Youth League One Women Semi Final
Werribee Devils (4th) 62 defeated Warrandyte Venom (1st) 48
Werribee
|
14
|
18
|
14
|
16
|
62
|
Warrandyte
|
14
|
4
|
14
|
16
|
48
|
Charlotte Vincent-Lord - 22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Alex Moss - 15 points, 9 rebounds
Tegan Hindle - 8 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals
Teaghan Doyle - 6 points, 5 rebounds
Eliza Herne - 5 points, 9 rebounds
Four straight losses isn’t the ideal preparation for heading into Big V finals, but that’s where the Werribee Devils Youth League Women found themselves as they got ready to face ladder leaders Warrandyte Venom on the weekend. To make matters more interesting, the two teams had just played each other in Round 18 and the Venom triumphed by 16 points, giving them the edge in favouritism.
The season series was placed at 2-1 in favour of the Venom. The Devils won their first encounter at Eagle Stadium back in Round 4, 58-56. The Venom got up by five points in the return bout, 64-69, in Round 13 and, as already mentioned, won their Round 18 showdown 68-52.
The first quarter was a low-scoring and tightly contested affair, with neither team getting more than three points clear. Warrandyte got the early jump and led narrowly for the first four minutes. Tegan Hindle (two rebounds), Teaghan Doyle and Eliza Herne (five points, three rebounds) got the Devils on the board early. A Herne three-pointer gave the Devils the lead with 6.08 to play, and scores from Natasha Currao and Charlotte Vincent-Lord ensured they maintained that lead until the final minute of the quarter. Five points in a minute from Locke, Kuen and Caruana gave the Venom a two point advantage but then Alex Moss popped up with a basket right at the end of the quarter to tie the game at 14-14.
Caruana put the Venom back in front with the first score of the second term, but that was the last we’d hear from them for a while as the Devils scored the next 13 points with Doyle (five points), Moss (four points, four rebounds, two steals) and Vincent-Lord (nine points, two assists, three rebounds) featuring prominently. Casey Taylor interrupted proceedings with a couple of free throws for the Venom before Vincent-Lord stamped her authority on the contest with the last five points of the quarter, giving the Devils a handy 14-point lead at half-time. Herne and Hindle also grabbed three rebounds each.
The Devils managed to hold the home side at arm’s length during the third term. The two teams traded baskets early on, with Hindle (six points, two rebounds) and Taylah Lea scoring for the Devils answered by Locke and Heath up the other end. The Venom were unable to establish any momentum to mount a serious comeback. Twice they scored four consecutive points and got within 10 but the Devils had all the answers, with a 5-0 run late in the quarter thanks to Vincent-Lord (three points) and Hindle pushing the margin back out to 15. Heath and Maddison Taylor scored late for the home side, but a basket to Hindle and a free throw to Moss (three points, three rebounds) levelled the quarter and maintained the Devils 14 point lead. Herne and Doyle also grabbed two rebounds each.
Facing elimination, the ladder-leaders were not going to give up without a fight and started with a 6-1 run in the first three minutes to bring the margin back to single-digits. Moss (six points), Lea (two blocks) and Vincent-Lord (eight points, two steals) got the Devils back on top with 11 unanswered points taking their lead out to 20 points with three minutes remaining. The momentum swung again as the Venom made a late charge, with Kuen, Locke and Maddison Taylor featuring in a 10-2 run. However, by then it was too late as Vincent-Lord capped off a great game with a couple of free throws and the Devils once again levelled the quarter and finished with a 14-point victory, 62-48.
In a great defensive game for the Devils, Warrandyte’s 48 point total was their third lowest for the season, with only second-placed Altona keeping them to a lower score.
Werribee’s Grand Final opponent will be the Altona Gators, who defeated third-placed Coburg Giants 65-51 in the other Semi-Final. The two teams met three times during the season, with the Gators winning on all three occasions:
Round 6, 71-61
Round 10, 74-60
Round 16, 61-54
The Grand Final will take place at Altona Sports Centre on Sunday August 14th, at 2pm.
Werribee v Warrandyte - Box Score and Stats
Werribee v Warrandyte - LiveStats and Play-by-Play
Werribee v Warrandyte - Full Game on YouTube
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