Leslie earns Player of the Month honors in Australia

Houma native Sumar Leslie continues to earn recognition for her excellent play in the land Down Under.

Leslie was named the Big V’s Division I Player of the Month for April on Thursday – a fitting accomplishment for the Nicholls graduate and former great Vandebilt Catholic graduate, who now plays professionally for the Werribee Devils in Australia. 

For the season, Leslie is averaging 23.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 5.9 steals per game for a Devils team that is 7-1 on the season – first place in the league.

Leslie is the league’s leading scorer. She also leads the league in steals, free throws made and free throws attempted on the season.

Speaking to The Times on Thursday morning (Wednesday night in Louisiana), Leslie said she’s honored to be given the recognition. 

“I didn’t know about this until just now, but to be recognized is certainly a great honor and is something that I’m happy for,” Leslie said. “I’ve definitely worked hard, and I’ve put in countless hours to make sure that these things could happen. I couldn’t be blessed with a better team or teammates. We have a great group here, and we just want to keep it all rolling.”

Things are going pretty well right now for the Devils. 

Werribee won just three games last season and were near the bottom of the standings in Big V’s Division One. 

But the team signed Leslie, Australian legend Rohanee Cox and Jessy Price in the offseason and the trio have done big-time work to turn things around.

The Devils started the season 6-0 – winning five of those six games by double-digits.

The team lost its first game this past weekend – a 67-66 setback against the Keilor Thunder.

But Werribee battled back a day later, beating the Whittlesea Pacers 87-70. 

Leslie had 30 points in that win. 

She said the team’s goal for the rest of the season is clear – keep gelling and try and win the championship.

“There are good teams here,” Leslie said. “But we think we’re pretty good, too. We have things we need to work on, but I think we are going to play our best when the time is right.”

Sumar Leslie

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