A red-hot final quarter propelled Werribee to a 14-point win against the Whittlesea Pacers in Big V state championship basketball on Saturday night.
The Devils were forced to fight during a tough first half at the Werribee Sports and Fitness Centre, with the Pacers taking a three-point lead into the first break.
From there, Werribee began to chip away at the margin.
The Devils took the lead in the third term before producing some of their best basketball in the run home.
Werribee scored 27 final-quarter points, shooting 44 per cent from the field and 60 per cent from beyond the three-point line, to blow Whittlesea away and secure an 80-66 win.
Rustin Dowd was a standout for the Devils, putting up 27 points to be the leading scorer for either team.
He was well supported by Jonathan Sonda who finished with 17 points for Werribee, while Jordan Hughes continued his strong season with 16 points and eight rebounds.
For Whittlesea, Michael Petridis was leading scorer with 19 points.
The good news didn’t stop there for Werribee, with the club’s women’s division 1 side making it a Saturday night to remember, beating Craigieburn by 17 points.
After restricting the Eagles to just seven in the first quarter, the Devils were always in control on the scoreboard, racing out to a 13-point lead at the first break.
Thanks to another strong shooting display, that margin grew to 19 by half-time.
Despite Craigieburn’s best efforts, there was no coming back and Werribee celebrated a 72-55 win.
Elisha Burnette, was unstoppable for Werribee, finishing with 22 points to be her side’s leading scorer.
The win lifted Werribee into second spot on the Big V women’s division 1 ladder, with the Devils on track to make finals.
In this weekend’s round 11, the Devils will take on the Geelong Supercats in a clash between first and second.
The game will be played at Werribee at 3pm on Sunday.
