Big V Division One Women Round 7 – Werribee Devils 63 v Chelsea Gulls 103, Saturday May 7th, 2016

Werribee Devils Division One Women (10^th, 1-6) 63 v Chelsea Gulls (9^th, 1-6) 103

Werribee	16	18	17	12	63
Chelsea	28	25	20	30	103

Jessica Slade, 25 points, 11 rebounds
Nicole Greene, 14 points, 3 rebounds
Doni Lewis, 9 points, 3 assists
Gabby Eaton, 8 points, 5 rebounds



In Round 7, the Werribee Devils Division One Women’s team hosted newcomers Chelsea Gulls. It was a milestone game, with Nicole Greene and Teaghan Doyle both playing their 100^th Big V game.

Bex Van Kuyk, who has been averaging 17 points and 16 rebounds, was absent again but for the best kind of reason: She had been invited to try out with the New Zealand national basketball team, the Tall Ferns. This is a great achievement and the Werribee Basketball Association congratulates Bex, although we will miss her on the court while she’s away.

In a significant gesture organized by Werribee coach Mahaela Jackson, both teams sported white armbands in recognition of White Ribbon Day and in particular, to honor recent domestic violence victim Karen Belej.




Although the Devils list has undergone some instability and they were once again going in without several players, both teams were sitting on the same win-loss record, so it may have been reasonable to expect a close-ish contest.

The opening minutes were evenly contested and with 3.28 remaining it was a one-point ball game. The Gulls then let loose with a 13-2 run to end the quarter, thanks largely to six Devils turnovers. There was no chief destroyer, with five Gulls players getting on the scoresheet. The Devils were also outrebounded 13-5 for the quarter. Jessica Slade led the Devils with nine points and 3 rebounds, while Chelsea’s Jasmine Lovejoy caused problems with 10 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Doni Lewis and Gabby Eaton started well for the Devils, combining for the first five points of the quarter, but then the Gulls outscored the Devils 13-1 through Lovejoy (5) and Erin Smith (6), to build a healthy lead. Slade did her best to lift the home side, with six of the last eight points, but they went into half time trailing by 19. Slade also had a couple of steals to go with her six points, while Eaton contributed four points and two rebounds. Chelsea’s Erin Smith had a great quarter with nine points (three 3-pointers) and three steals.

The third quarter saw a more competitive Devils unit, but they could not make any headway on the double-digit margin. Nicole Greene scored the Devils first five points and they two teams spent the quarter going goal-for-goal, which didn’t do the Devils any good in their efforts to give themselves a fighting chance. In addition to Greene, Slade added five points and five rebounds.

The final term started slowly, with neither team scoring in the first 90 seconds. It was over two minutes before Slade got the Devils on the board, and their final score came from Greene with 1.46 remaining. In between, the Gulls poured in 30 points while the Devils only put up nine shots for the quarter and were outrebounded 7-15. Chelsea’s Billie Lucas outscored the Devils herself, with 13 points for the quarter while for the Devils Slade had five points and two rebounds and Greene had four points and two rebounds.

In Round 8 the Devils (10^th, 1-7) travel to Craigieburn (11^th, 1-7) on Sunday afternoon to play the only team below them on the ladder.

Werribee v Chelsea - Box Score and Stats

Werribee v Chelsea - LiveStats and Play-by-Play

Werribee v Chelsea - Full Game on YouTube