The Werribee Devils have officially surpassed last year’s win total.

The Devs swept a back-to-back, two-game weekend this past weekend, first trumping the Western Port Steelers at home, then defeating the Geelong Supercats on the road on Sunday afternoon.

The wins improved Werribee to 4-0 on the season – the only undefeated team left in Big V’s Division I for the women.

The wins also pushed Werribee past last year’s season win total of three.

 

GAME 1: Devils control the pace in easy win

The Devils didn’t shoot the ball well at home on Saturday night against Western Port. The often-red hot Devils were just 33 percent from the field, including just 7-of-29 from behind the 3-point line.

But it didn’t much matter.

The Devils earned their way into the winner’s circle with dominant, swarming defense in an 80-55 victory.

Werribee smothered the Steelers throughout the game, limiting their opponent to just 31 percent shooting, while also forcing 32 turnovers.

Those turnovers turned into office throughout the game, allowing the Devils to storm out to a 22-16 lead after the first quarter and a 45-27 lead at halftime.

Sumar Leslie started the game red-hot for the Devs, scoring 7 of Werribee’s first 9 points during a 9-0 run to start the game.

The Division I Big V’s leading scorer had 18 points in the win. She also had 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.

“We knew it was the first game of a back-to-back, so we wanted to set the tempo and take control early so we could preserve our energy in the second half,” Leslie said. “I think we did that. We got off to a great start. We let up a little bit late in the first quarter, but then we dominated in the second quarter to get where we needed to be.”

In the second half, Werribee blew the game open, using a 22-9 spurt in the third quarter to take a 67-34 lead after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, coach Mahaela Jackson cleared Werribee’s bench, running the game to its final margin.

In addition to Leslie’s 18 points, the Devils got balanced scoring throughout in a total team win.

Four other players reached double figures, including Jessy Price (18 points), Alesha Wilson (12 points), Jacqueline Stephens (11 points, 6 rebounds) and Rohanee Cox (10 points, 8 rebounds).

 

DEVILS SCORE HUGE ROAD WIN OFF BACK-TO-BACK

In Game 2 of the back-to-back, things didn’t start off to sharp for the Devils.

The Geelong Supercats swarmed the heavy-legged Devils early, owning a 14-5 lead early and then a 26-20 lead after the first quarter.

But the high-powered Devils awoke from their slumber in the second quarter, and that was bad, bad news for the homestanding Supercats.

Werribee exploded in the second quarter, outscoring Geelong 32-20 to rally from the early deficit to take a 52-46 halftime lead.

In the second half, it didn’t get any better for the home team, as the Devs buckled up defensively, and limited Geelong to just 28 second-half points.

All the while, Werribee stayed hot offensively, setting the stage for a 92-74 win.

The three-headed monster of Leslie, Price and Cox led the way for the Devils in the win. The trio combined for 67 points, 26 rebounds, 15 assists and 9 steals.

Leslie had an extremely hot hand in the win, scoring 26 points, while shooting 11-of-17 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3, overcoming a scoreless first quarter.

“This was a team win in every way,” Leslie said. “Everyone did a great job – on and off the floor. We needed one another’s support and we got it in an awesome road win.”

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The Devils will return to action on Saturday at home against the Hawthorne Magic.

The Magic are 3-1 on the season.

Last weekend, they beat the Mildura Heat 72-63.

Their lone loss of the season came on March 26 against Geelong, who beat the Magic 63-47.

The Magic rely on balanced scoring, and four players average between 9 and 12 points per game for them this season to lead the way.

Sophie Owen is their leading scorer, averaging 12.3 points per game.