Ida Crown came off to a hot start, leading 9-2, after which Ramaz made a push, scoring 5 of their own. At the end of the first quarter, Ida Crown looked dominant even though they were only up four. Ramaz found their groove and started the second up 12-11. Their bench and fans were giving them energy, but Jakob Wortman on Ida Crown responded with some great help, forcing turnovers that led to an excellent midrange shot from Avi Okner to close the gap to 2 before halftime.
Ramaz hit a big three to start the second half, widening the gap to 5. Ida Crown responded with significant cuts and defense to respond and take the lead. As the third quarter wound down, Ramaz and Ida crown traded a frenzy of threes, and Ramaz ended up on top, with 28-27. Ida Crown came out scorching to start the fourth, gaining a four-point lead and stifling defense, but Ramaz kept their cool and responded with a 3 to cut the lead to 1.
However, Ida Crown came out on top, with fantastic ball movement and cuts tearing the Ramaz defense apart. They closed the game with some great defense, blitzing and trapping the ball handler, creating some easy turnover layups to close out the game.
Ida Crown players celebrate after their first Sarachek Tier I victory in 13 years. (Photo Credit: Ariella Andrew/Macslive)
The coach of Ida Crown stated, “Ramaz did a great job scouting everything we’ve run this year. But in the last couple weeks, we implanted things nobody has seen, and those were the plays that worked.” For example, the coach talks about the double screen that led to a game-sealing 3, saying, “That was huge. We call that the shin pop.” The coach ended by talking about the support he got after the win and how much it meant to the people from Chicago, explaining that “It’s been a long time (13 years). The amount of texts I’m getting from alumni over one Tier I win is insane”.
Ramaz falls to Tier II, while the Aces advance to face the #2 YULA Panthers in the Tier I quarterfinals on Friday.