\nThe Athena Winner League (Israeli\u2019s premier women\u2019s basketball league) continued with Round 8 on Monday night, with the results again showing the gaps in skill levels between the teams.<\/p>\n
While the game between the last two undefeated teams, Elitzur Ramle and Maccabi Ramat Gan, was slated as the game of the round, it ended up being a one-sided affair with Ramle handing the visitors their first loss for the season in an 83-49 thrashing. Maccabi Bnot Ashdod had a big 83-59 victory away at Bnot Petah Tikvah, Hapoel Rishon Letzion with captain Eden Zipel leading the way had a convincing 75-53 win away at Hapoel Holon, while Maccabi Haifa got their second win of the season and left ASA Bank Yahav Jerusalem without a win after 8 games in a 90-66 victory in the Holy Land capital.
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_5762.jpeg\")
Shir Tirosh – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nThe Sports Rabbi was in attendance at the closest game of the round between Hapoel Lev Jerusalem and AS Ramat Hasharon. Shir Tirosh had the hot hand early on for Jerusalem, but Ramat Hasharon\u2019s Dor Saar \u2013 an MVP candidate this season \u2013 knocked down a pair from deep along with points from captain Ofir Kesten which gave the visitors a 19-16 lead after 10 minutes of play.<\/p>\n
Kesten continued to score at will in the second quarter, while her opposing captain Alyssa Baron did the same for Limor Peleg\u2019s squad to give the hosts a slim 32-31 lead at halftime.<\/p>\n
Noor Kayuf started to score for Jerusalem to begin the third quarter and Rotem Shuster countered for the visitors, but Hodaya Kabada and Baron found points to open up a 51-40 lead leading into the final 10 minutes. Although Saar looked to get her team back into the game with a triple to start the fourth quarter, Jennifer Fleischer came back with points in the paint while Baron and Kayuf kept hitting from deep to wrap up the 68-54 win and move into equal third place in the standings with Ramat Hasharon and Maccabi Bnot Ashdod.
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_5791.jpeg\")
Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\n\u201cYou know, we made a few changes and we had a few injuries,\u201d Pelleg said of her team\u2019s adjustments to get back into the win column. \u201cThen when everyone got back to practice and stuff, I think we\u2019re finally starting to look like we want to look. The team\u2019s playing really well together offensively and defensively.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the highlights on defense was Kabada\u2019s effort on Saar, who scored below her season average in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI keep telling the girls that as much as they\u2019re talented offensively, defense wins games,\u201d Pelleg said. \u201cI\u2019m really glad \u2013 Hodaya is not known for her defense and she\u2019s really been stepping up these last few games. She\u2019s getting defensive missions and she\u2019s stepping up on them.\u201d
\nDue to the current war in Israel, only Israeli players participated in the first round of games between the teams, which concludes with Round 9 next week. Teams are now able to sign foreigners, who will be able to join rosters for the second round of games.<\/p>\n
Round 8 Results (home teams listed first)<\/strong> Best for Ramat Gan: Drew Edelman (22 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks)<\/p>\n Hapoel Lev Jerusalem defeated AS Ramat Hasharon 68-54\u2028<\/strong> \u2028Best for Ramat Hasharon: Dor Saar (21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals) and Ofir Kesten Raz (20 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals)<\/p>\n Bnot Petach Tikva defeated Maccabi Bnot Ashdod 59-83\u2028<\/strong> Best for Ashdod: Tal Lev (22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals), Danielle Karsh (21 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 steals), Tal Yakov (14 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 6 steals) and May Dayan (10 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal)<\/p>\n Elitzur Holon defeated by Hapoel Rishon Letzion 53-75\u2028<\/strong> Best for Rishon Letzion: Eden Zipel (33 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 1 block), Dorian Dahan Sujic (18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal) and Hila Karsh (14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal)<\/p>\n ASA Bank Yahav Jerusalem defeated by Maccabi Haifa 66-90<\/strong> \u2028 Best for Haifa: May Revahe (25 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals), Tamar Singer (16 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists and 3 steals), Lean Odeh (14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals) and Mika Bitan (14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals)<\/p>\n Round 9 Schedule (home teams listed first) \u2013 Monday January 15, 2024<\/strong> Standings After Round 8<\/strong> ATHENA WINNER TOURNAMENT<\/strong> The tournament, which is being used as an opportunity to call for the return of hostages and to make a stand in the fight against violence against women, will be attended by Israeli Minister of Culture and Sport Miki Zohar, Ramle Mayor Michael Vidal and Rishon Letzion Mayor Raz Kinstlich.<\/p>\n STATE CUP<\/strong> Semi-Finals \u2013 Monday March 4, 2024 Final (home teams listed first) \u2013 Thursday March 7, 2024\u2028 ISRAELIS IN THE NCAAW<\/strong><\/p>\n Team Israel star Yarden Garzon continues to impress for the no. 14 ranked Indiana Hoosiers. While she ahs been quiet in the Hoosiers\u2019 last two wins, 91-69 over the Nebraska Cornhuskers (3 points ,2 rebounds and 4 assists) and 80-59 over the Michigan Wolverines (6 points and 5 rebounds), the Ra\u2019anana native is averaging 11.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 28.3 minutes per game in 2023-24. The Hoosiers will be looking to continue their 12-game winning streak this week when they host the 10-4 Penn State in Big Ten conference play.<\/p>\n Yarden Garzon\u2019s sister and fellow Team Israel star, the 9-5 Oklahoma State Cowgirls\u2019 junior forward Lior Garzon, is also continuing strongly in the 2023-24 season \u2013 her senior season \u2013 averaging 11.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. The Cowgirls have won two in a row, including a 67-59 win over the no. 23 ranked TCU Horned Frogs, a game in which Garzon recorded 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in 38 minutes of play. The Cowgirls host the 13-3 Texas Tech in their Big 12 conference showdown this week.<\/p>\n Junior guard for the 9-3 Toledo Rockets, Emmi Rinat, also continues to improve as the season continues, averaging 7.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists for the 2023-24 season. The Rockets have won three games in a row and will next face the 5-7 Western Michigan Broncos \u2013 themselves on a three game losing streak \u2013 in MAC conference play this week.<\/p>\n Freshman guard Shirel Nahum, playing for the 9-5 UC Irvine Anteaters, is averaging 5.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists. While last wek\u2019s 57-60 loss to UC Davis Aggies was a game to forget for Nahum, she and her team will be looking to make amends in this week\u2019s Big West contest at home against the 6-6 Hawai\u2019I Rainbow Wahine. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We present you with the Sports Rabbi\u2019s update of women\u2019s hoops from the Holy Land \u2013 whether they\u2019re playing in Israel or the US, we are here to let you know what you need to know in Israeli women\u2019s basketball! ATHENA WINNER LEAGUE The Athena Winner League (Israeli\u2019s premier women\u2019s basketball league) continued with Round […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":101814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-101812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-land-hoops","tag-israel","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nGame of the Week: Elitzur Ramle defeated Maccabi Ramat Gan 83-49 \u2028<\/strong>
\nBest for Ramle: Eden Rotberg (20 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals), Daniel Raber (16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists), Tslil Vaturi (15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal) and Jennie Simms (10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals) \u2028<\/p>\n
\nBest for Hapoel Jerusalem: Alyssa Baron (20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals), Noor Kayuf (15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block), Shir Tirosh (13 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal) and Jennifer Fleischer (10 points, 15 rebounds and 2 assists)<\/p>\n
\nBest for Petah Tikva: Mariam Hannoun (17 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks) and Lihi Azouri (12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal)\u2028<\/p>\n
\nBest for Holon: Noa Zelivanski (15 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal) and Feyisayo Olawole (13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals)\u2028<\/p>\n
\nBest for ASA Jerusalem: Tamar Bar Gal (14 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist), Daniela Ben Avi (13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals) and Inbar Tene (10 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block) \u2028<\/p>\n
\nAS Ramat Hasharon vs Elitzur Ramle
\nMaccabi Haifa vs Hapoel Lev Jerusalem
\nHapoel Rishon Letzion vs ASA Bank Yahav Jerusalem
\nMaccabi Bnot Ashdod vs Elitzur Holon
\nMaccabi Ramat Gan vs Bnot Petach Tikva<\/p>\n
\n1. Elitzur Ramle (8-0, +212)
\n2. Maccabi Ramat Gan (7-1, +87)
\n3. Maccabi Bnot Ashdod (5-3, +59)
\n4. Hapoel Lev Jerusalem (5-3, +41)
\n5. AS Ramat Hasharon (5-3, +12)
\n6. Hapoel Rishon Letzion (4-4, +52)
\n– – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – — – – –
\n7. Bnot Petach Tikva (3-5, -57)
\n8. Maccabi Haifa (2-6, -38)
\n9. Elitzur Holon (1-7, -149)
\n10. ASA Bank Yahav Jerusalem (0-8, -219)<\/p>\n
\nThe Athena Winner Tournament, the Israeli women\u2019s basketball preseason tournament, did not finish during the offseason due to the war. The tournament will conclude this Thursday night with two of the in-form teams, Elitzur Ramle and Hapoel Rishon Letzion, playing against each other at the Kiryat Menachem Arena in Ramle, with the tipoff scheduled for 17:40 IST (10:40 EST).<\/p>\n
\nEarlier this week the draw for the State Cup Semi-Finals, which will be held at Beit Maccabi in Rishon Letzion on Monday March 4, was held. The winners of the Semi-Finals will play against each other at the same stadium later that week on Thursday March 7 for in the Final.<\/p>\n
\n\u2028Semi-Final 1: AS Ramat Hasharon vs Elitzur Ramle\u2028
\nSemi-Final 2: Hapoel Lev Jerusalem vs Hapoel Rishon Letzion<\/p>\n
\nWinner of Semi-Final 1 vs Winner of Semi-Final 2<\/p>\n