First Nations Round Eagles Wrap – Women/Men

It couldn't have been a more contrasting First Nations Round for the East Perth Eagles with the women suffering a tough loss on the road to Perry Lakes but the men beat the Hawks to return to fourth spot in the NBL1 West.

Round 15 in the NBL1 West saw the Eagles head to Bendat Basketball Centre to take on the Hawks with the action getting underway with the Perry Lakes women prevailing 103-41.

The men's match up then followed and it was another impressive performance for the Eagles in the 106-93 victory against the Hawks.

WOMEN

It turned out a trip to Bendat Basketball Centre to forget for the East Perth Eagles who were fighting to keep a playoff spot hope alive with the Perry Lakes Hawks ending up winning 103-41.

The Eagles had lost their past two matches, but with three consecutive wins prior to that they were still an outside hope of reaching the playoffs should they string some wins together.

The challenge was there up against the Hawks on Saturday evening with plenty at stake for Perry Lakes too who needed to keep winning to stay in fourth position.

Right from the outset and it was a dominant performance from Perry Lakes and they blew the Eagles away in the first quarter.

As good as the Hawks were to put up 36 points in the first period by knocking down almost 70 per cent from the field, the Eagles struggled an equal amount with just the eight on 12 per cent two-point shooting.

Things never really improved as the night went on for East Perth and Perry Lakes can take a lot of credit for that with another 19 points to 14 in the second frame to be leading 55-22 at half-time.

It was another 22 points to 10 in the third quarter and 26 to nine in the fourth with Perry Lakes rolling to the eventual 62-point victory to see the Hawks improve to a 13-5 record as a result.

The Hawks ended up shooting 52.2 per cent from the field for the game while putting up the 103 points and hitting 17/31 from three-point range along with collecting 46 rebounds to 24.

East Perth slips to 5-12 with the third straight loss and not only did they end up shooting 26.5 per cent from the field they coughed up 30 turnovers and had an all-round night to forget.

Tessa Morrison top-scored for the Eagles with 10 points to go with three rebounds and two steals with Taylor Roberts adding eight points and two steals on 2/2 shooting from downtown, and Laci Hawthorne seven points and three rebounds.

Sam Lubcke added four points, four assists, three steals and two rebounds, Bri Bailey three points and two assists, Sarah Allen three points, Mary Baskerville two points, Mary Goulding two points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists, and Aleka Kabugua two points.

MEN

Taylor Young ran the team expertly and put up 28 points, Lukas Milner fired with 22 and seven East Perth Eagles players scored nine or more points in the impressive and important 106-93 victory.

The Eagles arrived on Saturday night to take on the Perry Lakes Hawks at Bendat Basketball Centre looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss to the Kalamunda Eastern Suns last Friday at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

Prior to that, though, and the Eagles had won four straight games and nine of the previous 11 to be still knocking on the door of the top four having now secured a first playoffs appearance since the championship year in 2014.

With the playoffs drought confirmed to be over, the Eagles set their sights on a top four finish as well and to do that needed a strong bounce back performance against the Hawks.

The East Perth Eagles started on fire to set the tone for the eventual 106-93 win over the Perry Lakes Hawks with Taylor Young putting up 28 points as they kept their top four hopes alive.

It was a hot start from East Perth as they raced out to score the game's first six points on the way to a 10-2 opening before the Hawks steadied before the twists continued with the Eagles back out to a 25-13 advantage on a three-point make from Lukas Milner.

The Eagles were determined to keep themselves in the race for a top four position and remained in control the rest of the way to be leading by as much as 13 points in the second term and then as much as 16 in the fourth.

East Perth ended up scoring the 13-point victory to improve to a 12-7 record on the season with Taylor Young outstanding as point guard with 28 points, seven assists, two rebounds and two steals on 10/18 shooting from the field and 5/5 at the free-throw line.

Lukas Milner is fitting back in nicely in his second season with East Perth and had 22 points and eight rebounds with David Okwera contributing 12 points, 15 boards and seven assists, and Lee Roberts 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Sharif Watson also delivered 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Sebit Reath 10 points, four boards and two steals.

Nick Filpo contributed nine points, five rebounds and three assists as well with Elijah Pawson finishing with two points and an assist.