Women’s Premier Basketball League: Hapoel Lev Jerusalem reached the playoff final for the first time in its history

Hapoel Lev Jerusalem, the holder of the State Cup, qualified for the playoff final series tonight (Thursday) after a 72:85 victory over Maccabi Girls Ashdod in the fourth game of the semi-final series and finishing 1:3. Jerusalem is doing this in its first season in the top league, Ashdod will be absent from the final series after 13 years in a row. The Jerusalem girls will meet the champion Elitzur Ramla in the final series that will start on Monday.

Two of the most offensive teams in the league arrived tonight for the fourth game between them in the semi-final playoff series knowing that at least for Ashdod this is the last chance to continue the season. Great defenses and somewhat shaky hands left the score at zero in the first few minutes. Ashdod also missed its first five shots from beyond the arc, but the game remained close.

On the other hand, Alyssa Baron, who scored only two three-pointers out of ten attempts in the third game of the series, opened the game tonight in the opposite direction with two successful attempts from beyond the arc. Stasha Curry’s dominance under the basket allowed Jerusalem to open a gap and lead 16:21 at the end of the first quarter.

Ashdod admittedly started the previous three games better, but only won one of them. In the first half tonight, although she scored in moderate percentages and also gave up a lot of rebounds, she enjoyed the wonderful form of Tia Presley, who contributed eight points from the bench and great passes in the standing attack. For Jerusalem, Shir Tirosh was admittedly not focused in the first half, but the two foreigners in red were in business, seven three-pointers dived in, and the teams went to rest with the score close and Jerusalem leading 38:39.

The second half started with an even game with a slight lead for Jerusalem that reached a tie 49:49 in the 7th minute of the quarter when it seemed that Jerusalem was showing signs of fatigue. Precisely at this moment, within a minute the Jerusalemites lit burners and took a 49:57 lead that was erased at the beginning of the last quarter 57:57. In the last five minutes, Jerusalem looked at its best when all the players showed high ability and benefited from Briana Richardson’s excellent finishing ability.

Hapoel Lev Jerusalem players celebrate a victory in the semi-final playoff series against Maccabi Girls Ashdod (photo: Dani Maron, courtesy of the director of the Women’s Basketball Premier League)

Scored for Ashdod: Hart 19, Vivians 14, Lev 11, Presley 8, Voche 6, Karsh and Yaakov 5 KA.
Scored for Jerusalem: Richardson 25, Baron 20, Carey 19, Kiyof and Tirosh 9 and Kabada 3.

A special joint committee of representatives of the management of the Women’s Super League in Basketball and the Basketball Association, headed by Hila Kanister Bar David, the chairperson of the management, decided today not to freeze relegations from the league in the current playing season. In the discussion that took place today, the request of ASA Jerusalem, which at the end of the season finished in last place, was discussed In the league, which claimed that due to damages caused to it due to the war of iron swords, it was professionally damaged.

Hila Kanister Bar-David (Photo: Courtesy of the Women’s Basketball Super League Director)

After the decision was made, the chairman of the board, Hila Kanister Bar David, said: “We are a professional league and we must act according to the values ​​of sportsmanship and excellence, and indeed, according to them, the decision was made unanimously today.”