Werribee Devils import Alisia Jenkins was nigh on unstoppable in a 109-62 victory over Whittlesea Pacers in the Big V basketball women’s state championship at Eagle Stadium on Saturday night.
Jenkins produced a performance that was befitting of the special occasion at Ballan Road as the club held its annual Pink Night charity event for the McGrath Foundation.
Devils coach Reece Potter said the crowd was up to four times bigger than a usual Saturday night game and expects some of those fans to return again after Jenkins and the team played an exciting brand of basketball.
“Without doubt, it was our biggest crowd – three or four times the usual crowd,” Potter said.
“Hopefully we can encourage those people to come back and watch us more because our team put on a pretty good performance.”
Jenkins stole the show for the Werribee Devils. The American claimed the Mel Logan Medal for best-on-court.
It was simply a no-contest.
Jenkins did all her damage in quick time, dropping 35 points in just 26 minutes.
The efficiency of Jenkins is what impressed the most. She scored on 15 of her 18 field goal attempts and went five-from-five from the free throw line.
Not content with her impact as a scorer, Jenkins got to work on the defensive end, reeling in 11 rebounds to go with four steals.
“She was really good, particularly on the defensive end of the floor, which doesn’t show up quite as much on the stat sheet,” Potter said.
“We ended up moving her on to their import Rachel Bell because she lit us up a little bit early, but Alisia used her size to … rein her back in.
“On the offensive end, it was a pretty flawless performance.”
Jenkins has shown little sign of weakness since her arrival at Werribee.
“She’s such a dynamic player, so athletic, quick, skilful.
“She’s quite disciplined for a player that talented.
“She takes the most high percentage play each time and you see that in her percentages.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Werribee Devils vs Whittlesea Pacers
It was not all about Jenkins. One of the most pleasing aspects for Werribee was the play of Sam Moodie and Jessica Slade off the bench.
Potter has preached the strength of his depth and it was on show in the Pacers pummelling.
Moodie had 13 points and 13 rebounds in 21 minutes, while Slade had 10 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes.
“They came off the bench and contributed well scoring, defence and leadership wise, which was good to see,” Potter said.
Starters Sarah Elsworthy and Alexyz Vaioletama posted solid lines for Werribee.
Elsworthy had 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Vaioletama had 15 points and seven rebounds.
Werribee has won five games on the trot to improve to 6-1 and move into second on the ladder ahead of a clash with Hume City Broncos at Eagle Stadium on Saturday night at 6.30pm.
In men’s state championship, Werribee Devils won a double overtime thriller 127-126 over Blackburn Vikings at Eagle Stadium on Sunday.
Konor Kulas was magnificent for the Devils with 41 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Jacob Formosa was the other dominant Devil with 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Darcy Daniels (17), David Shepard (16) and Tyrone Remy (12) reached double figures in the points.
It was Werribee’s third win of the season and second in three weeks.
The Devils will be looking to maintain the rage when they host Hume City Broncos on Saturday night.
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