Israel lost to Germany 63-78 in Tel Aviv on Monday night in the team’s final warmup game before the EuroBasket begins next week. After defeating Germany on Sunday night, Israel struggled to find consistent form in the first half, with the blue-and-white team going into halftime down 23-44. While they brought back the margin to as close as 10 points in the final quarter, it was a case of too little, too late, with the team finishing the last couple of weeks’ exhibition games with a 2-3 record.

Jennie Simms – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman
Jennie Simms showed no signs of muscle spasms which kept her out of the last quarter of Sunday night’s game, scoring a 3-pointer on Israel’s first possession of the game. Generally, Israel looked a lot more comfortable than the start of Sunday’s game, with Alex Cohen, Alyssa Baron and Yarden Garzon getting on the board early to level the scores at 11-11 midway through the quarter. However, Germany, through Luisa Geiselsöder (11 points for the quarter) and Emily Bessoir (10 points for the quarter) were dominant, giving the visitors a 25-16 lead at the end of the first quarter on the back of scoring the last 7 points.

Eden Rotberg – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman
Things didn’t get better for Israel in the second quarter, taking almost four minutes for the team’s first score, courtesy of a Cohen field goal. Israeli captain Eden Rotberg added another basket shortly after, but with three and a half minutes left in the half, Germany was already out to a 33-20 lead, which caused Israeli coach Sharon Drucker to call a timeout. Whatever he said during that break didn’t help, as Germany scored another 5 points and Drucker was forced to call another timeout a minute later. While Simms scored a 3-pointer towards the end of the quarter to give the home team a lift, it was a disappointing quarter, with the blue-and-white going into halftime down 23-44.

Alyssa Baron – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman
After halftime, baskets to Simms and Cohen, as well as free throws to Baron, helped Israel equal their second quarter tally of 7 points three minutes into the quarter. Through better defense and baskets to Simms, Garzon and Daniel Raber to end the third quarter, Israel managed to reduce the margin to 16 points with only 10 minutes remaining.

Yarden Garzon – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman
Baskets early in the fourth quarter to Simms, Raber and Tslil Vaturi brought the lead down to 11 points with seven minutes remaining, however Bessoir steadied the visitors and pushed the lead back out to 15 points with a 3-pointer and 6 minutes remaining. Baskets to Garzon and Simms reduced the margin even further to a 71-61 deficit with a little over two minutes remaining, but it was a case of too little, too late, especially after a 3-pointer from Alexandra Wilke stretched the lead even further to seal the game for the visitors.

Jennie Simms – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman
Jennie Simms (19 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists and 4 steals) and Alex Cohen (11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block) finished the game in double-figures for Israel, while Geiselsöder (20 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks), Marie Gulich (15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks) and Alexandra Wilke (15 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals) led the scoring for the visitors.

Eden Rotberg – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman
“First, I think it was great that we played the exhibition games,” Rotberg summed up after the game. “It was a sort of simulation for the Championship. We learn a lot from these games. Germany is a great team and we wish them the best of luck. We need to focus on ourselves and continue to fix what needs to be fixed.
“I think from the start of the game, Germany came to the game more aggressive and intensive and I think that’s the key. We didn’t come how we need to come, we’ll learn from this. The Championship is in ten days and I’m sure that we will come into the tournament as strong as possible.”

Sharon Drucker – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman
“I think that our players need to understand the enormity, intensiveness, that we will come up against and even more than that,” Drucker said. “It’s different basketball to what they’re used to in the league and other things like that. Both defensively and offensively, I think that they give everything – they are trying and they want it.
“We saw today – and the Germans are not suckers – they came and took easy points from us, mainly in the paint. If we can’t be tougher, beat them and attack the basketball and the ball goes inside too easily, the game will be lost. Also offensively, we need to attack in a smart way, enjoy the shot percentage which we didn’t have today. But overall, for exhibit games, they understood the level of intensiveness that there will be at the tournament.”
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