Eagles Recap | Round 13 Women

Image credit: Mark Filpo (@codexdesignstudio)

It was a tough Friday night for the East Perth Eagles women to open the Round 13 double but they bounced back well on the road to the Lakeside Lightning with leaders Taylor Roberts and Tessa Morrison showing the way.

Coming off a double-header in Round 12 where the Eagles beat the Perth Redbacks but lost to the Cockburn Cougars, they backed up with another double in Round 13 beginning with a 104-58 defeat to the Perry Lakes Hawks on Friday at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

East Perth then backed up on Saturday with the 80-64 win against the Lakeside Lightning at Lakeside Recreation Centre to remain in fifth position with a 9-6 record ahead of taking on the Goldfields Giants in Kalgoorlie this Saturday.

FRIDAY

The Eagles didn’t have the Friday night they were hoping for at home to the Perry Lakes Hawks on Friday night.

East Perth were back home at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre coming into a second straight double-header on the back of beating the Perth Redbacks at home last Friday night before a loss on the road to the undefeated Cockburn Cougars on Saturday.

The Eagles remained in fifth position coming into another double-header in Round 13 but the Hawks ended up proving too strong on Peter Campbell Basketball Arena with the 104-58 victory.

East Perth was also without Sydney Flames WNBL star Emma Clarke as she continues to juggle her return from a knee injury but the Hawks were at full power and looking to produce a statement performance.

The Hawks did race out to an early 11-point lead after going on a 12-0 scoring run but the Eagles answered with eight straight points themselves and by quarter-time the scores were all level at 23-23.

It was then leading into half-time when Perry Lakes began to take control to end up putting up 31 points in the second term to end up leading 54-41 by the half-time break on the back of shooting 22/43 from the floor opposed to East Perth's 14/35.

Perry Lakes then started the second half on fire to complete the 16-0 scoring run and then eventually in the third quarter the Hawks would lead by 32 points.

East Perth then managed only four points on 1/14 shooting in the entire fourth quarter after coach Tim Symons did clear his bench with an eye to bouncing back in a crucial clash with Lakeside on Saturday.

The Hawks put up another 27 points in that last quarter while knocking down 5/7 from downtown to end up scoring the 46-point victory to improve to a 7-6 record with three straight wins by a combined 112 points.

The Eagles slip to an 8-6 record to remain fifth but only just having lost four of their past five matches with Sasha Goodlett finishing with 25 points, 12 rebounds and two assists on 8/15 field goal shooting.

Abby Cubillo added 12 points, five rebounds and two assists, Awatea Leach 10 points, four assists and two boards, and Madi Torresin nine points and three assists.

Imogen Eames also scored two points and had an assist while Akim Lual and Jaymie Symons had two rebounds apiece, Taylor Roberts pulled down four boards, and captain Tessa Morrison had three rebounds and an assist.

SATURDAY

Eagles leaders Tessa Morrison and Taylor Roberts made the difference combining for 34 points as they bounced back with the 80-64 road win over the Lakeside Lightning.

With the Eagles needing to win to stay solid in the top eight and the Lightning trying to maintain touch for a playoff spot, there was plenty at stake for both teams in the Saturday evening match up at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

It was a strong start away from home by the Eagles who led 24-20 by quarter-time and then they opened up an 11-point advantage in the second quarter, and by half-time were leading 42-32.

The Eagles continued to build on that advantage with another 27 points to 20 in the third period with the lead growing to 17 points, and then 21 in the last term before East Perth secured the eventual 16-point triumph.

The Eagles ended the game shooting 47 per cent from the floor opposed to 35 from the Lightning while also attempting nine extra free-throw attempts along with forcing Lakeside into 15 turnovers from which they scored 13 points.

East Perth are now 9-6 on the season having split their second straight double-header with Sasha Goodlett delivering 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists on 11/14 field goal shooting.

Captain Tessa Morrison stepped up to deliver a season-best 18 points with 7/13 shooting while 141-game veteran Taylor Roberts knocked down 5/9 from three-point range for 16 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Abby Cubillo added 13 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals, and Awatea Leach seven points, six boards, five assists and three steals.

Ari van Vilet also contributed two points in just 11 seconds of court time while Madi Torresin finished with two points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal.