Brasheeda Elohim was Eli Rabi's ace in game 4 which started pretty badly for Ramla. Elohim changed up the momentum and carried the entire Ramla team with her as they fought to force game 5 with an impressive 87-74 win over Ramat Hasharon.
Ramla 87 – Electra Ramat Hasharon 74
Boxscore
It's too bad for Ramat Hasharon that Shimrit Gigi's 3 in the final seconds dropped in, because the "get-blown-out-win-next-game" system has been working great for Ramla. Ramla didn’t start out well tonight, was too busy being upset at the refs and again felt like it's them against the world. Slowly they came back into it in the first half which ended with a tie. Brasheeda Elohim gave Ramla their first lead since the early minutes with the first basket of the 2nd half and right then and there it was clear, Ramla won't give this game up no matter what.
"Subconsciously we knew that if we lose we have game 5 at home, and there's no doubt we play better at home" said Ramat Hasharon's assistant coach, Rafi Bogatin. "They had a few x-factors today in Elohim, Jackie Johnson and their offensive rebounds. Ramla played great, they wanted it more and we didn’t match their aggressiveness" he added.
"You can sum this game up in two words: Brasheeda Elohim. The way we looked in the first few minutes, it was like we came to say 'thanks for the season'. She just changed the momentum and lifted the entire team off the ground. I don't know how we could have won this game without her", said Eli Rabi. Elohim didn't play in game 2, and only got 2 minutes in game 3. Today she had 11 points and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes. "If we win the championship she will have a big part in it. She's been working hard all year despite the fact she doesn't play much, she came in today and shut down Jia Perkins who I think is the best player in the league. We didn't win with great basketball today, we just fought and refused to go home. I hope we can bring the same determination and aggressiveness for game 5", he concluded.
"I haven’t played a lot this season so when I was given a chance, which is all I wanted, it was my time to prove that I’m willing to do whatever it takes, whether its to guard their best player or penetrate and get layups, it doest matter" said Elohim. "Eli kept telling me to be patient that everyone has their role, so maybe now is my time", she continued. "Today was more of a reality check for us, if we lost it would have been it and we’ve been through too much this season even though everyone seems to underestimate us. We realized what we have to do and hopefully we can play as a team on Thursday too", said Elohim.
Elohim started the 2nd half in place of Michelle Snow and that's when Ramla started taking charge. Another player who played just as well tonight though it came as no surprise was Shay Doron, who had a game high 23 points. "It shouldn't affect us this much but we are more comfortable at home and it's part of the game," Doron tried to explain the huge difference in the way her team looked in the away games compared to the home games in the series so far. "Today was a do or die and so is the next game. If we don't defend we're going to lose, period. Offensively you can be on or off, but there are no off days on defense" she said, as far as she's concerned game 4 is already history.
Jia Perkins didn't think her team wanted it less tonight, or played any differently from the last game. "We just score less here, we take the same shots and just miss them", said Perkins but that's a tough sell considering the fact Vilipic and Coker took about half the shots they did in game 3. It's true Ramat Hasharon started strong and looked like they really do plan to end the series today but once the momentum switched sides they had no answer. "They were clicking on all cylinders today, what can you do but move on to the next game".
Half court shots are always a sign for good fortune, and that's how Jackie Johnson sealed the first quarter, only a 19-21 deficit. Ramat Hasharon wasn't impressed and made a 9-0 run to start the 2nd quarter, 30-19. Ramla took 3 minutes to get on the scoreboard, Doron and Elohim cut into the lead but Perkins with 4 points made it 36-25 with under 5 to go in the half. Sherill Baker answered with a steal and a layup and Doron drew fouls in bunches to complete a 10-0 run, Johnson with a 3 sent the fans to their feet and tied the score at 38. Ramla was playing with a lot of energy and pressing the ball well as Ramat Hasharon couldn't get it inside. Tied at 40 at the half.
Laine Selwyn who picked up 3 quick fouls in the 1st quarter stayed on the bench to start the 3rd, but Katia Abramzon with a shot clock beating 3 and Doron with 5 points made it 52-46. Ramat Hasharon got within 51-52 with 6:25 to go but didn’t add another field goal the rest of the quarter. Doron with 10 points in the quarter and Elohim with 7 led the way, only thing keeping Ramat Hasharon in it was free throws as a result of unnecessary fouls. Snow picked up a technical with 11 seconds left, and after Perkins made both free throws Rabi put Selwyn in and she immediately picked up her 4th. Vilipic made 2 for 2 but in the remaining 5 seconds Selwyn was able to score on the other end, 69-63.
The momentum stayed with Ramla in the 4th as they continued to own the offensive glass. Doron, Baker and Johnson made it 80-67 with 4 minutes left and the game was over at that point. Ramla still wanted to see how it feels to be on the winning side of a blowout and made it 87-71 with a minute to go. Game 5 is in three days, who knows maybe we'll get a close one.
For Ramla:
Shay Doron 23 pts
Jackie Johnson 18 pts
Sherill Baker 14 pts
Brasheeda Elohim 11 pts
Michelle Snow 10 pts
Katia Abramzon 6 pts
Laine Selwyn 5 pts
For Ramat Hasharon:
Jia Perkins 23 pts
Dada Vilipic 16 pts
Nomi Kolodny 10 pts
Monique Coker 9 pts
Shimrit Gigi 3 pts
Limor Mizrachi 1 pt
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Brasheeda Elohim
Photo: Motti Klinger |