NBL1 West Recap | Saturday Round 14

Sarah Mortensen and Devondrick Walker had 42 points apiece for the NBL1 West league-leading Cockburn Cougars and Rockingham Flames on Saturday night while Cody Ellis shot the Warwick Senators to another big win, and Tevin Jackson and Bryton Hobbs lifted the Perth Redbacks.

Saturday night's women's NBL1 West results saw the Perry Lakes Hawks beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 92-79 while the Warwick Senators defeated the Joondalup Wolves 95-88, Goldfields Giants downed the South West Slammers 88-54, Cockburn Cougars won 124-55 against the Perth Redbacks, and the Rockingham Flames defeated the Lakeside Lightning 95-91.

In the men's match ups, the Geraldton Buccaneers beat the Mandurah Magic 94-82 while the Hawks beat the Eastern Suns 93-77, the Senators defeated the Wolfpack 106-99, the Giants won 87-56 against the Slammers, the Redbacks defeated the Cougars 106-102, and the Flames beat the Lightning 101-96.

NBL1 WEST RECAP | FRIDAY ROUND 14

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Dennis fires Hawks to bounce back win

The Perry Lakes Hawks welcomed back Emma Clarke and the difference was stark as they returned to the winner's list beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 92-79.

Both teams were fresh off playing on Friday with the Hawks falling to another defeat in the absence of not only Clarke, but also import guard Nici Gilday going down to the Willetton Tigers by 19 points.

The Eastern Suns, meanwhile, beat the East Perth Eagles by 18 points to keep their playoff hopes alive setting up Saturday's match up at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

Kalamunda started well with 25 points to 21 in the opening period and even led by as much as 10 points, but the Hawks gradually worked their way on top and were leading 48-45 by half-time.

Perry Lakes then put the game to bed with 23 points to 16 in the fourth quarter to get back to winning to the tune of 13 points to improve to an 11-7 record. The Suns remain outside the top eight now at 6-10 with both teams splitting their two game weekends.

Maddy Dennis was outstanding for Perry Lakes with 25 points, eight rebounds and two steals while knocking down 5/7 from three-point range.

Sam Ashby also delivered 24 points, four rebounds and four assists on 5/8 three-point shooting with Emma Clarke returning with 10 points, 10 boards, two assists and two blocks.

Ash Isenbarger also had 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Morgan Ballantyne nine points, three boards and three assists in her 151st game in the league.

Natalie Chou continued her tremendous form for Kalamunda with another 24 points, six assists and four steals with Sam Roscoe contributing 19 points and four rebounds, Eryn Fisher 15 points and seven boards, and Georgia Denehey 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Senators breathe more life into title defence

The Warwick Senators added some further life to their championship defence by knocking off the second placed Joondalup Wolves 95-88 at HBF Arena Joondalup on Saturday night.

The Senators backed up last Sunday's win against the Mandurah Magic with a big win away to the Perth Redbacks on Friday ahead of heading to HBF Arena on Saturday to take on their local rival Wolfpack who were fresh and waiting for them.

It was a hot opening from both teams as they combined for 55 points in the first quarter with the Wolves narrowly leading 29-26 by quarter-time.

Joondalup did push that lead out to 10 points in the second quarter but Warwick fired back and by half-time the home side was only marginally in front 51-49.

It was still a three-point lead for the Wolfpack by three quarter-time but then the Senators couldn’t be denied in the fourth quarter. 

Karly Murphy did some terrific work inside and then when Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard hit the three, Warwick was up 11 and would go on to score the seven-point win on the same floor they will defend their National Championship come August.

The win leaves the Senators still an outside top four hope at 10-7 with the two wins this weekend while it has the Wolves vulnerable in second at 13-3.

Reigning MVP Stacey Barr again led the charge for the Senators with 28 points and nine rebounds while it was the performance from Karly Murphy that was a match winning one with 27 points, 14 boards, three assists and two steals on 10/15 shooting from the field and 7/8 at the line.

Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard contributed 13 points and seven rebounds, Chloe Forster 12 points, six assists and four boards, and Nat Burton 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Robbi Ryan had a big performance for the Wolfpack with 27 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals at least until she fouled out.

Teige Morrell added another 18 points and 12 rebounds, Chelsea Belcher 13 points with 3/6 three-point shooting, and Emma Klasztorny 13 points and nine rebounds with 3/4 from downtown in her 247th game.

Giants too much at home for Slammers

The Goldfields Giants recorded their fourth win of the 2023 NBL1 West season with Kiriana Hawaikirangi, Aimee Borchet and Regan Turnour-McCarty all having nights out against the South West Slammers.

The Giants might have been short on rotations with the absence of Amanda Wayment, Olivia Berry, Ellie Gatti, Rachel Kehoe, Chloe Zorzi, Darcee Garbin and Ashlee Monaghan, but they had three players all fire against the winless Slammers.

Goldfields were back at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium and started well to lead by as much as 13 points in the first quarter, but by half-time the Slammers were still in touch trailing by just 10.

From there, the Giants dominated the second half outscoring South West 46 points to 20 to claim the eventual 34-point win to see them improve to a 4-12 record. The Slammers are now 0-16 having lost their past 28 matches, and 69 of the last 70 going back further.

Kiriana Hawaikirangi had a night out for the Giants with 33 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists while hitting 7/16 of her three-point attempts.

Regan Turnour-McCarty also had 26 points and eight rebounds with Aimee Borchet having the night of her 35-game career with 18 points, 24 boards, four assists and two steals.

Lawrin Tipene also had five points, 15 rebounds and two assists.

Paris Duffield top-scored for the Slammers with 16 points, five rebounds and three steals with Mia Anderson delivering nine points, three boards and two steals, and Javene Fitch eight points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Mortensen's 42 fires Cougars to thumping win

The Cockburn Cougars took a giant leap towards securing a first ever women's regular season championship beating the Perth Redbacks 124-55 at home on Saturday night.

The Cougars were back to Wally Hagan Stadium on Saturday after suffering a first loss of the season last Friday night to the Mandurah Magic before bouncing back well to beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 24 hours later by 39 points.

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Meanwhile, the Redbacks arrived having lost 10 straight matches including on Friday by 56 points against the Warwick Senators so the job was ahead of them against the league-leading Cougars.

Cockburn raced out to a 19-point lead already by quarter-time and never let up. The Cougars produced another 32 points to 13 in the second period to go into half-time in control 64-26.

The Cougars then put up 37 points in the fourth quarter to ram home their advantage to lead by as much as 71 points before winning by 69 in what is their biggest victory of the season.

The win improves Cockburn to a 15-1 record and with the Joondalup Wolves losing at the same time on Saturday night, the Cougars are two games clear in top spot with three rounds and four matches remaining.

Danish import Sarah Mortensen produced her best game of the season and that's already after she's been in some remarkable form. She finished with 42 points, 13 rebounds, five steals and two assists on 17/23 shooting from the field and 6/7 from three-point territory.

Jewel Williams added 21 points and six assists, Steph Gorman 16 points, six assists and four rebounds, Jessie Edwards 16 points, four boards and two assists, and Harriet Ford 11 points and five rebounds.

Brooke Malone finished with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists for the Redbacks with Bri Bailey contributing 12 points, four assists and three boards, and DaJah Daniel nine points and 10 rebounds.

Cockburn's Sarah Mortensen had a night to ???????? ?

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Flames prevail in terrific contest with Lightning

With Rockingham trying to hold onto fourth place and Lakeside trying to stay safe in eighth, and there was plenty on the line at Lakeside Recreation Centre on Saturday night between the Flames and Lightning.

Both teams were coming into the contest in good form with Lakeside fresh off wins over the Goldfields Giants and Perth Redbacks while Rockingham won twice last weekend by a combined 94 points against the South West Slammers and Warwick Senators.

It was a tight contest throughout the evening with Rockingham a point up at quarter-time before stretching that advantage to 47-44 by half-time.

The lead got out to 10 points in the third quarter but then the Lightning fired back and by three quarter-time, scores were all level.

It was set for a big finish with Lakeside the fourth stanza with the first eight points beginning with a triple from captain Caitie Jones to be on top by four.

Rockingham weren’t going away and were soon back on top when Casey Samuels landed a three-pointer but then in response five quick points from Jones had Lakeside back in front by five with four minutes to play.

The big shots kept coming and a three-point play from Samuels had Rockingham back in front before free throws from Christina Boag extended the lead to four with 45 seconds remaining.

In the end, the Flames iced the game at the foul line despite two big threes late for Lakeside from Jones and Laci Hawthorne to keep things interesting.

Rockingham went on to win by four to improve to a 12-5 record to stay fourth while Lakeside is still eighth at 7-10 despite the defeat.

Casey Samuels ended the night for Rockingham with 31 points, seven assists, seven steals and four rebounds on 11/16 shooting from the floor, 3/6 from downtown and 6/7 from the charity stripe.

Lisa Koop added 18 points and six rebounds, Mehryn Kraker 15 points, 10 assists, four steals, three boards and two blocks, and Tayah Burrows 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Caitie Jones had a huge night for Lakeside with the captain delivering 34 points while shooting 11/15 from the floor, 5/8 from three-point range and 7/7 at the foul line.

Laci Hawthorne also delivered 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Lightning, Kylee Smith 10 points, nine boards and four assists, and Emma Burke 10 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.

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Buccs stay perfect at home with win over Magic

The Geraldton Buccaneers continued to apply pressure on the top two teams in the NBL1 West beating the Mandurah Magic 94-82 to remain unbeaten at home in 2023.

The Buccs were back at Active West Stadium to play host to the bottom placed Magic, but full credit to the Mark Utley coached Mandurah team for pushing the Buccs even though they are now without Isaac Abergut and CJ Bobbitt.

The Buccaneers are also currently without 2019 Grand Final MVP Liam Hunt who will soon return from an American holiday, but they have the depth to cover and started well to race to a 12-point lead in the first quarter.

The Buccs would end up leading by as much as 17 points in the second quarter and maintained that double-figure advantage for much of the second half.

Mandurah did continue to fight hard and never let the game blow out and continued to make Geraldton earn everything, but the Buccs just had too much quality and ended up winning by 12.

The victory keeps the Buccaneers unbeaten in nine games at Active West Stadium this season as they improve to a 13-4 overall record with the Magic now 2-17 having lost their past four.

Zac Gattorna continued his hot form for Geraldton as the Sydney Kings NBL championship winner backed up his 39 points last week against East Perth with another 26 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals on 4/11 three-point shooting.

Malik Meunier added 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Shaun Stewart 16 points, six assists and three boards, and Johny Narkle 10 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Dequan Abrom had another big performance for Mandurah with 27 points, 14 rebounds and three assists despite going just 1/11 from behind the three-point line.

Ray Turner added 15 points and four rebounds, Byron Pearson 13 points and two boards, and Josh Brabazon 11 points and five rebounds.

Leary shuts the door late for Hawks on Suns

A late three-point barrage from Matt Leary ensured the Perry Lakes Hawks kept their momentum going to beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 93-77 on Saturday night.

Both teams were coming off playing on Friday with the Hawks producing a miracle late fightback to beat the Willetton Tigers on the back of 40 points to Mitch Clarke while the Eastern Suns just came up short on the road to the East Perth Eagles.

Perry Lakes started on fire just as they finished the night before against Willetton to open up an early 11-point lead and to still be on top 19-11 by quarter-time.

However, the Eastern Suns hit back in the second term and even scored 16 straight points at one stage to grab the lead, and by half-time scores were all tied at 36-36.

It was the turn of Perry Lakes to take charge again in the third quarter to lead by as much as nine, but Kalamunda weren’t going away with Albert Almanza catching fire.

Almanza scores nine rapid-fire points with two long balls and three free-throws to suddenly bring the Suns back within eight with five minutes to play and the home team had all the momentum.

Kalamunda continued to close the gap and were within five a couple of times, but the Hawks responded strongly with three long-range bombs from Matt Leary in less than a minute slamming the door shut.

The Hawks would go on to win by 16 from there to improve to a 15-4 record on the back of the two wins this weekend while with the two losses inside 24 hours, the Suns slip further from playoff contention at 8-10.

On the back of his 40 points the night before, Mitch Clarke finished with another 19 points, three rebounds and three assists for Perry Lakes while Matt Leary ended up with 18 points and six boards on hitting 5/10 from beyond the arc.

Lewis Thomas finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals with Ben Purser contributing 12 points, seven boards, three assists and three steals, Andrew Ferguson 11 points and six rebounds, and Daniel Alexander 10 points, 10 boards and two assists.

Albert Almanza ended up with 22 points, three rebounds and two assists for Kalamunda with Joe Cook-Green adding 21 points, seven assists and four boards, and Reece Maxwell 10 points and nine rebounds in the 299th game of his career.

Ellis fires Senators to second big road win

The Warwick Senators ensured themselves the perfect weekend against fellow top eight teams with a 106-99 win over the Joondalup Wolves with captain Cody Ellis draining six three-pointers.

The Senators opened the weekend with a strong road win over the Perth Redbacks ahead of heading to HBF Arena Joondalup on Saturday against a Wolves team also fresh off beating the Redbacks last Friday night at Belmont Oasis.

With the Wolves 10-7 and Senators 10-8 as well, precious little separated the two teams in the race to the playoffs.

It was Warwick who got off to the hot start with the first seven points with Joondalup adjusting to being without point guard Bryan Michaels with an ankle injury.

The Senators ended up leading by as much as 11 in that first quarter and put up 35 points in the term to be on top 35-26 by the end of one.

The Senators maintained that advantage for most of the rest of the evening even though the Wolves did make a couple of runs in the second half to make things interesting on their home floor.

The Wolves were making a charge when Quintin Dove knocked down a three ball with just under two minutes to play. But Ellis responded with his sixth triple of the game shortly after and from there the Senators were able to secure the seven-point victory.

The two wins this weekend improve Warwick to an 11-8 record on the season with top four not even out of reach while Joondalup slips to 10-8.

Cody Ellis delivered a stunning shooting performance for the Senators hitting 6/7 from beyond the arc on his way to 25 points and three assists.

Ethan Elliott added 23 points, five rebounds and two assists, Caleb Davis 19 points, six boards, four assists and two steals, Connor Mincherton 12 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists, and George Pearl 11 points, four boards and two assists.

Quintin Dove came up huge for the Wolves despite the loss with 37 points, seven rebounds and two steals on 11/18 shooting from the floor and 12/14 at the free-throw line.

Ioannis Dimakopoulos also had 17 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for the Wolfpack with Mathiang Muo contributing 18 points and five boards, Christian Jurlina 17 points and three rebounds, and CJ Turnage eight points, eight assists, six boards and three steals.

 

Giants with drought breaking win over Slammers

Despite 24 points and 21 rebounds from Ben Stevens, the Goldfields Giants snapped a six-game losing streak by beating the South West Slammers 87-56 on Saturday night.

The Giants were back home at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium trying to snap their losing run that's seen playoffs fall out of reach as they hosted a Slammers team also having lost their past four matches.

So both teams were desperate for the drought breaking win and the Giants started well at home in Kalgoorlie with 22 points to 17 in the opening term. Another 30 points to 18 in the second term and Goldfields were in control leading 52-35 at intermission.

The Giants went on with the job from there outscoring the Slammers 35 points to 21 in the second half including holding them to just six points in the last quarter on the way to the 31-point victory.

Michael Dupree ended up with 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals for Goldfields with Kon Anguik contributing 17 points, 10 boards, four steals and three assists, and Majier Garang 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Despite the loss, Ben Stevens had 24 points and 21 rebounds for South West while Buay Tuach added 14 points, four steals, three assists and three rebounds, and Pharell Keats nine points, four assists and three rebounds.

Jackson, Hobbs deliver 72 in Redbacks' comeback win

The Cockburn Cougars and Perth Redbacks both had plenty to play for on Saturday night, and in the end it was the Redbacks who overran the Cougars for a dramatic 106-102 victory.

The Cougars played host to the Redbacks at Wally Hagan Stadium with Cockburn needing a win to keep any hopes of reaching the playoffs alive while Perth needed to hit back from three consecutive losses.

Losses to the Joondalup Wolves, Lakeside Lightning and Warwick Senators had the Redbacks slipping from top four contention but Cockburn was determined to keep its season alive.

Despite losing Keegan Phillips to an ankle injury to join brother Luke sidelined, the Cougars welcomed back 271-game vice-captain Seva Chan and started well to lead by six points at quarter-time.

It was then a spectacular second quarter from an offensive perspective with the two teams combining for 76 points and at the half-time break it was Cockburn still leading 61-57.

Cockburn continued to do well in the third quarter opening up a lead as big as 13 points, and the advantage was out to a game high 14 in the fourth quarter.

The Cougars looked right on track with all the momentum, but the Redbacks turned the tide in spectacular fashion with Tevin Jackson continuing his big night and Bryton Hobbs getting rolling.

The Redbacks ended up outscoring the Cougars 32 points to 14 in the fourth quarter and turned that 14-point deficit into a crucial four-point victory.

Hobbs and Jackson combined for 72 points in the win for the Redbacks. Hobbs had 36 points on 11/20 shooting from the field, 3/4 from deep and 11/14 from the free-throw line. Jackson also put up 36 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals on 13/18 shooting on top of 9/14 at the stripe.

Gavin Field delivered another 24 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocks for Cockburn including going 6/9 from behind the three-point arc.

Courtney Alexander II put up 20 points and 17 rebounds, Taj Benning 19 points, seven boards and four assists, Josh Hunt 16 points, the returning Seva Chan nine points and three assists, and Hayden Bell nine points and three rebounds.

David Okwera gets around his man ?

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Walker's 42 fires Flames to eighth straight win

The Lakeside Lightning threw everything at the reigning champs but ultimately a huge fourth quarter from Devondrick Walker saw the Rockingham Flames still prevail 101-96.

Both teams came into the clash at Lakeside Recreation Centre in hot form with Lakeside having won four straight to sit in eighth place while the reigning champion Flames had won seven straight to be clear in top spot once more.

The Lightning got off to a flying start even in the continued absence of star import Hayden Brown and they opened up an 11-point lead, and were still up 29-24 by quarter-time.

Lakeside was still leading 51-48 by half-time and with reigning MVP Walker already on four fouls, the Lightning had a chance going into the second half to take advantage.

Walker didn’t hit the floor in the second half until there were three minutes to go in the third quarter and the Lightning were still in front by five points at that stage.

However, it didn’t take long for Walker to make an immediate impact. He knocked down a three-pointer straight away and added another triple before three quarter-time, but still the Lightning were clinging to a five-point lead.

The home team couldn’t hold on, though, with Rockingham outscoring the Lightning 29 points to 19 in the fourth quarter with Walker scoring 20 of those with the Flames going on to win by five.

It was yet another stunning performance from Walker to strengthen his claims for back-to-back MVP awards. He finished with 42 points, six rebounds and three assists and that was despite being limited to less than 28 minutes through foul trouble.

Walker ended up shooting 15/30 from the field, 6/16 from three-point territory and 6/6 from the foul line.

Marshall Nelson added 29 points and six assists for the Flames, Jeremy Combs 12 points, 10 boards, five assists and two steals, Callum Beard seven points and seven rebounds, and Justin Beard six points and five boards in his 200th game for Rockingham.

Rowan Mackenzie continued his hot form for Lakeside on return from Lubbock Christian University. He produced another 32 points and nine assists while shooting 10/19 from the floor, 4/8 from behind the arc and 8/10 at the charity stripe.

Josh Davey added 19 points and 10 rebounds, Kyle Armour 15 points, three boards and two assists, Ben Lee 12 points and three rebounds, and Dom Jackson 10 points, six boards and five assists.