NBL1 West Recap | Friday Round 10

Both Warwick Senators teams hit back with NBL1 West wins with MVP Stacey Barr remarkable with 51 points while Teige Morrell had 24 and 22 for the Joondalup Wolves, Alex Sharp and Melisa Brcaninovic dominated for the Willetton Tigers as the Rockingham Flames had two big wins.

The women's matches on Friday night to open Round 10 saw the Rockingham Flames beat the Mandurah Magic 83-58 while the Lakeside Lightning defeated the East Perth Eagles 83-77, the Warwick Senators downed the Perth Redbacks 87-58, the Joondalup Wolves defeated the Perry Lakes Hawks 75-73, and the Willetton Tigers prevailed 103-84 against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

In the men's contests, the Flames beat the Magic 103-75 while the Lightning defeated the Eagles 87-79, the Senators downed the Redbacks 93-85, the Hawks overcame the Wolves 110-102, and the Tigers held out the Eastern Suns 94-85.

WOMEN

Flames make statement with win in Mandurah

The Rockingham Flames made another statement of their championship credentials with a thumping 83-58 road win over the Mandurah Magic to make it seven straight victories.

Rockingham had a bit of a rough start to the season losing the opening three matches but the Flames have built up to full strength now and made it seven straight wins with their dominant showing at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

The Magic came into Friday night's match up on their own five-game winning streak setting up a fascinating battle between the southern rivals, but Rockingham took over the longer the game went.

The Flames led by five points at quarter-time before turning that into a 16-point lead by half-time on the back of 26 points to 15 in the fourth quarter.

Another 22 points to 13 in the final period and Rockingham went on to score the 25-point win to improve to 7-3 with the seven straight wins. Mandurah's winning run came to an end with them now 8-3 as a result.

The recently arrived Mehryn Kraker top-scored again for Rockingham with 17 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals on 7/12 shooting from the floor and 3/6 from downtown.

However, it was the number of strong contributors the Flames had that was key with Tayah Burrows adding 15 points and three assists, Lisa Koop 14 points and 11 rebounds, Teyla Evans 11 points, Casey Samuels 11 points and three boards, and Christina Boag six points, four rebounds and three steals.

It was a tough night at home for the Magic with Sarah Toeaina top-scoring with 23 points and six rebounds on 9/14 shooting.

New import Hannah Hank produced 12 points, five rebounds and three assists with Gabby Turner contributing nine points in her 225th appearance.

Lightning finish strong for important road win

The Lakeside Lightning finished strongly over the East Perth Eagles to swap places with them in the top eight with he 83-77 Friday night victory.

Precious little separated the Eagles and Lightning coming into Friday's clash at Herb Graham Recreation Centre, and not much separated them throughout the 40 minutes either.

East Perth did start well at home to lead 27-19 by quarter-time but the Lightning hit back from an 11-point deficit to grab the lead in the second quarter before the Eagles went into half-time narrowly leading 47-45.

Things remained closed until a 10-0 run from Lakeside in the fourth quarter which saw the visitors secure the eventual six-point win.

The victory improves the Lightning to a 5-8 record to jump ahead of the Eagles into the top eight who are now 5-9.

Lightning import Laci Hawthorne had an impressive evening made up of 22 points, 13 rebounds and four steals with captain Caitie Jones adding 17 points, six rebounds and four steals.

Kylee Smith added 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists with 327-game veteran Taryn Priestly contributing 10 points and two assists, Jade Gowland nine points and seven rebounds, and Ruby Benn nine points, four boards and three steals.

Sylwia Bujnak had a season-best performance for East Perth with 28 points, six rebounds and six assists on shooting 12/17 from the field and 3/6 from beyond the arc.

Sarah Allen continued the best run of form in her 80-game career with another 23 points while Maddie Allen put up 10 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, and Madison Torresin 10 points, 10 boards, four assists and four steals.

Barr's 51 points leads Senators to important win

The defending champion Warwick Senators bounced back in emphatic style thanks to a monstrous 51-point outburst by reigning MVP Stacey Barr in the 87-58 win against the Perth Redbacks.

If the true mark of an MVP is delivering when her team needs her the most, then Barr provided the best possible example of that at Warwick Stadium on Friday night.

With the Senators having lost their past three matches including by 33 points to Willetton last Saturday night to be just clinging to a place in the top eight, they had to hit back at home on Friday night.

Barr ensured that happened in emphatic fashion as she sent a stark reminder of why she is one of the best pure scorers that the league has seen.

She put her team that won the NBL1 West and National Championship last season on her back as they started with 25 points to 16 in the opening quarter against the Redbacks.

Warwick was still leading 40-31 by half-time before then outscoring Perth 47 points to 27 in the second half with Barr putting on an amazing show to surpass the 50-point barrier and help the Senators win by 29.

The victory improves Warwick to a 5-5 record on the season while Perth continues to struggle at 1-10 having lost five straight despite Jason Smith now being in charge after the departure of Michelle Fletcher.

In her 121st appearance in the league and as the reigning MVP, Barr put on a performance for the ages finishing with 51 points, eight rebounds and two steals on the back of shooting 19/27 from the floor, 8/12 from three-point range and 5/8 from the free-throw line.

Newly signed to a full WNBL contract at the Perth Lynx, Chloe Forster added 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals with Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard contributing 12 points, 13 boards and nine assists.

Lauren Scherf put up 15 points and 12 rebounds for Perth with Brooke Malone 12 points, four rebounds and two assists, and the inspirational 116-game guard Raya Thompson 12 points on 2/2 three-point shooting as she continues to defy the odds from her debilitating knee injuries.

Stacey Barr goes long! ?

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Wolves win tight battle with the Hawks

The Joondalup Wolves finished strongly to bounce back from a rare loss last Saturday night to beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 75-73 at HBF Arena on Friday.

Both teams rightfully have championship aspirations this season but also came into the match up off tight losses with the Wolves losing for a second time this season to the Cockburn Cougars while the Hawks were shocked by the Darcee Garbin-led Goldfields Giants in Kalgoorlie.

With Joondalup needing to win to stay second and Perry Lakes trying to break back into the top four, there was plenty at stake and it turned out to be a terrific contest.

The Wolfpack did start well to lead early by nine points but Perry Lakes worked into the game and grabbed the lead before leading 19-18 by quarter-time.

However, Joondalup worked on top in the second quarter thanks to scoring the opening 13 points in-a-row before Sam Ashby broke the drought for Perry Lakes after almost five minutes.

From there, the Wolves led 34-32 going into half-time and then the home team had the better of the fourth quarter to end up securing the important two-point win.

Joondalup improves to 11-2 with the bounce back victory while Perry Lakes is 8-5 following the back-to-back defeats.

Teige Morrell had a monster night for the Wolfpack made up of 24 points, 22 rebounds and two assists on 9/16 shooting from the field.

Robbi Ryan top-scored with 27 points, five assists and four rebounds with Isabelle Miotti contributing 11 points, six boards, three assists and two steals.

Emma Clarke continued her strong form for Perry Lakes with 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals while Nici Gilday added 21 points, Sam Ashby 10 points, four assists and three rebounds, and Ash Isenbarger nine points, 12 boards, four assists and three steals.

Sharp, Brcaninovic help Willetton dominate Kalamunda

The one-two punch of Alex Sharp and Melisa Brcaninovic led the Willetton Tigers to a third straight win as they beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 103-84 on the road.

The longer the game went and Willetton's dominance on the glass became more and more evident meaning it was always going to be tough for the Suns at Ray Owen Sports Centre to snap their six-match losing run.

Willetton led 32-24 already by quarter-time in an exciting opening to the contest before the Tigers added another 30 points to 18 to go into the half-time break leading 62-42.

Kalamunda outscored Willetton 42 points to 41 in the second half, but the Tigers still won by 19 to improve to 9-3 on the season. The Eastern Suns have now lost seven straight to be 3-8.

Willetton finished the night pulling down 66 rebounds to 29 with Alex Sharp and Melisa Brcaninovic combining for 26 of them to help the Tigers take 91 field goals to 66 for the contest.

Brcaninovic continues to settle in wonderfully for Willetton with another 29 points and 10 rebounds with 5/11 three-point shooting while Sharp added 23 points, 16 boards, three assists and two blocks fresh off signing with the UC Capitals in the WNBL.

Grace Foster added 14 points and three assists for the Tigers, Amy Jacobs 13 points and 14 boards, and Jess Jakens nine points and five rebounds.

Natalie Chou top-scored for Kalamunda with 24 points, five rebounds and five assists with Sam Roscoe adding 19 points, six boards and three steals, and Makailah Dyer 18 points, five assists and three rebounds.

The @UCCapitals certainly know what to expect from Alex Sharp ?

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MEN

Flames stop losing slide with win in Mandurah

The defending champion Rockingham Flames bounced back in style from a shock three-game losing streak to keep the Mandurah Magic winless in 2023 with the 103-75 Friday night win.

With Mandurah back on its home floor still chasing a first win for the season after a string of near misses and then Rockingham looking to snap its losing slide, it shaped as a tantalising match up.

Rockingham hadn’t lost in almost a year before the past three defeats to the Redbacks, Buccaneers and Eastern Suns, but it took some time for them to work on top of the Magic.

The Flames led by just a point at quarter-time but they put up 31 points to 14 in the second period to go into intermission leading 54-36.

Rockingham went on to outscore Mandurah 49 points to 39 in the second half from there to secure the 28-point win to stop the losing slide and to improve to 9-3 on the season. The Magic are now 0-12.

The Flames won despite a quiet night from reigning MVP Devondrick Walker too who took just seven shots on his way to nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Marshall Nelson ended up top-scoring for Rockingham with 19 points, six assists and three rebounds with Justin Beard adding 17 points, six boards and four assists, and Tom Jervis 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

Callum Beard also contributed 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists with Jeremy Combs adding 10 points and four boards in just 13 minutes.

Dequan Abrom led the scoring for Mandurah 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals with Ray Turner contributing 17 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, Celneque Bobbitt II 14 points, six assists and four boards, and Isaac Abergut 10 points and two rebounds.

Lightning get important win to stay in playoff race

The impressive duo of Rowan Mackenzie and Hayden Young helped to lead the Lakeside Lightning to the 87-79 road win over the East Perth Eagles to keep them in the playoff hunt.

Both teams came into the contest trying to stay in the playoff hunt and it was Lakeside who opened up a double-digit lead by the second quarter before going into the main break on top 48-39.

The Lightning pushed their lead out to 15 points during the third quarter but the Eagles weren’t going away on their home floor and got back into the contest with a 10-0 run.

They could never quite work their way back in front, though, with the Lightning having the answers down the stretch to end up winning by eight points.

The victory improves Lakeside to a 6-8 record on the season to close in on a playoff spot while East Perth couldn’t quite make it consecutive wins and are now 2-12.

Hayden Brown finished the night with 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals with Rowan Mackenzie contributing 16 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and four steals.

Ben Lee added 11 points, five steals and three rebounds, Dom Jackson nine points and four boards with 3/6 three-point shooting, and Josh Davey five points and 17 rebounds.

East Perth was still missing back court duo Jerami Grace and Sebit Reath with Taylor Young stepping up for 21 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Lee Roberts delivered 15 points and 14 rebounds in 32 minutes despite starting on the bench with Nic Filpo contributing 11 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Justin King nine points, five assists and four boards.

Senators hit back with win over Redbacks

The Warwick Senators got back to winning and consolidated themselves in the top eight in the process by defeating the Perth Redbacks 93-85 at Warwick Stadium.

The Senators were just clinging to a spot inside the top eight after losing three of their previous four matches while the Redbacks were knocking on the door of the top four setting up the Friday night contest.

Warwick came into the game without backcourt pair Ethan Elliott and Uche Dibiamaka but couldn’t afford another slip up and once they worked on top in the first quarter, they remained there throughout the evening.

The Senators led by three at quarter-time before stretching that advantage to seven by half-time, and out to 18 during the third period.

Warwick still led by as much as 13 in the fourth quarter and while the Redbacks made things interesting late with a 9-0 run, the Senators held firm for the eight-point win.

The victory improves the Senators to 6-5 on the season with the Redbacks now 8-4 with their five-game winning streak coming to an end.

Caleb Davis ended up top-scoring for Warwick with 22 points and 13 rebounds including knocking down 4/10 from three-point range.

George Pearl added 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists, Connor Mincherton 18 points, seven boards and three assists, Hussayn Ford 15 points and six rebounds, and 201-game captain Cody Ellis 12 points, three boards and three assists.

Bryton Hobbs delivered 26 points, four steals, three assists and two rebounds for the Redbacks including making 4/8 from three-point range.

Tevin Jackson added 16 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals, Louis Timms 13 points and two boards, Joel Vaiangina 11 points and two assists, and Brian Voelkel seven points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals.

???? Denzel Jackson?? We see that dime! ?

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Clarke keeps Hawks on top with win at Joondalup

Mitch Clarke delivered a commanding performance to lead the Perry Lakes Hawks to a bounce back 110-102 road victory against the Joondalup Wolves on Friday night.

With the Hawks needing a win to maintain top position in the NBL1 West while the Wolves trying to break into the top four set the stage for the contest at HBF Arena to open Round 10.

Perry Lakes came out on fire desperate to bounce back from last week's loss in Kalgoorlie by putting up 33 points in the opening period to lead by as much as 13.

The Hawks would never trail again the rest of the evening with their lead getting out to as much as 15 points during the second quarter, and then 17 in the fourth.

Joondalup did give themselves a sniff late with a 9-0 run but it wasn’t to be and Perry Lakes went on to score the eight-point road win to remain in top spot in the NBL1 West at 11-3. The Wolves now slip to 9-5 unable to make it three consecutive wins.

Mitch Clarke continued his outstanding return season to Perry Lakes for 2023 and must be attracting the attention of NBL clubs looking for a point guard who can score, defend, run his team and who has championship experience.

Clarke produced 30 points, two assists and two steals in the win on the back of shooting 10/19 from the field, 4/9 from three-point territory and 6/6 at the foul line.

Andrew Ferguson also delivered 22 points and six rebounds on 9/12 shooting while Jack Isenbarger contributed 15 points with 4/6 three-point shooting.

Matt Leary also finished with 12 points, two rebounds and two assists, Ben Purser 10 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Daniel Alexander nine points, eight boards and two steals.

Quintin Dove ended up with 24 points and four rebounds for Joondalup on 9/12 shooting with Mathiang Muo adding 23 points, five boards and three assists, and Bryan Michaels 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

CJ Turnage also contributed 11 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals, and new big man Ioannis Dimakopoulos 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Tigers stay second with win over Eastern Suns

Despite Albert Almanza and Joe Cook-Green combining for 62 points, it wasn’t enough for the Kalamunda Eastern Suns with the Willetton Tigers coming away with the 94-85 road victory.

It was a hot opening to the game and Albert Almanza was on fire with four three-pointers on his way to 16 points in the first quarter alone, but it wasn’t enough to stop Willetton to go into quarter-time on top 35-26.

Some ?????? hops on @SEMelbPhoenix's Gorjok Gak ?

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The Tigers took further control in the second quarter and pushed their lead out to 16 points by half-time.

Kalamunda weren’t going away on its home court, though, and it was Kiwi Cook-Green who fired them back into the contest attempting to back up last week's win against the Rockingham Flames.

The Eastern Suns went on a 10-0 scoring run in the third term to set up a thrilling finish, but Willetton continued to have all the answers. 

Ultimately just as the Suns were looking to keep things interesting after getting back to within seven late, the Tigers broke the trap, Mark Worthington threw down the open dunk and Willetton went on to win by nine.

The victory sees Willetton improve to a 10-3 record having won four straight to consolidate a top two spot while Kalamunda slips to 7-5 with the defeat.

Gorjok Gak finished the night with 21 points and six rebounds for Willetton with Travis Fee having a season-best 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists on 7/10 shooting.

Damien Scott also had 15 points and four assists, Darnell Hoskins Jr 11 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Worthington nine points, six assists and two steals.

After his hot start, Albert Almanza finished with 31 points and four rebounds for the Eastern Suns on 5/10 three-point shooting.

Joe Cook-Green added 31 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals with Brendan Dinardo contributing eight points and two assists, and Cooper Lowe eight points and three rebounds. 

Albert Almanza off the dribble! ?

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