NBL1 West Recap | Saturday Round 13

The Cockburn Cougars women hit back from their first loss of the NBL1 West season while Zac Gattorna hit eight threes, Devondrick Walker six and Albert Almanza nine in wins for their respective teams while Joe Cook-Green had a triple-double for the Eastern Suns.

Round 13 Saturday night's women's action saw the Cockburn Cougars beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 83-44 while the Willetton Tigers defeated the Goldfields Giants 87-45, the Lakeside Lightning beat the Perth Redbacks 84-77, the Rockingham Flames prevailed 84-68 against the Rockingham Flames, and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns beat the South West Slammers 87-63.

The men's fixtures then saw the Geraldton Buccaneers beat the East Perth Eagles 118-97 while the Hawks beat the Cougars 84-54, the Tigers defeated the Giants 116-106, the Lightning downed the Redbacks 89-86, the Flames beat the Senators 111-94 and the Eastern Suns won 104-79 against the Slammers.

NBL1 WEST RECAP | FRIDAY ROUND 13

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WOMEN

Cougars respond to first loss in emphatic style

The Cockburn Cougars hit back in the best possible way from a first loss of the season by beating the Perry Lakes Hawks 83-44 just 24 hours later.

Cockburn suffered its first loss of the NBL1 West season on Friday night in Mandurah against the Magic with the 32-point defeat as they arrived at Bendat Basketball Centre to play the Hawks on Saturday.

It will be Cougars first and only chance to play on the floor where the grand final will be held too as the league-leaders took on a Perry Lakes team missing Emma Clarke and Nici Gilday.

It didn’t take the Cougars long to take charge of the contest leading by as much as nine points in the first quarter and still being 18-13 after one.

Cockburn then blew the game wide opening in the second stanza completing a 16-0 run to lead by as much as 22 points, and to be well in control on top 45-23 at the major break.

The Cougars went on with the job from there outscoring the Hawks 38 points to 21 in the second half on the way to the comprehensive 39-point victory to respond to that first loss in the most emphatic possible way.

Danish import Sarah Mortensen was once again outstanding in the win for Cockburn with 29 points, 12 rebounds, four steals, two assists and two blocks on 12/22 shooting from the field and 4/10 from beyond the arc.

Steph Gorman put up 14 points, seven steals, three rebounds and two assists on the court she'll call home with the Perth Lynx this upcoming WNBL season while Jewel Williams added 13 points and four assists, and Jessie Edwards 10 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists.

Maddy Dennis top-scored for Perry Lakes in the loss with 14 points, 10 rebounds and four assists while Ash Isenbarger finished with six points and six boards, Mia Satie six points and four rebounds, and Danika Pisconeri four points and 12 boards.

Sarah Mortenson tonight:

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Dominant display.

Watch the #NBL1West Game of the Week Live & Free on Kayo Freebies ? pic.twitter.com/uoYtTJT5UA

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 24, 2023

Tigers with another statement win in Kalgoorlie

The Willetton Tigers again flexed their muscles on their way to a seventh consecutive victory this NBL1 West season beating the Goldfields Giants 87-45 in Kalgoorlie.

It was a big task ahead of the Giants who are without Darcee Garbin who is with the Australian Opals at the FIBA Asia Cup along with the continued absence of Amanda Wayment, Olivia Berry, Rachel Kehoe, Chloe Zorzi and Ashlee Monaghan.

Willetton arrived at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium on a six-game winning run including two wins by a combined 67 points last weekend against the Rockingham Flames and South West Slammers.

Willetton was leading by just five points at quarter-time but then the Tigers put their foot down in the second period with 28 points to nine to take a 46-22 advantage into the half-time intermission.

The lead for Willetton grew to 37 points in the third quarter and 42 in the fourth to see them end up winning by 42 and improve to a 13-3 record with the seven straight wins.

Willetton's Bosnian import Melisa Brcaninovic was a dominant force with 28 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.

She had plenty of help too with Alex Sharp delivering 19 points, eight boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks, Desiree Kelley 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals, and Kiara Waite nine points and 10 boards.

Jess Jakens also delivered three points, 11 rebounds and five assists in the 247th game of her career.

Regan Turnour-McCarty battled hard for the Giants finishing with 15 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals with Ash Sidebottom contributing 12 points and seven boards, and Talisia Bourne seven points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Lightning hit back late to consolidate playoff spot

The Lakeside Lightning had to overcome a double-figure second half deficit to beat the Perth Redbacks 84-77 to further consolidate their playoff position in the NBL1 West.

The Redbacks arrived at Lakeside Recreation Centre on an eight-game losing run and with just the one victory for the season, but they were on a mission to play spoilers against the Lightning.

Perth was able to take charge of the contest in the second quarter with 21 points to 12 to lead by as much as 11, and to still be on top 42-32 at the interval.

However, there was too much at stake for Lakeside and with captain Caitie Jones leading the charge, the home team fired back with 25 points to 18 in the third quarter.

The Lightning then dominated the fourth quarter with 27 points to 17, and despite a bit of a late scare with a couple of big shots for the Redbacks from Mikayla Pirini after import DaJah Daniel fouled out, Lakeside scored the important seven-point win.

The victory improves Lakeside to a 7-9 record on the season with back-to-back wins while the Redbacks have now lost nine straight at 1-14.

Captain Caitie Jones delivered 25 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals for Lakeside with Kylee Smith contributing 22 points, five boards, four assists, two steals and two blocks, Laci Hawthorne 12 points and nine rebounds, and Jade Gowland 12 points.

Brooke Malone produced 20 points and six rebounds for the Redbacks with Mikayla Pirini adding 19 points, six rebounds and six assists with the pair combining to shoot 6/22 from beyond the arc.

Shenae Hartree added 15 points and six rebounds, DaJah Daniel 10 points and nine boards, and Bri Bailey seven points and four rebounds.

Flames fire for 94-point winning weekend 

The Rockingham Flames have completed the perfect bounce back weekend with an emphatic 84-68 win at home against the defending champion Warwick Senators.

Rockingham came into the weekend having lost twice last weekend to top four teams the Willetton Tigers and Joondalup Wolves to fall down to sixth spot, but they bounced back on Friday beating the South West Slammers by 78 points.

They brought that confidence with them into Saturday's clash at Mike Barnett Sports Complex with the reigning champion Senators who were looking to make it consecutive wins to consolidate their top eight position.

The Flames managed to lead by five points at quarter-time before dominated from there with the lead growing to 14 points by the main break.

The lead for Rockingham grew to as much as 19 points in the second half before the Flames went on to win by 16 and improve to an 11-5 record on the season. The Senators remain inside the top eight but continue to lose touch with the top six teams at 7-7.

Casey Samuels had a huge night in the win for the Flames with 32 points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists on shooting 11/19 from the floor and 6/13 from three-point territory.

Tayah Burrows added another 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists with Mehryn Kraker contributing 14 points and eight assists, and Teyla Evans nine points, three rebounds and two assists.

Reigning MVP Stacey Barr top-scored for Warwick with 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists on 4/10 three-point shooting.

Chloe Forster finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for the Senators, and 451-game captain Nicole Jorre de St Jorre nine points, three rebounds and three assists.

Suns keep season alive with win over Slammers

The one-two punch of Natalie Chou and Sam Roscoe again fired for the Kalamunda Eastern Suns in Saturday night's 87-63 home victory against the South West Slammers.

The Eastern Suns were coming off a win to the second last placed Perth Redbacks last week and to stay in touch of the top eight couldn’t afford a slip up at home to the winless Slammers this week.

It didn’t take long for Kalamunda to take control either with the home team going on a 14-0 run in the opening period before leading 28-12 by quarter-time.

From there, the Eastern Suns would lead by as much as 19 points in the second quarter, 27 in the third and then eventually win by 24 to improve to a 5-9 record to remain in contention for a playoff position.

The loss by 24 points is the second lowest margin of the season for the Slammers who have now lost their past 27 matches and 68 of the past 69 going back further.

Natalie Chou continued her terrific form for Kalamunda with another 24 points, six rebounds and three assists on 9/16 shooting from the floor and 4/9 from outside the three-point line.

Sam Roscoe also put up 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks, Georgia Denehey 16 points, six assists, five rebounds and five steals in her 150th game which just happened to fall against her original team.

Eryn Fisher also had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Eastern Suns, and Makailah Dyer nine points, eight boards and six assists who was also against one of her former clubs.

Bree Chalk top-scored for the Slammers with 16 points and four rebounds on 4/9 shooting from downtown. 

Kate Williams added 10 points, Grace Adams 10 points and three rebounds, Alexis Donovan eight points and nine rebounds, and playing-coach Alex Ciabattoni eight points, seven boards, two assists and two steals on her old home floor. 

MEN

Gattorna catches fire as Buccs beat Eagles

Zac Gattorna produced a scintillating performance to hit eight three-pointers to lead the Geraldton Buccaneers to the 118-97 home win against the East Perth Eagles.

The Buccs were back home at Active West Stadium after splitting their road trip last weekend with a win against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns and then a loss to the Warwick Senators.

They needed to keep winning to keep pressure on the top two teams while East Perth arrived in Geraldton looking to make it three straight wins after victories against the Senators and Cougars.

Geraldton made a flying start by putting up 38 points in the opening period with Zac Gattorna unstoppable hitting all five of his three-point attempts.

Gattorna hit two more triples in the second quarter to be 7/7 going into half-time with the Buccaneers leading 70-47.

From there, the Buccs cruised to the eventual 21-point victory to remain perfect this season on their home floor and to hold a 12-4 record overall.

Zac Gattorna ended the evening for Geraldton with 39 points on the back of shooting 13/17 from the field, 8/11 from beyond the arc and 5/5 at the foul line.

Shaun Stewart added 20 points and eight assists for the Buccaneers, Malik Meunier 19 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals, Johny Narkle 15 points, six boards, four assists and three steals, and Aaron Ralph 14 points and four rebounds with three more three-pointers.

Justin King finished with 19 points and four rebounds for East Perth with Lee Roberts contributing 18 points and 10 boards, and Taylor Young 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Nic Filpo added 13 points, new import Lukas Milner 12 points and six rebounds, and Jarrad Anastasio 11 points and six boards.

Zac Gattorna was on a HEATER tonight ??

He drained 8?? threes total, including a 3-minute stretch where he nailed 5?? consecutive triples ?

Watch #NBL1West via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? & ? pic.twitter.com/xITjybRR2K

— NBL1 (@NBL1) June 24, 2023

Hawks stay second with win over Cougars

The Perry Lakes Hawks consolidated their top two position in the NBL1 West with a commanding 84-54 victory against the Cockburn Cougars at Bendat Basketball Centre.

Perry Lakes was making its only appearance of the weekend while Cockburn were fresh off a 12-point road win in Mandurah to the Magic on Friday night that kept them in the playoff mix.

Pery Lakes didn’t take long to take charge of the contest, though, with 26 points to 19 in the opening quarter. The lead for the Hawks got out to 12 points in the second period and they were on top 41-30 at the main break.

The Hawks put the game out of reach in the third quarter with 30 points to nine to lead by as much as 32 points, and then by 33 in the fourth stanza before settling on the 30-point margin at the final buzzer.

The victory improves Perry Lakes to a 13-4 record to remain in second position while Cockburn slips to 7-10 having split their weekend of two road games.

Daniel Alexander ended up top-scoring for Perry Lakes with 23 points, eight rebounds and two assists on shooting 9/13 from the floor, 2/5 from beyond the arc and 3/3 at the free-throw line.

Centre Andrew Ferguson added 19 points and six rebounds for the Hawks while Mitch Clarke added seven points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Ben Purser six points, seven boards, four assists and two steals.

It was a tough back end of a double-header for Cockburn with Kieran Berry finishing with 10 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Keegan Phillips added 10 points and nine rebounds, Courtney Alexander II nine points and five boards, and Alex Mackinlay nine points and three rebounds.

Tigers fire late for win in Kalgoorlie

The Willetton Tigers were able to dig deep and overpower the Goldfields Giants late in the piece in Kalgoorlie to score a crucial 116-106 win on Saturday night.

The Giants needed the win to revive any hopes they had of breaking into the playoffs having lost their past five matches, but were still without Lafonzo Smith while the Tigers arrived without captain Andrew Black, legend Mark Worthington and NBL development player Hunter Clarke.

What eventuated was quite the exciting contest over the four quarters and by the end of the first period it was the Giants narrowly leading 31-28.

The high-scoring affair continued and Goldfields went up by as much as 12 in the second term and were still on top at home 61-53 by half-time.

It was another 29 points apiece in the third quarter and then still with six and-a-half minutes left the home team was still leading 95-88.

However, from that point on the Tigers took charge beginning with a three-point play from Gorjok Gak. 

Darnell Hoskins Jr hit a three, Gak made another couple of strong finishes inside and suddenly when Michael Vigor drained a three, Willetton had turned that seven-point deficit into an eight-point lead of their own before going on to win by 10.

The victory improves Willetton to a 12-5 record on the season to break back into the top four while the Giants slip further from playoff contention at 5-12 with six consecutive defeats.

Hoskins ended the night with 32 points and four assists for the Tigers on 6/8 shooting from beyond the arc and 8/10 at the stripe.

Captain for the night Damien Scott put up 26 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds with Gak contributing 20 points, 12 boards and seven assists, and Vigor 16 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.

Hamish Cummings top-scored for Goldfields with 22 points and three assists while knocking down 6/9 from three-point range.

Michael Dupree added 21 points and eight assists, Kon Anguik 16 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Majier Garang 16 points and eight rebounds.

Mackenzie leads Lightning to win over Redbacks

The Lakeside Lightning came up with the big shots late to consolidate their place in the top eight and to hand the Perth Redbacks a second loss in 24 hours with the 89-86 victory.

The Lightning were back home at Lakeside Recreation Centre on a three-game winning streak up against a Redbacks team looking to bounce back from a dramatic loss the previous night at home to the Joondalup Wolves.

Lakeside did start the game on fire scoring 11 straight points and leading by nine points, but Perth was able to work back into the contest and by quarter-time scores were all level at 26-26.

The Lightning again threatened to run away with the contest by ending the first half on fire to lead by 14 points going into the locker room.

However, the Redbacks hit back with a 9-0 run in the third quarter to set up a big finish with no love lost between the two teams as the evening progressed.

Scores were all level with three and-a-half minutes to go with the stage set for some heroes with point guards Kyle Armour and Bryton Hobbs then trading huge three-pointers.

Rowan Mackenzie nailed another from beyond the arc for Lakeside and Armour hit another from long-range to put the home team up six.

A rim rocking Dom Jackson dunk kept the Lightning up six but there was still a tantalising finish. 

Tevin Jackson brought the Redbacks back within four before the Redbacks forced a turnover and Brian Voelkel was fouled. He made the first, deliberately missed the second and Hobbs had a good look at the three that would have forced overtime.

However, it wouldn’t go and the Lightning held on to win by three to make it four straight wins to improve to 9-8. The Redbacks have now lost twice this weekend to slip to 10-6.

It was a terrific win for the Lightning who were missing leading scorer Hayden Brown with Rowan Mackenzie delivering 31 points and eight assists including hitting 6/8 from three-point land.

Dom Jackson equalled his best performance of the season with 20 points and six rebounds with Kyle Armour contributing 17 points and 10 assists, Josh Davey 10 points and 21 boards, and Ben Lee nine points, two rebounds and two steals.

Bryton Hobbs put up 26 points and four assists with 11/12 free-throw shooting for the Redbacks with Tevin Jackson contributing 20 points, eight boards and five assists, Joel Vaiangina 15 points and five rebounds, and David Okwera 11 points, three boards and two steals.

Flames continue hot form with win against Senators

The defending champion league-leading Rockingham Flames kept their hot form going beating the Warwick Senators 111-94 on Saturday night.

The Flames were back home at Mike Barnett Sports Complex looking to continue a six-game winning streak that they build on 24 hours earlier with a 56-point victory down south over the South West Slammers.

The Senators arrived in Rockingham trying to make it three straight wins after the double last weekend against the Mandurah Magic and Geraldton Buccaneers, and they did their best to stay with the Flames.

Rockingham only led by four points at quarter-time but the Flames then pulled away in the second term with 33 points to 24 to be leading 62-49 by half-time.

The Flames just had too much firepower and delivered another 28 points to 18 in the third stanza to set up the eventual 17-point win that gives them seven straight wins to remain in top spot at 15-3.

The Senators slip to an 8-8 record with the loss but need to hit back on Sunday at home to the Mandurah Magic to maintain their place in the top eight.

Reigning MVP Devondrick Walker had another 27 points, three rebounds and three assists for Rockingham on the back of hitting 6/11 from outside the three-point line.

Tom Jervis also had 23 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks for the Flames, Marshall Nelson 18 points and seven assists, and Jeremy Combs 13 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Hussayn Ford top-scored for Warwick with 17 points, four rebounds and two assists with Caleb Davis adding 16 points and six boards, Ethan Elliott 14 points and five rebounds, and George Pearl 10 points.

Almanza, Cook-Green inspire Suns over Slammers 

The Kalamunda Eastern Suns enhanced their prospects of making the NBL1 West playoffs with Joe Cook-Green putting up a triple-double and Albert Almanza nailing nine threes in the 104-79 win over the South West Slammers.

The Suns were back home at Ray Owen Sports Centre and playing their only game of the weekend while the Slammers had lost at home to the Rockingham Flames by 56 points the previous night.

Kalamunda opened up an eight-point lead in the first quarter which grew to 16 in the second and the home team went into intermission in control leading 56-37.

The Eastern Suns went on with the job from there with the lead getting out to as much as 28 in the final stanza before they would win by 25 to enhance their playoff aspirations at 8-8.

The Slammers have now lost four in-a-row to sit with a 3-14 record.

Albert Almanza was brilliant for Kalamunda knocking down 9/18 from three-point range for 33 points and five rebounds while Joe Cook-Green delivered a triple-double made up of 12 points, 14 rebounds and 15 assists.

Carl Aylett also had 10 points and three rebounds, Tom Atkinson 10 points, five boards, three assists and two steals, and Reece Maxwell 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Ben Stevens had another impressive performance inside for South West with 27 points and 13 rebounds on 11/19 shooting but Buay Tuach adding 25 points, seven boards and six assists.