{"id":136254,"date":"2025-03-21T13:43:23","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T13:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/?p=136254"},"modified":"2025-03-21T13:43:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T13:43:23","slug":"maccabi-bnot-ashdod-wins-6th-womens-state-cup-trophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/en\/maccabi-bnot-ashdod-wins-6th-womens-state-cup-trophy\/","title":{"rendered":"Maccabi Bnot Ashdod wins 6th Women\u2019s State Cup trophy"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a thrilling Israeli Women\u2019s State Cup Final at Rishon LeZion\u2019s Beit Maccabi on Thursday, Maccabi Ashdod emerged victorious over Hapoel Lev Jerusalem 78-62. The game showcased the dominance and skill of Shira Haelion\u2019s team, which currently also sits in first place in the Israeli Women\u2019s League, securing them the coveted cup title over last year\u2019s champions.<\/p>\n

From the outset, Ashdod established dominance, leveraging their experience and cohesive play to get out to a 28-18 lead after 10 minutes. They built a substantial lead in the first half, showcasing both offensive prowess and defensive resilience, however Jerusalem mounted a spirited comeback to narrow the gap to just 2 points at 39-37 going into the halftime break. Despite their efforts, Ashdod put in a big performance in the third quarter (colloquially referred to as the premiership quarter) to extend the lead to 19 points at 63-44 going into the final 10 minutes to help secure the win.
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Photo credit: IBBA<\/p><\/div>
\nAbby Meyers (21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal), Stephanie Watts (19 points and 10 rebounds) and Stasha Carey (17 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals) led the scoring for the champs, while Alyssa Baron (23 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals) and Emily Engstler (18 points, 15 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block) were in double-figures for Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the sweetest victories of my career,\u201d Haelion celebrated. \u201cAgainst all odds, we did it. I just hope that the injury of Ksenia [Malashka, who had 5 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 18 minutes) isn\u2019t serious\u2014she\u2019s our anchor and incredibly important. Our defensive performance in the second half was outstanding. I couldn\u2019t be prouder or happier. This club truly deserves it. After a tough year, these players stood by me every step of the way, and I\u2019m glad I could give back to them. This victory is for the amazing fans of Ashdod, but above all, for these incredible players. Slogans don\u2019t matter to me\u2014we had the toughest draw and played through the hardest games. Odelia [Madmon, assistant coach] is amazing, and I\u2019m so happy she\u2019s part of my staff.\u201d
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Photo credit: IBBA<\/p><\/div>
\n\u201cI\u2019m really proud of every single one of us for fighting until the very end,\u201d Ashdod captain Dor Saar (14 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals) said. \u201cThere are families who have lost loved ones, hostages in Gaza and the soldiers who are fighting and most importantly \u2013 that they return hope as soon as possible. From the start of the season, my teammates told me they trusted me, I\u2019m grateful that they allow me to lead. We\u2019ve won the Cup\u2014now I hope we can win the Championship too. These teams have beaten us before, so we have to stay grounded. We\u2019ll prepare and come ready for the next game, I believe that we are capable. As for celebrations? That depends on what Uri [Ben-Simon, team CEO] lets us do. Tonight, we celebrate \u2014 tomorrow, we get back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so happy, we worked really hard for this,\u201d Carey said. \u201cI don\u2019t think any other team worked as hard as we did. Winning this against Jerusalem makes it even more special. A new team won today\u2014I love that.\u201d
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Photo credit: IBBA<\/p><\/div>
\nUniversity of Maryland product Meyers also shared her excitement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m absolutely thrilled with this victory. Experiencing it with my family, friends, and the Ashdod community was incredible and bringing the Cup home is just the cherry on top. I had so much hope and confidence, thanks to Shira and my teammates \u2014 they made sure I felt safe and supported, so my family back in Washington, D.C., had no reason to worry. Coming here was the right decision for me, I\u2019m falling in love with this country and its people\u2014it\u2019s been a fantastic season. Is Ashdod home? It certainly feels that way \u2014 a home away from home. But the season isn\u2019t over yet. It\u2019s strange because it feels like it ended tonight, but we still have another title to fight for.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a thrilling Israeli Women\u2019s State Cup Final at Rishon LeZion\u2019s Beit Maccabi on Thursday, Maccabi Ashdod emerged victorious over Hapoel Lev Jerusalem 78-62. The game showcased the dominance and skill of Shira Haelion\u2019s team, which currently also sits in first place in the Israeli Women\u2019s League, securing them the coveted cup title over last […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":136256,"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-136254","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":"\nMaccabi Bnot Ashdod wins 6th Women\u2019s State Cup trophy - Sports Rabbi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/en\/maccabi-bnot-ashdod-wins-6th-womens-state-cup-trophy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Maccabi Bnot Ashdod wins 6th Women\u2019s State Cup trophy - Sports Rabbi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a thrilling Israeli Women\u2019s State Cup Final at Rishon LeZion\u2019s Beit Maccabi on Thursday, Maccabi Ashdod emerged victorious over Hapoel Lev Jerusalem 78-62. 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