The young Werribee Devils showed early signs of maturity with a stirring 67-63 win over Latrobe City on the road in the Big V basketball women’s division 1 in Traralgon on Sunday.
The Devils staved off a late challenge by getting multiple stops on the defensive end and making clutch-free throws when their charity-stripe speciality got to the line.
Point guard Brittany Klaman hit four straight free throws late to seal a memorable win for the undermanned Devils, minus rotation players Lauren Conroy and Kellie Richardson and with Alex Moss on limited minutes due to foul trouble.
“Sometimes you’ve got to play a little short- handed and have other people step up and do things,” Devils coach Lloyd Klaman told
Star Weekly. “We only had eight of our regulars so it was a really good team win.”
The Devils burst out of the blocks to lead 18-3. The aggressiveness of small forward Georgia Tauschke was the igniter for the Devils. She finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
“She can make you look awkward on defence because she’s one of these kids who’s not fundamentally sound, but it works for her,” Klaman said. “She’ll shoot a shot off the wrong foot or out of the wrong hand and it will look awkward, but she plays so hard all the time and is hard to stop.”
Brittany Klaman’s late heroics clinched a Werribee Devils’ win. Photo: Shawn Smits
The Devils’ ‘bigs’ were super-effective. Lydia Brooks was a ‘monster’ in the paint with 12 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks. Katrina Vogelezang had seven points and nine rebounds to make it a two-headed monster.
When Latrobe City fought back from 12 points down, with eight minutes to go to level the game and 28 seconds on the clock, it was 15 year-old Brittany Klaman, showing maturity beyond her years, who snuffed out the home side’s charge.
Klaman drew two crucial fouls and landed all four free throws. She also hit two big three-pointers in the third period to finish with 17 points.
“The thing I’m really happy with is she’s going to make mistakes but she’s the ability to shake it off and get on with the game,” Lloyd Klaman said. “As a 15-year-old, you sometimes tend to dwell on it but playing in the point guard spot, she’s got to be the leader.”
The Devils (3-4) are back at home on Saturday night for a clash with one-win Western Port Steelers (1-5).
In the men’s championship, the Werribee Devils lost a heartstopper 68-66 to the Bulleen Boomers at the Werribee Sports and Fitness Centre on Sunday.
Sixth man Anthony Luxford had a chance to steal the game for the Devils with two seconds on the clock, but his three-point attempt missed. Jordan Hughes was the Devils’ player of the game with 23 points, 10 rebounds and five three pointers.
Darcy Harding had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
The Devils (2-4) have a double-header this weekend, travelling to Diamond Valley (1-7) on Saturday night before entertaining Whittlesea (2-5) on Sunday.
