Monday, March 21, 2016

Big V Youth League Women Round 1 – Werribee Devils 59 d Corio Bay Stingrays 44, Sunday March 20th, 2016




Youth League Women – Werribee Devils v Corio Bay Stingrays, Sunday March 20th, 2016


Werribee Devils
18
12
11
18
59
Corio Bay Stingrays 
19
7
9
9
44



Charlotte Vincent-Lord -
13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals
Eliza Herne - 9 points, 8 rebounds
Rachel Miller - 9 points, 4 rebounds
Tegan Hindle - 9 points
Teaghan Doyle - 7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals
Alex Moss - 4 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Hayley Jones - 4 points, 3 rebounds
Taylah Lea - 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists, 5 steals

The Werribee Devils Youth League Women have overcome a sluggish start to run out victorious over the Corio Bay Stingrays in their season opener at Eagle Stadium on Sunday. The 59-44 win was the biggest margin of the round and puts the girls at the top of the ladder.

The Stingrays were on top early, but the Devils fought back with a 7-0 run thanks to baskets from Tegan Hindle, Alex Moss and a couple of free throws from Eliza Herne. Hindle got her shooting form going early, coming off the bench to fire in eight first-quarter points, including two good-looking three-pointers. The last four minutes of the quarter was a see-sawing affair, with the margin not going higher than one point either way. A basket to Stingray Kelsey Jordan put her team ahead by the narrowest of margins at quarter-time. Jenna Thomas grabbed three rebounds and Taylah Lea snatched two steals for the Devils.

The second quarter was a case of missed opportunities for the Devils. The Stingrays put up just eight shots compared to the Devils 20, and committed eleven turnovers in the ten minutes, yet found themselves only four points down at half time. The Devils retained the lead briefly at the start of the quarter thanks to a jump shot from Hayley Jones but soon lost it again and were trailing for most of the term. Suddenly they flicked the switch and went on an 8-0 run with scores from Teaghan Doyle, Moss, Herne and two free throws from Natasha Currao. The Devils had no clear standouts, with six players scoring a basket each. Doyle was playing a lone hand on the boards with four rebounds, and she and fellow tall Charlotte Vincent-Lord were defending well, effecting two steals each.

The 30-26 scoreline would not have been satisfactory to new coach Elisha Hogan, and it was clear someone had to stand up. Vincent-Lord did her best, with seven points, four rebounds and two steals for the quarter but received precious little support, as the Devils shot 3-17 from the field. Fortunately the Stingrays were no better (3/14) and when Vincent-Lord hit a free throw in the final thirty seconds the Devils seven point buffer was the biggest of the game. The Devils improved in the air with Herne (4), Jones (3) and Moss (2) all contributing in the rebounding department. 


There is a saying in sport that “the tall players don’t get any smaller” as the game goes on and that proved true in this game, as Rachel Miller stood up and played a vital role in the Devils eventual victory. Along with three rebounds, she equalled the Stingrays entire fourth quarter total with nine points, including eight consecutive points in the space of two minutes to break the game wide open. By the time the “Miller-streak” was broken by an Eliza Herne basket, the lead was out to double figures and the Devils were comfortably home. Their impressive second half rebounding continued, with Vincent-Lord, Miller, Herne and Lea all grabbing three. Taylah Lea was also solid down the defensive end, with two steals and two blocks for the quarter.


Coach Elisha Hogan was happy with the win: “It took the girls until the second quarter to start to get things going for us. Our defence in the first quarter wasn't the greatest and the girls knew they had to make some adjustments. To their credit their intensity lifted and the game started to swing our way. Tegan Hindle and Charlotte Vincent-Lord made some shots when needed and the defensive efforts from Teaghan Doyle and Eliza Herne were impressive. We did some good things and had a range of contributors. As always there is still plenty of room for improvement and we know defensively we must get better as we head into a tough round 2 match against Craigieburn.”

In a touch of absurdity, Round 2 sees the Devils welcoming the Craigieburn Eagles to their home court Eagle Stadium (!) on Sunday April 3rd. The Eagles (5th) had a mixed opening round, defeating McKinnon 63-53 at home before travelling to Warrandyte and falling short 85-75.

Youth League One Women Round 1 results:
Craigieburn 63 d McKinnon 53 

Coburg 51 d Camberwell 47 
Camberwell 60 d Altona 49 
Warrandyte 85 d Craigieburn 75 
Werribee 59 d Corio Bay 44 

Youth League One Women Round 2 Draw
McKinnon vs Camberwell, Saturday April 2nd, 16:00, Bentleigh Secondary College
Craigieburn vs Corio Bay, Saturday April 2nd, 18:15, Craigieburn Leisure Centre
Warrandyte vs Coburg, Saturday April 2nd, 18:30, Warrandyte Sports Complex
Altona vs McKinnon, Sunday April 3rd, 11:00, Altona Sports Centre
Corio Bay vs Warrandyte, Sunday April 3rd, 12:00, Geelong Basketball Netball Centre
Werribee vs Craigieburn, Sunday April 3rd, 13:00, Eagle Stadium

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