WLBL Round 2 (Regular Season): Homentmen keep a leadership position

There were only 2 rounds played so far and it's still very beginning of the Regular Season in WLBL. Here is the last round review presented by LBM Management.

Homentmen defeated Club Beirut in Antelias 61-52. Homentmen outrebounded Club Beirut 37-21 including a 28-15 advantage in defensive rebounds. American guard Jacaira Allen (180-1998, college: ODU) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 18 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. The former international swingman Daniella Fayad (180-1997) contributed with 5 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners. American guard Shaqwedia Wallace (175-1989, college: Temple, agency: LBM Management) replied with 23 points for Club Beirut. Club Beirut will have a break next week, which should allow them to rest in order to get back on the winning path. Homentmen will try to continue on its current victory against Azour on the road.
Sporting B. recorded a loss at the home court. Hosts were defeated by Champs 65-53. American Tina Stephens (188-1999, college: Troy) had a double-double by scoring 16 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the charge for the winners and Janika Griffith-Wallace chipped in 24 points during the contest. Senegalese center Madjiguene Sene (197-1994) responded with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks.
An interesting game was also a 19-point tough home loss of Champs in a game versus undefeated Homentmen 66-47. Jacaira Allen notched a double-double by scoring 21 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals to lead the effort. Even 8 points and 18 rebounds by Tina Stephens did not help to save the game for Champs. Champs' coach Michael Mikaelian rotated ten players seeing no chance for a win. Homentmen will meet Azour in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Champs will have a break next round.

There were no big surprises in other games of round 2: Azour smashed Antranik on the road 83-38. NSA destroyed Hoops on its own court 70-51. Winless Almtayleb lost to undefeated Al Riyadi in Beirut 43-68.
The most impressive performance of 2nd round was 12 points and 12 rebounds by DaNasia Hood of Al Riyadi.

The Round Review is presented by LBM Management. A full-service agency focused on Women's basketball sphere and working worldwide. A global and ethical quality service.

Sporting B. - Champs 53-65

Sporting B. recorded a loss at the home court. Hosts were defeated by Champs 65-53. American Tina Stephens (188-1999, college: Troy) had a double-double by scoring 16 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the charge for the winners and Canadian guard Janika Griffith-Wallace (173-1998, college: VCU) chipped in 24 points during the contest. Griffith-Wallace is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Senegalese center Madjiguene Sene (197-1994) responded with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks and Nigerian guard Ifunanya Okoro (183-1999) scored 8 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals.
Top scorers:
Champs: J.Griffith-Wallace 24+4reb+1ast, T.Stephens 16+16reb+4ast, N.Maalouf 9+5reb+2ast, P.Khattar 8+3reb, E.Ghnatios 6+6reb+5ast, O.Tabbakh 2+2reb
Sporting B.: M.Sene 20+7reb+2ast, S.Beddawi 10+4reb+2ast, I.Okoro 8+12reb+6ast, R.Safi 8+7reb+4ast, R.Krikorian 5+3reb+2ast, S.Abboud 2+2reb

Homentmen A. - Club Beirut 61-52

Homentmen defeated Club Beirut in Antelias 61-52. Homentmen outrebounded Club Beirut 37-21 including a 28-15 advantage in defensive rebounds. American guard Jacaira Allen (180-1998, college: ODU) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 18 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. The former international swingman Daniella Fayad (180-1997) contributed with 5 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners. American guard Shaqwedia Wallace (175-1989, college: Temple, agency: LBM Management) replied with 23 points and her fellow American import forward Akilah Bethel (183-1993, college: LSU) added 11 points and 7 rebounds in the effort for Club Beirut. Club Beirut will have a break next week, which should allow them to rest in order to get back on the winning path. Homentmen will try to continue on its current victory against Azour on the road.
Top scorers:
Homentmen A.: J.Allen 18+10reb+7ast, K.Gavin 13+8reb, P.Assadourian 11+1reb+3ast, C.Saad 6+2reb+3ast, D.Fayad 5+11reb+6ast, N.Gyokchyan 4+2reb
Club Beirut: S.Wallace 23+4reb+2ast, A.Bethel 11+7reb, Z.Elias 6+6reb+2ast, N.Sevadjian 5+1reb+2ast, Y.Lahoud 3, L.Abi Mosleh 2+1ast

Antranik - Azour 38-83

No shocking result in a game when Azour crushed Antranik in Beirut 83-38 on Saturday. Azour forced 25 Antranik turnovers and outrebounded them 45-29 including a 16-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. Azour looked well-organized offensively handing out 31 assists comparing to just 11 passes made by Antranik's players. The former international forward Aida Bakhos (178-1986, college: Lamar) notched 18 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists to lead the effort and Tina Raffoul supported her with 20 points (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field). Even 12 points and 4 assists by American guard Kai Carter (183-2001, college: Memphis) did not help to save the game for Antranik. Tatianna Attallah added 5 points for the hosts. Antranik's coach Ellie Salameh gave up on the game allowing to play eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Azour will meet at home Homentmen in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Antranik will play against Almtayleb and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Azour: T.Raffoul 20+4reb+3ast, A.Bakhos 18+9reb+6ast, M.Saneh 11+5reb+2ast, M.Ghaleb 10+6reb+1ast, A.Mansour 6+5reb+3ast, I.Lucas 6+5reb+8ast
Antranik: K.Carter 12+3reb+4ast, E.Jaoude 6+3reb+1ast, T.Attallah 5+4reb+2ast, J.McDonald 4+5reb, J.Feghali 3+3reb+2ast, M.Soueide 2+1reb+1ast

NSA - Hoops 70-51

Very expected game when Hoops were smashed on the road by NSA 70-51 on Saturday. NSA forced 19 Hoops turnovers and outrebounded them 52-36 including 21 on the offensive glass. Ukrainian Olesia Malashenko (191-1991) notched a double-double by scoring 18 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the effort and American forward Jessica Martino (178-2000, college: Delaware St.) supported her with 17 points and 18 rebounds. NSA's coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Even a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds by Serbian center Milena Marjanovic (193-1991) did not help to save the game for Hoops. American guard Davion Wingate (168-1997, college: FGCU) added 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for the guests.
Top scorers:
NSA: O.Malashenko 18+13reb+7ast, J.Martino 17+18reb+2ast, J.Ghossain 15+8reb+1ast, S.Hachem 7+6reb, T.Kambriss 7+1ast, L.Fakih 6+3reb
Hoops: M.Marjanovic 20+13reb+2ast, D.Wingate 14+8reb+4ast, L.Abdallah 9+4reb+1ast, L.Nakib 5+5reb, L.Lawand 2+1reb, N.Itani 1+3reb+5ast

Champs - Homentmen A. 47-66

An interesting game was also a 19-point tough home loss of Champs in a game versus undefeated Homentmen 66-47. Homentmen dominated down low during the game scoring 42 of its points in the paint compared to Champs' 22. They outrebounded Champs 52-33 including a 33-22 advantage in defensive rebounds. American guard Jacaira Allen (180-1998, college: ODU) notched a double-double by scoring 21 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals to lead the effort and the other American import forward Kennedy Gavin (185-1999, college: Jax State) supported her with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Gavin is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Even 8 points and 18 rebounds by American Tina Stephens (188-1999, college: Troy) did not help to save the game for Champs. The former international forward Nancy Maalouf (174-1988) added 7 points and 7 rebounds for the hosts. Champs' coach Michael Mikaelian rotated ten players seeing no chance for a win. Homentmen will meet Azour in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Champs will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Homentmen A.: J.Allen 21+13reb+4ast, K.Gavin 18+10reb, D.Fayad 10+13reb+3ast, P.Bou Nasr 7+6reb+2ast, C.Saad 5+4reb+6ast, P.Assadourian 3+1ast
Champs: E.Ghnatios 9+3reb+1ast, J.Griffith-Wallace 9+4ast, T.Stephens 8+18reb+2ast, N.Maalouf 7+7reb+1ast, O.Tabbakh 7+2reb+1ast, P.Khattar 5+2reb

Al Riyadi - Almtayleb 68-43

Very predictable result when Al Riyadi rolled over Almtayleb in Beirut 68-43 on Saturday. Al Riyadi outrebounded Almtayleb 49-32 including 16 on the offensive glass. American forward DaNasia Hood (185-2000, college: Texas St., agency: LBM Management) notched a double-double by scoring 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead the effort and guard Meghrie Torossian supported her with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Even 18 points and 9 rebounds by American forward Daja Woodard (190, college: Jackson St.) did not help to save the game for Almtayleb. Her fellow American import swingman Jemimah Ashby (175-1991, college: Augustana) added 12 points and 6 rebounds for the guests. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Al Riyadi will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Almtayleb will play against Antranik and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al Riyadi: M.Naassan 16+5reb+1ast, D.Hood 12+12reb+2ast, M.Torossian 12+9reb+4ast, N.Labban 9+2ast, B.Harvey-Carr 9+2reb, R.Akl 6+8reb
Almtayleb: D.Woodard 18+9reb, J.Ashby 12+6reb+2ast, M.Khalil 6+2reb+2ast, M.Noujeim 3+1reb, L.El Hachem 2+2reb+2ast, L.Bou Mansour 2+2reb+1ast