WERRIBEE Devils are enjoying the view from the top of the Big V basketball women’s division 2 ladder.
After months of snapping at the heels of the Southern Peninsula Sharks, the Devils finally claimed top spot courtesy of a 70-61 win over Coburg Giants at the Coburg Basketball Stadium on Saturday night.
“We were kind of watching the scores from the other game before we started our game,” Devils coach Lloyd Klaman said.
“So we knew going in that Southern Peninsula had lost to Keilor, and if we got the win we’d finally get on top of the ladder after chasing them all year long.”
The Devils are hoping first place is not merely a short-term rental.
They have five games left in the regular season, including two gruelling double-header weekends, so there is no place for complacency with home court advantage throughout the finals at stake.
“Our next three weeks are going to be tough,” Klaman said. “We’ve got five games in about 16 days.”
The Devils were on the back foot and trailing the Giants 13-4 in the early stage of the first period.
Once they got to grips with the physical demands of a Giants side that lives up to its name, it was smooth sailing for the Devils.
“Coburg is a big, rough team, and it took us a while to get settled,” Klaman said. “We ended up winning by nine in the end but we seemed to have an eight to 14-point cushion the whole game.
“They never felt like they were going to take the lead back off us once we had it.”
Elisha Burnette was the most valuable contributor for the Devils with 15 points and six rebounds.
Burnette, the leading free throw shooter in the competition, went a perfect six from six from the charity stripe.
“She does pretty well for a girl who hadn’t played proper basketball for about five years and only had a baby four months ago,” Klaman said.
“She’s just going to get better. As long as we can keep her injury-free, we’re going to see the best of her once we get into the finals.”
Lisa Troyahn ran into foul trouble but still finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Jackie Silcock and Emma Coyne were solid from a defensive viewpoint.
Sharpshooter Olivia Klaman landed two-from-two from three-point land.
The Devils face the first of two double-headers this weekend, travelling to Mornington on Saturday and entertaining Warrnambool at home on Sunday.
