By ADEM SARICAOGLU
WERRIBEE’S women have bounced back in Division Two Big V basketball with a solid six-point win over Keilor at home on Saturday.
The Devils were on the rebound after suffering a heavy 25-point loss to the Southern Peninsula Sharks six days earlier and looked to again be in trouble against the Thunder on Saturday.
Werribee trailed Keilor by seven points at quarter time and couldn’t wrest back the lead in the second term, going into the halftime break three points down.
However the Devils rallied in the third term, outscoring the Thunder 24-14 to lead by seven at the final change, before holding on for the win in spite of a late Keilor charge.
Coach Lloyd Klaman was relieved to come away with the win.
“It was a big victory, especially coming off our first loss last week,” Klaman explained.
“We started off slow again and the girls were probably thinking ‘here we go again’.“But to their credit, we fought back and were really tough defensively and got to within two or three points at halftime.
“Then in the third quarter we just went on one of our runs where we actually got out and ran and played fast-break basketball, which is what we want to play.”
Klaman also made particular note of the significance of beating a fellow Division Two contender in such a tough game.
“They’re really big and strong, so it was a great win,” he said.“I’m glad we’ve got two wins over them for the season and we don’t have to see them again, so that was really big for us.”
Werribee dominated the rebound count 37-28, which ultimately proved a key factor in the result.
“Because they’re so big, our goal was to just break even in rebounding and I think we actually out-rebounded them quite significantly,” Klaman said.“I don’t even think they got an offensive rebound in the first half, so we just did a great job on the boards.”
Werribee’s Emma Coyne was the most prolific player on the court with an equal-game high 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Elisha Burnette (15 points, five rebounds) and Lisa Troyahn (14 points, eight rebounds) also proved handy.
“Emma Coyne was really good for us and was probably her best game since she hurt her ankle about three weeks ago,” Klaman said.
“Elisha Burnette was fantastic. She hit some big shots for us and defensively played solid.”
Werribee’s men were next up at Werribee Sport and Fitness Centre, but they couldn’t get the chocolates against first-placed Bulleen, going down 64-77.
The Devils are sixth in the Men’s State Championship.
