Elitzur Ramle rolls to State Cup triumph

Ramle beat Maccabi Ramat Hen 81-68 in the final in Rishon Lezion to lift the cup for the fourth time in club history and the first since 2008.

By ALLON SINAI
elitzur ramle trophy 311 (photo credit: Adi Avishai)
elitzur ramle trophy 311
(photo credit: Adi Avishai)
Elitzur Ramle claimed the women’s basketball State Cup on Sunday night, completing the first stage of a possible unprecedented treble.
Ramle beat Maccabi Ramat Hen 81-68 in the final in Rishon Lezion to lift the cup for the fourth time in club history and the first since 2008, but has already got one eye on the first leg of the Eurocup final against Arras of France on Thursday.
“I’m delighted with this win,” Ramle coach Adan Inbar said. “I was stressed before the game, but we played at a high level and I really enjoyed this win.
“The Eurocup final will be a completely different story.
But we will celebrate tonight as if there is no game on Thursday and we will play on Thursday as if we had never won the cup.”
Shay Doron had 26 points for Ramle, with Charde Houston adding 16 points and 11 rebounds and Le’Coe Willingham contributing 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Ashley Walker had 24 points for Ramat Hen, which will also face Ramle in the semifinals of the league playoffs.
Ramle struggled at the start of the game, trailing at one stage in the second quarter by eight points (29-21).
However, Inbar’s team tied the score by the break (40- 40) and led 57-51 with 10 minutes to play.
Ramat Hen mounted one last comeback in the fourth quarter, but Ramle ended the game with a strong run to lift its first, and quite probably not last, title of the season.
“This was our first target of the season and we achieved it,” Doron said.
“Ramat Hen gave us a fight and we had to play our best to win. We will enjoy this win tonight, but we will start to think about Thursday’s game tomorrow.”