Welp, Sumar Leslie is the Player of the Month for her league!

The Big V announced that Sumar was the Player of the Month for Division 1 in the month of April – an honor that she said is a blessing.

For the month, Leslie led Division 1 in scoring, while also leading the league in steals, free throws attempted and free throws made.

The Devils are 7-1 on the season – first place in the league.

“This is such an honor,” Sumar said. “To me, this is a good feeling because it shows that the hard work myself and my teammates has done is beginning to pay off. Right now, we’re focused on continuing the momentum we have and enjoying a great month of May, as well.”

Sumar has played great basketball so far for Werribee.

She’s shooting 53 percent from the field, 42 percent from behind the 3-point line and more than 80 percent from the charity stripe.

That success has helped Werribee double its win total from last season – even with several games left in the season.

Hi guys,

Sorry it’s been a while since we’ve posted!! The season has been going by so, so fast and I’ve been super busy.

Just a heads up that my highlight vault is now updated, and the videos can be seen below!

We are now 7-1 on the season and are rolling! We’re so hopeful for a great finish to the season!!

To God goes the Glory!

Hi guys,

Here are some clipped highlights from my games this past weekend!

Enjoy!

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

Sumar Leslie scored 7 of the first 9 points against the Steelers to allow Werribee to never lose control.

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.

Rohanee Cox was big against her former team, the Supercats, generating 17 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals in the win

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.

Hi guys!!

Check out these plays from our game on Saturday against Camberwell!

Enjoy!!

Werribee post Rohanee Cox

The Werribee Devils are on a roll to start the 2017 season!

Fresh off a road victory last weekend in Mildura, the Devils trumped the Camberwell Dragons 86-52 on Saturday night in Werribee’s home opener in front of a jam-packed crowd at Eagle Stadium.

Import guard Sumar Leslie led all scorers with 29 points in the win. Leslie also finished one rebound and one steal shy of a triple double, filling up the stat sheet to help the Devils improve to 2-0 in the young season. The 29 points are a professional career high for Leslie, who is in her third professional season.

Also faring well for Werribee were guard Jessy Price (18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists) and forward Rohanee Cox (18 points, 11 rebounds). Kennedy Taylor also added 11 points off the bench.

Leslie led all scorers with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 9 steals

“It was a great night in our gym, and we feel so good about the opportunity to be 2-0 on the season,” Leslie said after the win. “We started a little bit slow, but we found our stride and we played better as the game went on. Now, the focus for us is to just keep getting better. We have a lot of new players here, myself included, so we just want to keep working and we think that if we do, the sky truly is the limit.”

The Dragons came to play on Saturday – at least early on.

Camberwell used a 12-7 run out of the gates to control the action in the early going.

But the sluggish Devils came to life late in the first quarter, closing the period on an 11-6 run to take a 18-16 lead after the first 10 minutes.

Leslie’s attacking presence bothered the Dragons in the first quarter. She scored 9 points in the period, including four at the free-throw line.

It didn’t get much better for Camberwell in the second quarter, either.

Leslie scored six-straight points within a minute of action to open the second quarter for Werribee, allowing the Devils to balloon their lead to 24-16.

From there, the Dragons fought back, cutting the lead to 25-22 midway through the second quarter  with stingy defense.

But Werribee ended the quarter with a flurry, scoring 23 points in the final 5:30 of the half to take a 48-36 lead into the lockers.

Price was huge in the late-half surge, scoring seven points for the Devils in the final 2:20 of the second quarter.

We all know Werribee can score. They’re the highest-scoring team in Big V’s Division 1.

But in the second half, coach Mahaela Jackson got something she’d been wanting to see from her team all season – elite defense.

Werribee absolutely smothered the Dragons in the final 20 minutes of the game, allowing just 16 points in the second half.

With the stops, Werribee continued on the offensive, blowing the game open in the third quarter to take a 70-43 advantage after three quarters.

In the fourth, the Devils stayed on the offensive early, then cleared the benches late to send the game to its final margin.

With the win, the Devils are now 2-0 – one of just three teams (Latrobe City Energy and Hawthorn Magic) in Division I who are still unbeaten in the season.

Werribee will return to the floor next Saturday to host the Western Port Steelers.

Hi guys, check out these highlights from my season opener against the Mildura Heat!

Enjoy!

To God goes the Glory!

The verdict is in!

Folks around the Big V are impressed with the Devils’ season-opening win over Mildura.

Here are some press clippings from the win.

Lance Jenkinson with the Star Weekly said the Devils’ new players shined bright in the win.

“The Devils used the opening weekend to showcase new skipper Rohanee Cox and star import Sumar Leslie in an eye-catching 88-79 win over Mildura Heat at the notoriously difficult away trip to Toyota Hothouse.

Cox, a former Australian Opals player and the WNBL’s most valuable player of 2009, showed her quality with a double-double 28 points and 13 rebounds.”

Leslie, a graduate of Nicholls State University in the US and a former Puerto Rico Pro League player, had a hot start to life with the Devils, with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists.

See Jenkinson’s full story below:

http://www.starweekly.com.au/sports/new-look-werribee-devils-make-immediate-impression/pub/wyndham/

On the official site of the Werribee Devils, Rohanee Cox said she is excited to be a member of the Devils. 

Cox is a former Olympian and is considered one of the best Australian women’s basketball players of recent years.

A highly decorated player at all levels, most notably as the WNBL MVP in 2009 and also awarded WNBL All Star Five honours in 2008 and 2009.

 Rohanee said: “I’m looking forward to this season with the Werribee Devils, I feel as though I can help mentor the girls and women on the team.  Coming to the end of my career I want to help as much as I can to be a role model and mentor my teammates. Beating Mildura was a great start and I hope we can continue to play that way for the rest of the season.”

See the full game recap at the Werribee Basketball site below:

http://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-4742-0-0-0&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=53668091

David Chalmers with the DC Sports Journal said Sumar Leslie was a closer in Werribee’s win, helping the get improve to 1-0 in the second half of Saturday’s win: 

The new Devils point-guard continued dominating, scoring five more points and giving her 10 for the quarter. … Getting a win on the road at any time is great for a basketball team, but the Werribee Devils Division One Women were out to make a statement and achieved the perfect start. In Round 2 the Devils host the Camberwell Dragons at 6.30 on Saturday night.

See the DC Sports Journal’s full recap of the game below:

http://dcsportsjourno.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/big-v-division-one-women-werribee.html

It was a good start to the season for the new-look Werribee Devils, who beat Mildura to open the season.

The Werribee Devils are officially off to a good start to the new season.

The Devils beat the Mildura Heat 88-79 on Saturday night, opening the 2017 season with a key road victory over a team which reached the Big V Semifinals last season.

Werribee’s win was a total team effort. Three players scored 20 or more points for the Devils, led by Rohanee Cox, who scored 28 points. Also scoring high marks were Jessy Price (25 points) and Sumar Leslie (22 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the win).

The Devils had control of the game from the start.

They led 26-22 after the first quarter, thanks to 20 combined points from Cox and Price, who came out of the gates smoking.

That lead ballooned to 48-34 at halftime, as Werribee picked up its defensive intensity and started to limit the Heat’s shots at the basket.

In the second half, Werribee ballooned its lead to 20-plus points, thanks to Leslie, who scored 17 of her 22 points in the final 2 quarters.

The Heat made a surge late in the game, outscoring Werribee 24-15 in the final quarter.

But every time they got close, Leslie had an answer, scoring 10 points in the last quarter to seal the victory for the Devils, who earn their first win of the season under second-year coach Mahaela Jackson.

With the win, the Devils will now return home with momentum.

They will host the Camberwall Dragons at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Check back for a recap on the win.

Hi Guys!!!

I had a spare minute, and I wanted to hop onto my website and give an update on how I’m doing in the land Down Under!!

First thing’s first, I want to thank EVERYONE for the thoughts, prayers and well-wishes last week as I departed the country and headed for Australia. I didn’t have time to reply to everyone, but I wanted to thank everyone for the thoughts from the bottom of my heart, and let everyone know that it’s all MUCH appreciated!!

I’ve been in Australia now for a week, and I want to share a few thoughts about my new home!!

Thought No. 1: I LOVE IT HERE!!!!

Australia is an UNBELIEVABLE place!! The people are nice, the food is outstanding, and the scenery is
quite unique!! I am positioned in the suburbs – just outside of Melbourne!! In walking distance from where I stay is a slew of unique, tasty restaurants and also a gorgeous beach!! Needless to say, I spend a lot of my free time soaking my legs in the water, and listening to the waves crash onto the shore!!

Thought No. 2: Our team is rounding into shape!!

It’s not all fun and games. On the floor, we are working super hard!! I came into this whole situation sort-of blinded as to what to expect from the competitiveness of the team and the girls I am playing with, but I have been pleasantly surprised!! We have some players who are super talented, and our coaches are awesome, too!! I am looking forward to getting the season started, and seeing what we can do with our team!!

Thought No. 3: Australian kids are talented!!

One of the things I’ve been doing to pass the time besides eat delicious (but healthy) food, and enjoy the beach, is train children!! You know, it’s so crazy how life works out!! When I was younger, I used to resist saying that I’d ever be a coach or a teacher or a mentor, etc., because in my mind, by saying that, I’d have to hint that I wasn’t still a player!! But, of course, I now train dozens of kids in the USA, and I’ve now been blessed with the ability to work with pupils over here, too!! Through that, I’ve learned that kids are kids – all around the world. The Australian children are just as talented as those in the United States, and they actually are probably more respectful in a lot of ways, as well!! I’ve enjoyed meeting some of the people I’ve met here of all ages!! It’s been a great joy!!

So for me, the next few days will be busy!! We’re continuing to practice for our season, and the first practice game is this weekend!!

I am beyond ready for that!!

We actually are about to practice in a few hours, so I have to wrap up and get a little rest before heading to the gym!!

BUTTTTT,

Before I do, I want to answer a few questions I’m asked a lot – just for clarity about where I am in the world!!

Fact 1: In Australia, people drive on the left side of the road!!

It’s nuts, but they do it!!

Fact 2: I am 17 hours ahead of Louisiana time!!

When it’s Sunday at noon over there, it’s Monday morning at 5 a.m. over here. We are almost a full day separated from one another!!

—-

I’m sure there’s a ton more, but it’s time to go get to work!!

Will speak soon!!

To God goes the Glory!!!

SL7