5. Ramat Hasharon 9-14
6. Hapoel Petah Tikva 9-14

March 12, 2018

Only the upper group will play games in the last two rounds of this stage, starting with this set of games on Monday with the last round on Thursday.  The latest game between the two teams that have controlled the league recently certainly lived up to the hype as it took overtime for Maccabi Ramat Hen to put themselves all alone in first place with an 83-75 win.  Renee Montgomery paced the hosts as her Connecticut counterpart Tiffany Hayes led Maccabi Ashdod.  The two teams at the bottom of the group faced off with Jennie Simms helping Hapoel Petah Tikva past Ramat Hasharon 79-64.  It was a battle of players wearing 15 as Crystal Bradford and Elitzur Holon beat Ify Ibekwe and Elitzur Ramla 82-77.

Maccabi Ramat Hen vs. Maccabi Ashdod 83-75(OT) GAN Montgomery 21 Coffey 18/13r Zairy 14 Kedem 12 Graves 10/10r Diamant 5/14r Baron 0 ASH Hayes 21/8r Jackson 14/13r Hopkins 14/8a Levitsky 10 Doron 8 Presley 6 Hattis 2

Hapoel Petah Tikva vs. Ramat Hasharon 79-64 PET Simms 23/19r Abboud 17/7r Zimmerman 16/8r Vaturi 12 Peterson 11/7a HAS Kelley 16/18r Aharonov-Shmueli 14 Harden 12/10r/7a

Elitzur Holon vs. Elitzur Ramla 82-77 HOL Bradford 33/9r Chong 19 Adams 14/11r Pelleg 11 RAM Ibekwe 31/18r Jones 14 Bulgak 13/10r Bulgak 13/10r Feder 10 Shafir 4

Standings:

1. Maccabi Ramat Hen 17-5
2. Maccabi Ashdod 16-6
3. Elitzur Holon 16-6
4. Elitzur Ramla 12-10
5. Ramat Hasharon 9-13
6. Hapoel Petah Tikva 9-13

February 26, 2018

Upper Group:

Another round was played on Monday.  Adut Bulgak and Elitzur Ramla continue to sit in between the top teams and the rest of the pack with an 82-49 win over Ramat Hasharon.  A step towards figuring out the order of those top teams was taken with Tiffany Hayes leading Maccabi Ashdod to a 76-62 win over Crystal Bradford and Elitzur Holon.  Maccabi Ramat Hen ended the round at the top of the tiebreaker as Dannielle Diamant helped them withstand the incredible shooting performance from Arron Zimmerman to beat Hapoel Petah Tikva 86-85.

Elitzur Ramla vs. Ramat Hasharon 82-49 RAM Bulgak 21/7r Ibekwe 14/14r Jones 14 Shafir 10 Cohen 9 Feder 5 HAS Kelley 17/10r Harden 7/16r/6a

Maccabi Ashdod vs. Elitzur Holon 76-62 ASH Hayes 20 Jackson 15/8r/7a Hopkins 14/8a Levitsky 10/7r Doron 9 Presley 3 Hattis 2 HOL Bradford 23/13r Adams 16/6r Chong 12 Pelleg 2

Maccabi Ramat Hen vs. Hapoel Petah Tikva 86-85 GAN Diamant 24/6r Coffey 19/15r Graves 17/9r Montgomery 13/9a Zairy 11 Baron 0 Kedem 0 PET Zimmerman 25 Peterson 19 Vaturi 15/6r Simms 10/9r/8a Abboud 8 Leary 6/14r

Standings:

1. Maccabi Ramat Hen 16-5
2. Maccabi Ashdod 16-5
3. Elitzur Holon 15-6
4. Elitzur Ramla 12-9
5. Ramat Hasharon 9-12
6. Hapoel Petah Tikva 8-13

Lower Group:

The last set of games in this group were played in this round.  Bria Goss and Maccabi Raanana finished in the top position with a 93-70 win over Bnei Yehuda.  Herzliya finished with the same record after an 80-64 win over Tori Jarosz and Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion.

Bnei Yehuda vs. Maccabi Raanana 70-93 YEH Holmes 17/6r Manuel 15/10r Lev 13 Dayan 9 Knox 6/8a RAA Goss 24 Penn 17/14r/6a Edwards 16/6r Tirosh 15 Sapir 10

Bnot Herzliya vs. Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion 80-64 HER Suez-Karni 19 Richardson 16/14r Pelc 15 Banet 11 Ajavon 9/8r/7a Hanoun 2 RIS Jarosz 20/8r Lux 14 Nyingifa 13/7r Colson 4

Standings:

1. Maccabi Raanana 10-11
2. Bnot Herzliya 10-11
3. Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion 5-16
4. Bnei Yehuda 4-17

Upper Group:

The round after the national team break started on Sunday as Adut Bulgak and Elitzur Ramla beat Hapoel Petah Tikva 73-54.  The picture at the top of the standings continues to be unclear as Maccabi Ramat Hen went to Holon and won 62-57 to sit atop a three-way tie.  Shay Kelley and Yael Aharonov-Shmueli had good games for Ramat Hasharon, but the hosts had to face a Maccabi Ashdod team that finally had its entire roster at its disposal with Tiffany Jackson-Jones leading the visitors to the 79-63 win.

February 18, 2018

Hapoel Petah Tikva vs. Elitzur Ramla 54-73 PET Peterson 19 Simms 11 Leary 6/18r Abboud 5 Zimmerman 0 RAM Bulgak 21/11r Jones 16 Shafir 13/6a Ibekwe 10/12r Cohen 7/8r Feder 4

February 19, 2018

Elitzur Holon vs. Maccabi Ramat Hen 57-62 HOL Bradford 18/16r Adams 15/7r Chong 14 Pelleg 2 GAN Montgomery 18/9a Coffey 14/10r Baron 12 Diamant 9/11r Graves 6/14r Kedem 3

Ramat Hasharon vs. Maccabi Ashdod 63-79 HAS Kelley 21/13r Aharanov-Shmueli 20 Harden 4 ASH Jackson-Jones 26/9r Doron 16 Ben Nun 11 Hayes 10/9r/6a Hopkins 10/8r Hattis 4 Levitsky 2 Presley 0

Standings:

1. Maccabi Ramat Hen 15-5
2. Elitzur Holon 15-5
3. Maccabi Ashdod 15-5
4. Elitzur Ramla 11-9
5. Ramat Hasharon 9-11
6. Hapoel Petah Tikva 8-12

Lower Group:

Both games in this group were on Monday, starting with Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion’s 83-74 win over Bnei Yehuda.  Sydney Colson took on a bigger scoring role than usual for the hosts, helping offset big games from Taylor Manuel and Sequoia Holmes.  Herzliya used strong contributions from its domestic players to beat Bria Goss and Maccabi Raanana 74-68.

February 19, 2018

Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion vs. Bnei Yehuda 83-74 RIS Colson 23/6r/8a Jarosz 19/9r Nyingifa 13/20r Lux 13 Asaf 3 YEH Manuel 27/11r Holmes 20/7r Lev 15/7r Knox 8 Dayan 2

Maccabi Raanana vs. Bnot Herzliya 68-74 RAA Goss 23 Penn 14/13r Edwards 9/8r HER Pelc 18 Banet 15/6r Richardson 10 Suez-Karni 9 Ajavon 8 Greene 6/7r Hanoun 3

Standings:

1. Maccabi Raanana 9-11
2. Bnot Herzliya 9-11
3. Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion 5-15
4. Bnei Yehuda 4-16

January 29, 2018

Upper Group:

This group opened play on Monday with Tiffany Hayes and Maccabi Ashdod’s foreign contingent playing a much bigger role than usual in a 70-59 win over Elitzur Ramla.  Renee Montgomery and Maccabi Ramat Hen beat Shae Kelley and Ramat Hasharon 68-61.  Elitzur Holon remained in the top spot and finished a perfect day for the top three as their duo of Danielle Adams and Crystal Bradford was able to outlast Hapoel Petah Tikva’s duo of Alexis Peterson and Jennie Simms 83-79.

Maccabi Ashdod vs. Elitzur Ramla 70-59 ASH Hayes 21/6r Hopkins 16/14r/8a Jackson-Jones 12/7r Levitsky 6 Doron 4 Hattis 2 RAM Bulgak 18/12r Jones 14 Shafir 9 Cohen 8 Ibekwe 7/8r Feder 0

Maccabi Ramat Hen vs. Ramat Hasharon 68-61 GAN Montgomery 23 Coffey 13/11r Graves 13/10r Diamant 9/6r Baron 8 Kedem 0 HAS Kelley 20/6r Ervin 14/13r Harden 8/6r

Elitzur Holon vs. Hapoel Petah Tikva 83-79 HOL Adams 27/14r Bradford 22/12r Chong 19 Pelleg 6 PET Peterson 26 Simms 22/10r Leary 10/10r Vaturi 10 Abboud 6/6r Zimmerman 5

Standings:

1. Elitzur Holon 15-4
2. Maccabi Ramat Hen 14-5
3. Maccabi Ashdod 14-5
4. Elitzur Ramla 10-9
5. Ramat Hasharon 9-10
6. Hapoel Petah Tikva 8-11

Lower Group:

The other group also started play on Monday.  Atonye Nyingifa’s efforts for Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion were not enough as they lost to Maccabi Raanana 75-70.  Sequoia Holmes and Bnei Yehuda put themselves in better position to pull out of last place after a 72-70 win over Noga Pelc and Herzliya.

Maccabi Raanana vs. Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion 75-70 RAA Edwards 19/14r Penn 17/13r Goss 15 Tirosh 14 RIS Nyingifa 23/7r Lux 18 Jarosz 12/9r Colson 10/12a Asaf 0

Bnot Herzliya vs. Bnei Yehuda 70-72 HER Pelc 21 Richardson 11/7r Greene 11/6r Ajavon 10/6r Suez-Karni 8 Hanoun 0 YEH Holmes 24/14r Knox 17 Lev 14/9r Manuel 7/6r Dayan 3

Standings:

1. Maccabi Raanana 9-10
2. Bnot Herzliya 8-11
3. Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion 4-15
4. Bnei Yehuda 4-15

January 22, 2018

The final set of games in the double round-robin tipped off extra early on Monday.  Hapoel Petah Tikva got good games from Alexis Peterson and Jennie Simms, but lost to Adut Bulgak and Elitzur Ramla, leaving themselves sweating out other results to see whether they would be in the upper or lower group in the next stage.  Chelsea Hopkins got her triple-double as Maccabi Ashdod beat Bnei Yehuda 80-43.  The duo of Shiran Zairy and Renee Montgomery led Maccabi Ramat Hen past Ramat Hasharon, also leaving the visitors needing to check the other scores to make sure that they had made it into the top six.  Bria Goss had a great game for Maccabi Raanana, but Elitzur Holon claimed the top spot for themselves and denied the hosts a place in the upper group with an 82-63 win.  Noga Pelc and Herzliya prevailed in overtime 71-69 against Tori Jarosz and Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion, but ended up at the bottom of the three-way tie for the last place in the upper group.

Hapoel Petah Tikva vs. Elitzur Ramla 74-90 PET Peterson 24 Simms 20/8r Leary 11/9r Abboud 7 Zimmerman 4 RAM Bulgak 20/14r Ibekwe 19/6a Cohen 14 Jones 14 Shafir 10/6a Feder 8

Maccabi Ashdod vs. Bnei Yehuda 80-43 ASH Doron 15 Hopkins 14/11r/11a Levitsky 14 Hayes 10 Jackson-Jones 8/10r Hattis 8 YEH Holmes 10/7r Knox 7 Manuel 4/7r Dayan 0

Maccabi Ramat Hen vs. Ramat Hasharon 81-63 GAN Zairy 20 Montgomery 20 Diamant 17/11r Coffey 10/9r Graves 4/7r Baron 4 HAS Ervin 19/13r Kelley 19/11r Harden 6

Maccabi Raanana vs. Elitzur Holon 62-83 RAA Goss 29 Edwards 19/6r Penn 3/16r HOL Adams 19/8r Chong 18/9a Pelleg 15 N. Shalom 12 Bradford 10/11r

Bnot Herzliya vs. Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion 71-69(OT) HER Pelc 23 Ajavon 17/6r Richardson 11 Greene 10/19r Hanoun 3 Suez-Karni 0 RIS Jarosz 21/13r Nyingifa 17/12r Colson 14/9a Lux 13

Standings:

1. Elitzur Holon 14-4
2. Maccabi Ramat Hen 13-5
3. Maccabi Ashdod 13-5
4. Elitzur Ramla 10-8
5. Ramat Hasharon 9-9
6. Hapoel Petah Tikva 8-10
7. Maccabi Raanana 8-10
8. Bnot Herzliya 8-10
9. Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion 4-14
10. Bnei Yehuda 3-15

Leaders:

Scoring: 1. Sykes 24.4, 2. Nyingifa 20.0, 3. Kelley 19.8, 4. Chong 16.7, 5. Bradford 19.1, 6. Bulgak 18.7, 7. Hayes 18.1, 8. Edwards 17.9, 9. Adams 17.8, 10. Simms 17.8

Rebounding: 1. Bradford 14.4, 2. Leary 13.2, 3. Penn 12.3, 4. Ervin 12.1, 5. Jarosz 11.7, 6. Nyingifa 11.4, t7. Graves and Jackson-Jones 11.1, 9. Bulgak 10.8, 10. Greene 10.4

Assists: 1. Colson 9.0, 2. Hopkins 5.9, 3. Ajavon 5.2, 4. Chong 5.2, 5. Harden 5.0, 6. Bradford 4.9, 7. Yizchaki 4.9, 8. Shafir 4.5, 9. Aharonov-Shmueli 4.3, 10. Carter 4.2