Nicky Anosike came in with 40 degree Celsius fever and didn't play until the final 2 minutes of the 3rd quarter. Without her even a great game for Olena Ogorodnikova was not enough for Ramla. Ashdod got a good game from Sherill Baker and a big contribution from the Israelis and held on at the end.
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Ashdod 82 - Ramla 74
Boxscore
"If there's a time and place to cause an upset, it's round 1. I was telling the team through out the game, don’t be afraid to win" said coach Daliah Bushinski at the end. "The score surprises a lot of people but our togetherness and team play was no surprise to me. We didn't win with great basketball, it was a lot of heart, will and character. We still have a lot of problems but tonight we hid them well, hopefully this will give us positive energy in the future", she added. Sherill Baker led Ashdod with 22 points and did a great job defensively on Tan White, who on her part looked a little out of it. Ashdod can also be very pleased from the 32 points the Israelis scored, led by Karin Agassi's 14.
The last time, and only time, Ashdod beat Ramla was somewhere back in the 02/03 season, in the playoffs semi finals. March 16th 2003 to be exact. Ramla recovered and won that series 3-1. Tonight Ramla was also in position to win at the end even though Ashdod had the lead, but didn’t find the player to make the right plays down the stretch. "I think we had momentum a couple of times during the game, in the 1st and 2nd half, but we made mistakes which Ashdod took advantage of to turn things around", said Eli Rabi. "There were many good things in tonight's game and also a lot of things to improve on, we're not playing any defense and that's the biggest problem right now but I believe once we jell a little it would be better".
Ashdod needed a moment to take everything in, considering the team's history of close losses (mainly to Ramla but not only), and also since in preseason they hardly reached 60 points. Tamara Moore who picked up 4 fouls in 3 very frustrating quarters, was excellent at the end. "We stayed together, obviously Ramla's a really good team and they will look different with Nicky but we took advantage of that tonight", she said, "like I told the girls, we didn't come all this way to lose this game in the last minute. Keep playing hard and whatever happens, happens". Ashdod led 78-74 with 1:28 to go but Moore with a great pass to Brasheeda Elohim pushed the lead to six. On the other end Baker got a steal, was fouled and made both free throws to seal the win.
"Yes this is Ramla and we respect every team, but it was clear to me that we're going to win. This was our game. It only proves that Ashdod can beat any team, no matter what's written on their jerseys" said Karin Agassi, Ashdod's big spark off the bench.
Ramla started out slow taking two minutes to get on the board, but Ashdod had 1 field goal in nearly five minutes. Annmarie Parau and White scored in transition to make it 6 -3. Agassi came in for Jennifer Humphry and immediately scored, but Ogorodnikova found her touch for Ramla and they ended the quarter with six unanswered points, 18-12.
Threes by Ortal Oren & Parau pushed Ramla's lead to 25-18 but they couldn't extend it. The threes stopped falling, Ashdod used the long rebounds to run and Baker racked up points. The bad news for Ashdod though were Moore's 3rd foul. Parau made it 32-25 with another three, timeout Ashdod. Ashdod came back a lot more aggressive defensively and held Ramla scoreless the rest of the half, 4:30 minutes. Humphry with a 3-pt play off of Lazmi's assist and Baker at the line completed a 12-0 run, 37-32 at the half.
Lazmi & Baker connected from long distance to start the 3rd but Ogorodnikova was getting the ball very deep and finished basket after basket. White hit a 3 as if to let everyone know this game will be going down to the wire. Ina Gourevitch gave Ramla the lead and Moore with a very unnecessary 4th foul headed for the bench. Despite that, Agassi with two treys and Baker with more free throws made it 54-49 Ashdod, and Rabi called in Anosike. Ramla was down 55-57 after 3.
Ogorodnikova with a great pass to Anosike got her on the board, and her 2nd field goal didn't take long to follow. Soon enough Anosike had 6 points already and Ramla led 66-62, timeout Ashdod. Bushinski chose to leave Humphry on the bench, Agassi hit another three and Baker with a steal and layup gave Ashdod the lead again. Moore had a 3-point play following Anosike's miss to make it a 4 points game with 4 minutes to go. Moore added four more points and a beautiful dish to Elohim, and Baker with a steal and free throws made sure the win stays in Ashdod this time, much to the delight of the local fans.
For Ashdod:
Sherill Baker 22 pts, 4 ast
Tamara Moore 17 pts, 8 rebs
Karin Agassi 14 pts
Jennifer Humphry 11 pts, 8 rebs
Brasheeda Elohim 10 pts, 6 rebs
Bat El Lazmi 8 pts
For Ramla:
Olena Ogorodnikova 23 pts
Tan White & Ina Gourevitch 11 pts each
Nicky Anosike 8 pts
Ortal Oren 7 pts
Katia Abramzon 3 pts
Anat Goldberg 1 pt
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Baker Vs. White
Photo: Motti Klinger |