NBL1 West Recap | Saturday ANZAC Round

The Mandurah Magic and Joondalup Wolves continued their undefeated starts to the NBL1 West women's season on Saturday night while there were impressive men's wins for the Perry Lakes Hawks, Geraldton Buccaneers, Goldfields Giants, Wolfpack and Willetton Tigers.

The Saturday night NBL1 West women's results saw the Joondalup Wolves hammer the South West Slammers 112-47 while the Mandurah Magic beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 80-59, Willetton Tigers beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 71-49, and the East Perth Eagles downed the Goldfields Giants 75-57.

Then in the men's match ups, the Wolves beat the Slammers 99-74, the Hawks downed the Magic 120-78, the Tigers defeated the Eastern Suns 80-64, the Giants won 117-87 over the Eagles, and the Geraldton Buccaneers defeated the Warwick Senators 92-82.

WOMEN

Wolfpack inflict more pain on struggling Slammers

The rough start to the season for the South West Slammers continued on Saturday night with the Joondalup Wolves handing them the 112-47 defeat.

The Slammers had lost their opening three games of the season by a combined 148 points and then the challenge was to host the undefeated Wolfpack at Eaton Recreation Centre fresh off a 26-point home win over the Perth Redbacks on Friday.

The game went to script with the Wolfpack putting up 32 points to 14 in the opening period. It was another 25 to 17 in the second with Joondalup leading 57-31 at half-time.

The Wolves then outscored the Slammers 55 to 16 in the second half to end up winning by 65 points to improve to a perfect 5-0 on the season having won the first 16 matches of 2022.

The Slammers are now 0-4 to open life under new coach Alex Ciabattoni having now lost 16 in-a-row dating back to last season, and one of their last 58 matches overall.

Teige Morrell was terrific for Joondalup with 24 points, 12 rebounds and four assists with Emma Klasztorny putting up 18 points and four boards, Chelsea Belcher 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Laniesha Paddon 11 points and eight boards.

Bree Chalk top-scored for the Slammers with 13 points and five rebounds with Alexis Donovan contributing 11 points and three steals, and Kate Williams eight points and two rebounds.

Mandurah stay undefeated with win over Perry Lakes

The Mandurah Magic continued their ominous start to the NBL1 West season with an emphatic 80-59 road victory against the Perry Lakes Hawks.

It always loomed as a fascinating match up with new Hawks import guard Nici Gilday playing against her former Magic team for the first time after being instrumental in Mandurah's Grand Final run back in 2017.

She is now playing for Perry Lakes who just happen to be the team that beat Mandurah for that championship, but it was a Magic team still hunting that elusive maiden championship who produced a statement performance on Saturday at Bendat Basketball Centre.

Mandurah was able to build its lead throughout the night leading by a point at quarter-time, nine at half-time, 12 at three quarter-time and then winning by 21 to improve to 3-0 on the season with Perry Lakes now 3-3.

Sarah Toeaina was the star of the night for Mandurah with 24 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists with Carly Boag adding 16 points, nine boards, four assists and two steals.

Games record holder Casey Mihovilovich is showing no signs of slowing down 534 games into her career with another 14 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals in over 33 minutes of court time.

Former Cougars import Kat Tudor is fitting in nicely too with 12 points and four steals with 345-game veteran Rachel Halleen also having six points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Perry Lakes' cause wasn’t helped with the absence of Emma Clarke and Ash Isenbarger who had been combining to average 32.2 points, 14.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists this season to date.

Nici Gilday finished with 20 points, four assists and three rebounds for Perry Lakes, Mia Satie nine points and nine boards, and Maddy Dennis nine points and nine rebounds.

Statement win for Sami-less Tigers over Eastern Suns

Even with the cameo this season of Sami Whitcomb now over, the Willetton Tigers proved too strong at home to the Kalamunda Eastern Suns, winning 71-49.

Both teams came into the game in strong form with identical 3-1 records but Willetton prevailed. After the Tigers led 36-28 at half-time, the home team dominated the second half with 35 points to 21 to end up winning by 22.

Former league and Grand Final MVP Alex Sharp continued her hot form for Willetton on the back of a breakout WNBL season at the Perth Lynx. She finished the night with 22 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks and two assists.

Captain Desiree Kelley also had 12 points, 13 boards and four assists for the Tigers, Kiara Waite 14 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, and Grace Foster seven points, four boards, four assists and two steals.

Georgia Denehey top-scored for Kalamunda with 12 points, five steals, three assists and two rebounds while it was a tough night for Makailah Dyer who had 11 points, seven rebounds and four steals on 3/21 shooting.

Lubcke return lifts East Perth to win in Kalgoorlie

The East Perth Eagles scored their second win of the NBL1 West season beating the Goldfields Giants 75-57 in Kalgoorlie on Saturday night.

It was a tight first half with both teams hunting their second victories of the season with Goldfields narrowly leading 36-34 at half-time.

However, East Perth took over in the second half to outscore the Giants 41 to 21 to win by 18 to improve to 2-2 on the season with Goldfields now 1-3.

Sam Lubcke returned to the line-up for the Eagles and made a significant impact in the win with 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists on 9/11 shooting.

Madison Torresin also had 20 points, 15 boards and four steals for East Perth, Tessa Morrison 15 points, five assists and four rebounds, and Sarah Allen eight points, three boards, three assists and two steals.

Olivia Berry ended up top-scoring for Goldfields with 16 points, three rebounds and three assists while Kiriana Hawaikirangi had 13 points, six steals and four rebounds, Rachel Kehoe 11 points and nine boards, and Regan Turnour-McCarty six points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals.

MEN

Gattorna-less Buccs score big win over Senators

Despite the absence of Zac Gattorna, the Geraldton Buccaneers were on top all evening before holding out the Warwick Senators for a 92-82 home win.

The Buccs were back home at Active West Stadium after splitting their road trip last weekend to Joondalup and Cockburn, and they started on fire against the Senators racing to a 29-15 advantage by quarter-time.

Geraldton's lead did get out to as much as 21 points in the second quarter and while the Senators did battle back from there and made things interesting in the fourth term, the Buccaneers did enough to hold on for the 10-point victory.

The Buccs improve to 3-2 on the season as a result of the win while the Senators are now 2-2 following the loss.

Malik Meunier continued his standout form for Geraldton as he must be attracting the attention of NBL clubs with another 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Fletcher Klasztorny could very well have played the best game of his 106-match career with 19 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals with Shaun Stewart contributing 20 points, seven boards and five assists, and Liam Hunt 14 points and six rebounds.

Ethan Elliott continues to show why he's one of the best young guards in the country with the 19-year-old producing 22 points, four assists and three rebounds for Warwick while hitting 3/5 from downtown.

Caleb Davis added 19 points and eight rebounds, Cody Ellis nine points, four boards and three assists, and Uche Dibiamaka eight points before fouling out having playing just 17 and-a-half minutes.

Wolves imports focus on inside game in win over Slammers

After a tough loss on Friday night, the Joondalup Wolves enjoyed their trip south by defeating the South West Slammers 99-74.

The Wolfpack lost to the Perth Redbacks at home by 19 points on Friday night while the Slammers also lost by 16 to the Lakeside Lightning so both were looking to bounce back at Eaton Recreation Centre.

Joondalup started well with 18 points to 11 in the first quarter before going into half-time on top 48-35. The Wolves then put up 28 points to 16 in the fourth term to win by 25 and improve to 3-3 on the season with the Slammers now 1-4.

Import pair CJ Turnage (28 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists) and Quintin Dove (27 points, six boards, two steals) were superb for the Wolves while combining to shoot 24/35 from the floor with neither attempting a three-pointer.

Mathiang Muo also had 14 points and eight rebounds, Bryan Michaels 10 points, 10 boards, five steals and four assists, and 220-game captain Jordan Wellsteed 10 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Ben Stevens ended the evening with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals for South West while Clive Weeden delivered 16 points and seven rebounds, Cory Richardson 15 points, four boards and four steals, and Pharell Keats 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Perry Lakes make statement with 42-point win over Mandurah

The Perry Lakes Hawks continue to loom as being right back in the championship mix in 2023 after a thumping 120-78 win against the winless Mandurah Magic.

It was an uncharacteristic down season for Perry Lakes in 2022 on the back of winning championships in 2018 and 2021, and reaching the grand final in 2020, but they are right back in the hunt based on their start to 2023.

That continued on Saturday at Bendat Basketball Centre starting with 29 points to 17 in the first quarter against the winless Mandurah. The Hawks then outscored Mandurah 65 points to 32 in the second half to win by 42 to improve to 5-1 on the season with Mandurah 0-3.

Perry Lakes knocked down 14/29 from three-point range as a team and shot a stunning 62.2 per cent overall with Mitch Clarke producing 20 points and three assists on 8/11 shooting.

Daniel Alexander added 19 points, eight rebounds and six assist with dual championship winning co-captain and 313-game veteran Rob Cassir hitting all three of his long-range attempts for 18 points.

Jack Isenbarger also had 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, Matt Leary nine points, six rebounds and three steals, Nick Floyd nine points and four boards, AJ Nobensi eight points and eight assist, and Cooper Hamilton eight points.

Ray Turner returned for Mandurah and put up 24 points and 15 rebounds with Dequan Abrom adding 15 points, six boards and four assists.

Tigers continue to impress with win over Suns

Mark Worthington was back, Gorjok Gak starred and the Willetton Tigers impressed again in an 80-64 home victory against the improving Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

While Willetton opened the season with a loss to the reigning champion Rockingham Flames, they have now won four games since and were impressive again on Saturday at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

The Tigers started on fire with 27 points to 13 in the first quarter and another 20 to 10 in the second to go into half-time leading 47-23 before winning by 16 to improve to 4-1 with the Suns now 3-2 under new coach Aaron Trahair.

New South East Melbourne Phoenix NBL signing Gorjok Gak starred in the win for Willetton with 24 points, 15 rebounds and two assists with 310-game veteran Damien Scott delivering 18 points and seven rebounds.

Darnell Hoskins Jr contributed 14 points and five assists, and Mark Worthington 10 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Despite the loss for the Eastern Suns, Joe Cook-Green continued his impressive form with 23 points, five assists and four rebounds with Rob Huntington adding 15 points, five boards, three steals and two blocks, and Albert Almanza 11 points and five rebounds.

Giants hit back at home to thump winless Eagles

The Goldfields Giants enjoyed the comforts of home to get back to the winner's list with a 117-87 hammering of the East Perth Eagles in Kalgoorlie.

The Giants started the season winning big at home to the Mandurah Magic before suffering two road losses to Lakeside and Warwick last weekend ahead of hosting the winless Eagles.

It was East Perth who started well with Justin King on fire early, but the Giants kept him in check after quarter-time and worked their way on top.

Goldfields outscored the Eagles 70 points to 43 in the second half including scoring 42 points in the fourth quarter to end up winning by 30 to get their record to 2-2.

Michael Dupree starred in the win for the Giants with 29 points, three steals and two rebounds while hitting 5/9 from beyond the arc.

Captain Jerome Reid put up 17 points, four assists and three rebounds, Lafonzo Smith 16 points and 10 assists, Mayo Malek 14 points, six boards, three assists, three blocks and two steals, Majier Garang 11 points, six rebounds and three assists and Sam Morrow 11 points.

Justin King started the game in blistering form for East Perth and finished with 28 points, six rebounds and five assists including shooting 5/5 from long-range.

Sebit Reath also had 24 points and 11 boards for the Eagles, and Jerami Grace 10 points and two assists.