NBL1 West Recap | Saturday Round 9

Darcee Garbin inspired the Goldfields Giants to stunning win over the Perry Lakes Hawks in Saturday's NBL1 West action which included the Cockburn Cougars women staying perfect, both reigning champs suffering losses and Cody Ellis' heroics not quite enough for the Warwick Senators.

The Saturday night women's Round 9 match ups saw the Cockburn Cougars beat the Joondalup Wolves 85-74 while the Willetton Tigers beat the Warwick Senators 109-76, the Mandurah Magic defeated the East Perth Eagles 86-46, the Goldfields Giants downed the Perry Lakes Hawks 92-85, and the Rockingham Flames prevailed 102-90 against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

The men's action then saw the Geraldton Buccaneers beat the Lakeside Lightning 101-86 while the Wolves beat the Cougars 105-97, Tigers downed the Senators 111-109, Eagles defeated the Magic 99-92, Giants beat the Hawks 79-77, and the Suns shocked the Flames 107-100.

NBL1 WEST RECAP | FRIDAY ROUND 9

DINARDO FOCUSED ON SUNS SUCCESS AHEAD OF 200TH GAME

SENATORS MEAN THE WORLD TO 200-GAMER ELLIS

WOMEN

Cougars win top of table clash on road to Wolves

The top-of-the-table clash delivered at HBF Arena on Saturday night but it was the undefeated Cockburn Cougars who made another statement with the 85-74 road win against the Joondalup Wolves.

Cockburn did hand Joondalup its first loss of the season at Wally Hagan Stadium earlier this month, but trying to repeat the dose on the road against the Wolfpack on Saturday night was going to be a different type of challenge. 

Both teams came into Round 9 in the NBL1 West sitting clear atop the standings and still with a key player to come in over the second half of the season with Nes'eya Parker-Williams currently out injured for Joondalup with Cockburn still awaiting the arrival of Patty Brossmann.

After the Wolfpack had an early six-point lead, the Cougars took charge away from home going on a 10-0 scoring streak to lead by five, and still by four at quarter-time.

Cockburn pushed that advantage out to as much as 12 during the second quarter but the Wolves did pull it back just before the break including a mid-range jumper from Robbi Ryan on the buzzer to cut the Cougars lead to 42-37.

The Wolves picked up the momentum through the third quarter and turned the tide and even grabbed the lead at one point to throw the challenge back on the Cougars.

Cockburn responded impressively and with Sarah Mortensen leading the charge, the Cougars took back charge of the contest and a 12-0 run saw them back on top to lead by as much as 11 in the fourth quarter.

Joondalup did threaten another fightback but it wasn’t to be with Cockburn having all the answers to end up winning by 11 to improve to 9-0 on the season. The Wolfpack are now 10-2 with both losses inflicted by the Cougars.

Not a lot separated the teams in most areas but the Cougars did go 21/21 at the foul line opposed to 8/16 for the Wolves while Cockburn also forced Joondalup into 18 turnovers for the game while having just nine themselves.

Danish import Sarah Mortensen was outstanding again for the Cougars with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four assists with Steph Gorman putting up 20 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Jewel Williams was hounded by 151-game veteran Tia Ucich for a lot of the night but still had 20 points and three assists for Cockburn with Jessie Edwards contributing 13 points, four rebounds and two blocks.

Teige Morrell produced another strong performance for Joondalup with 25 points and 14 rebounds while playing every second of the 40 minutes. 

Emma Klasztorny added 15 points and three rebounds, Robbi Ryan nine points, five rebounds and four assists, and Shani Amos eight points, three boards and two assists.

Off the ceiling Chelsea Belcher! ?

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Tigers inflict more pain on defending champions

The rematch of last year's NBL1 West Grand Final saw the Willetton Tigers make quite the statement with the 109-76 win against the Warwick Senators.

The contest at Willetton Basketball Stadium was the first time the two teams have met since the Senators beat the Tigers in last year's Grand Final before then going on to claim the National Championship a week later.

Willetton came out hot on Saturday night with 27 points to 19 in the first quarter before adding another 29 to 21 in the second to go into the half-time break leading 56-40.

The Tigers kept their foot on the gas in the second half with another 34 points to 16 in the third period to end up cruising to the 33-point victory.

The win for Willetton is a second straight to improve them to an 8-3 record on the season while the Senators have now lost three in-a-row to be 4-5.

Newly arrived Willetton import Melisa Brcaninovic was in her sixth game of the season and dominated with the Senators dearly missing the size and experience of Nat Burton. Brcaninovic put up 26 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Alex Sharp also had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Willetton, Desiree Kelley 19 points, eight boards, eight assists and four steals, Sophie Doran 13 points and two assists, and Jess Jakens 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.

It was a rough night for the defending champions despite reigning MVP Stacey Barr scoring 20 points.

Newly signed Perth Lynx WNBL guard Chloe Forster also had 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals with Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard adding 12 points, six boards and four assists, Karly Murphy 10 points and five rebounds, and Nicole Jorre de St Jorre nine points and four assists.

Stacey Barr is a rocket launcher ?

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Magic make it a double win weekend 

The Mandurah Magic backed up their big Friday night win over the South West Slammers by defeating the East Perth Eagles 86-46 on Saturday away from home.

Mandurah opened its weekend beating the Slammers by 47 points at home on Friday while East Perth also played the previous night and scored their fifth win of the season by defeating the Perth Redbacks.

So both teams were in winning form coming into Saturday's clash at Herb Graham Recreation Centre, and it didn’t take the Magic long to take charge with 23 points to 11 in the opening quarter.

Mandurah remained in control from there including outscoring East Perth 40 points to 16 in the second half on the way to the eventual 40-point win.

That gives the Magic two wins this weekend by a combined 87 points to improve to an 8-2 record having won five in-a-row. East Perth is now 5-8 having split its weekend double.

Carly Boag finished up top-scoring for Mandurah with 23 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists on 9/18 from the field and 4/5 from the foul line.

Hannah Hank delivered 21 points and 17 rebounds in her first start since arriving as the new Magic import while Sarah Toeaina contributed 13 points, nine boards and six assists, and games record holder Casey Mihovilovich 12 points and 11 assists.

Sylwia Bujniak top-scored for East Perth with 12 points to go with nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. Tessa Morrison also had eight points, three rebounds and two assists, and Sarah Allen nine points with 3/6 three-point shooting.

Garbin inspires Giants to win over Hawks

The inspirational presence of one of the region's favourite sporting products lifted the Goldfields Giants to a stunning win over the Perry Lakes Hawks on Saturday night with Darcee Garbin brilliant in the 92-85 victory.

The Giants had been decimated in recent weeks with the loss of Amanda Wayment, Olivia Berry and Rachel Kehoe, but they had been showing great heart with such a youthful and understrength squad.

What they needed was some veteran guidance and they found that with the addition of 161-game championship winner Talisia Bourne last week, and then this week pulled off the stunning signing with the arrival of Australian Opal and former Perth Lynx WNBL captain Garbin.

Garbin grew up in Kambalda and had one day always wanted to return to play in Kalgoorlie, and even though she'd previously played all her 98 games in the league at the Rockingham Flames, she answered their SOS.

That created a tremendous sense of excitement for Saturday night's match up in Kalgoorlie with a Perry Lakes team having won five straight and featuring Garbin's former Lynx teammates Ash Isenbarger, Emma Clarke and Mia Satie.

The Hawks started well away from home with 27 points to 19 in the first quarter, but once Garbin settled she took over the contest and helped the Giants take over in the second term with 32 points to 11.

That saw Goldfields lead 51-38 at half-time and then go on to score the seven-point win to snap a three-game losing run to improve to a 3-8 record on the season.

Garbin finished her debut for the Giants with 34 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and three steals on 13/29 shooting from the floor and 6/9 at the foul line.

Young gun Kiriana Hawaikirangi added 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals for Goldfields, Aimee Borchet 10 points and nine boards, Ash Sidebottom 10 points and three assists, and Regan Turnour-McCarty nine points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.

Nici Gilday finished with 21 points, six assists and three steals with Ash Isenbarger contributing 14 points and 11 rebounds, Emma Clarke 13 points, four boards and two assists, Sam Ashby 13 points, six rebounds and two assists, and Maddy Dennis 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

There's no place like home ?

Darcee Garbin is back with her junior club and put up 3??4?? points, 1??4?? rebounds and 6?? assists ?

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Flames beat Suns to make it six straight

The Rockingham Flames made it a sixth consecutive win beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 102-90 at home on Saturday night.

Rockingham is in its best patch of form of the season having won five straight coming into the match up with the Eastern Suns at Mike Barnett Sports Complex since having Mehryn Kraker and Casey Samuels arrive, and Christina Boag return.

With the Suns having lost five straight, the job was ahead of them, but they produced a superb second quarter made up of 30 points to 18 to head into half-time leading 52-44 away from home.

However, the Flames responded strongly with a 36-point third quarter which set them up for the eventual 12-point victory.

The result means that Rockingham has won six straight to sit at 6-3 while Kalamunda has lost six in-a-row to be 3-7.

Mehryn Kraker proved an unstoppable force again for the Flames with 29 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals while knocking down 6/8 of her three-point attempts.

Tayah Burrows added 25 points, five assists and three rebounds, Christina Boag 15 points, 11 boards, three assists and two steals, and Lisa Koop 14 points and 10 rebounds on 7/9 shooting.

Sam Roscoe finished the night with 27 points and nine rebounds on 11/19 shooting for the Eastern Suns with Makailah Dyer contributing 25 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Natalie Chou 20 points, eight boards, four assists and three steals.

MEN

Buccs stay perfect at home with win over Lightning

The big three of the Geraldton Buccaneers all came up big to combine for 64 points in Saturday night's 101-86 home victory against the Lakeside Lightning.

The Buccs remained at home on the back of beating the Rockingham Flames last Saturday in a nail-biting Grand Final rematch with the Lightning arriving in Geraldton on the back of two straight wins.

It didn’t take Geraldton long to build some momentum, though, on the back of the performances from Liam Hunt, Malik Meunier and Shaun Stewart.

The Buccaneers led 29-21 by quarter-time before adding another 27 points to 21 in the second period to go into the half-time interval on top 56-42.

Lakeside tried to mount a comeback but couldn’t quite complete the job with Geraldton pulling away again to end up winning by 15 points.

The victory improves the Buccs to an 8-3 record on the season while being a perfect 6-0 at home with Lakeside now 5-8 following the defeat.

Liam Hunt continued his supreme form for the Buccaneers with the 2019 Grand Final MVP producing another 23 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists on the back 9/10 shooting.

Shaun Stewart added 21 points and three assists for Geraldton, Malik Meunier 20 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and three steals, and Johny Narkle 17 points, five boards, five steals, three assists and two blocked shots.

Rowan Mackenzie top-scored for Lakeside with 17 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals with Hayden Brown contributing 15 points, six boards, four steals and three assists.

Josh Davey also put up 15 points and 10 rebounds with Daniel Green contributing 15 points, three boards and two blocks.

Wolves hand Cougars another frustrating loss

The Cockburn Cougars will again be frustrated with another narrow loss but the Joondalup Wolves proved too strong at home on Saturday night with the 105-97 victory.

The Wolves and Cougars played out a thriller earlier this month at Wally Hagan Stadium and all signs pointed to another one on Saturday night at HBF Arena, and it didn't disappoint.

The Wolfpack did start well on their home floor with 26 points to 21 in the opening quarter and then another 33 to 24 in the second to go into the half-time break on top 59-45.

However, the Cougars had strung a good patch of form together over the past five games and came out a different unit from half-time, and piled on 35 points in the third quarter.

Cockburn then even grabbed the lead briefly in the fourth quarter too and had all the momentum, but the Wolves were able to respond and end up winning by eight.

The victory improves Joondalup to a 9-4 record on the season with consecutive wins while Cockburn is now 3-8 with another frustratingly narrow defeat.

Quintin Dove produced a spectacular performance in the win for the Wolfpack with 32 points and eight rebounds on 12/16 shooting from the floor, 3/5 from downtown and 5/7 at the foul line.

CJ Turnage added 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks with Bryan Michaels contributing 19 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Mathiang Muo 18 points and five boards.

Courtney Alexander II continued his strong form for Cockburn with another 21 points, 15 rebounds and four assists with fellow import Taj Benning adding 18 points, five boards and three steals.

Josh Hunt had his best game of the season with 20 points and nine rebounds on 7/10 shooting with captain Gavin Field adding 15 points, Luke Phillips nine and Keegan Phillips eight to go with seven rebounds and four assists.

Ellis heroics in 200th game not quite enough in OT v Tigers

Cody Ellis threw everything at getting the win for his Warwick Senators in his 200th game even hit the three to force overtime, but it wasn’t to be with the Willetton Tigers prevailing 111-109.

Willetton was playing host to Warwick with the Tigers looking to stay in touch with the top two teams while the Senators were looking to bounce back from last week's big loss to Joondalup where they were shorthanded.

The Senators were still without point guard Ethan Elliott and centre Ash Litterick, but regained the freshly married Jay Thwaites and captain Ellis to celebrate his 200th game for the match up at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

In his 200th game, Cody Ellis send it to OT ?

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It was Ellis who was keeping Warwick in touch for much of the evening in his milestone night but the Tigers did open up an eight-point lead during the first term and were again up by nine during the second.

However, the Senators kept firing back and by half-time scores were all level at 49-apiece before the visitors started to pull away by five points during the third quarter.

It continued to be a game of momentum swings and for a while the lead was changing after almost every basket.

When Gorjok Gak picked up his fifth foul for Willetton with three minutes to play after a fascinating battle all evening with Hussayn Ford, the Tigers were leading by two.

However, the drama continued and in the finish, the Senators were down three with the last possession of regulation. It was a bit of a broken play, but the ball got to Ellis and in his 200th game, he drained the three-point bomb to send the game into overtime.

Despite Gak not being there in overtime for Willetton, the Tigers got the job done and a huge triple from Michael Vigor was central in that, and so was a finish from Tom Gerovich under the bucket to just beat the shot clock after an impressive defensive possession from the Senators.

In the end the Tigers won by two and improved to 9-3 on the season despite Gak fouling out and missing the game's last eight minutes and Hunter Clarke also going down in his return with a lower leg injury.

Darnell Hoskins Jr finished the night with 25 points and three rebounds for Willetton with Damien Scott adding 25 points, five assists and four boards, and Gorjok Gak 24 points and 12 rebounds on 11/15 shooting.

Mark Worthington also contributed 17 points and three assists. 

Cody Ellis put up his best performance of the season in his 200th game for the Senators with 24 points, three assists and two rebounds while hitting 5/13 from three-point territory.

Hussayn Ford ended up with 17 points and nine rebounds, Caleb Davis 16 points, four boards, four assists and three steals, and Connor Mincherton 11 points, six rebounds and three assists in his first game for the Senators against the Tigers on his old home floor.

Meanwhile, Uche Dibiamaka returned for Warwick and had his best game with 22 points, three rebounds and two steals.

Darnell Hoskins Jr. is him ?

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Shorthanded Eagles get much-needed home win

After both teams suffered heartbreaking defeats on Friday night to open Round 9, it was the East Perth Eagles who hit back on Saturday at home to the Mandurah Magic with the 99-92 victory.

East Perth lost at the death to the Perth Redbacks on Friday night after a Bryton Hobbs layup under the basket after a miscue on the saved ball on a rebound from the Eagles.

The Magic, meanwhile, remained winless in 2023 with another loss at the finish at home to the South West Slammers so both bottom two teams were desperate for the bounce back win.

Mandurah started the game well to lead by four points at quarter-time and the Magic led by as much as nine in the second term, and were still up 46-42 at the long break.

With both teams so desperate for the win, they threw everything at it through the second half and the lead continued to change hands, but ultimately when the Eagles went on a 13-0 to lead by 11 in the fourth, that was enough to secure the eventual seven-point win.

As a result, East Perth gets its second win of the season while Mandurah remains winless from 11 games despite now having gone ever so close in each of the past four matches.

Making the win all the more impressive for East Perth was the fact they did it without Lee Roberts, Sebit Reath and Jerami Grace. 

Sometimes there is something that can be said for having fewer stars available and captain Jarrad Anastasio stepped up without Roberts to put up a season-best 25 points and 12 rebounds on 11/15 shooting.

Justin King added 21 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two steals with Taylor Young contributing 16 points, eight boards, five assists and two steals, and Noah Straatsma 11 points and seven rebounds on 5/5 shooting.

Dequan Abrom produced another 24 points, five assists and four rebounds for Mandurah with Ray Turner contributing 20 points and 12 boards on 10/12 shooting.

Celneque Bobbitt II added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Isaac Abergut 10 points and two boards.

 

Giants pull off huge comeback win over Hawks

The Goldfields Giants pulled off their biggest win of the NBL1 West season with a huge finish to beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 79-77 in Kalgoorlie on Saturday night.

The Giants were back home at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium but it was the league-leading Hawks who started well with 24 points to 15 in the opening period.

Perry Lakes did end up leading by as much as 12 points still in the second quarter before going into the half-time break on top 45-39.

The Hawks were back out to a 12-point lead in the third quarter but the Giants weren’t going to lie down and in the end it was clutch free-throws, and a couple of clutch buckets from Michael Dupree that proved the sealer in the huge comeback win for Goldfields.

Perry Lakes still had a chance to either win it or send it to overtime at the end, but a floater out of the corner from Matt Leary didn’t fall. Still, Jack Isenbarger had a chance at the winner with a good look at the three and that didn’t go with Goldfields holding on to win by two.

The victory improves the Giants to a 5-6 record on the season with the Hawks now slipping to 10-3.

Michael Dupree finished the night with 22 points, three rebounds and two steals for Goldfields with Mayo Malek contributing 14 points and seven rebounds, and Kon Anguik 13 points, seven boards and three assists.

Damon Ballantyne also had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists, Jerome Reid nine points, eight boards and five assists, and Lafonzo Smith eight points and four rebounds.

Daniel Alexander had a huge first half for Perry Lakes before quietening off to finish with 23 points and 10 rebounds with Jack Isenbarger adding 13 points, Ben Purser nine points, four rebounds and three assists, and Matt Leary nine points, five boards and three assists.

Suns stun Flames to give reigning champs third straight loss

Three weeks ago and the Rockingham Flames were looking invincible. Now they have just suffered a third straight defeat with the Kalamunda Eastern Suns celebrating the 200th game of Brendan Dinardo with a stunning 107-100 victory.

The Flames hadn’t lost since July 8 last year when they went on to win a first NBL1 West championship before going on to claim the National Championship in Melbourne, and then win the opening eight matches of the 2023 season.

Rockingham then did drop a game to the Perth Redbacks where they scored just 52 points before a loss in Geraldton last week, and you expected a stern response at Mike Barnett Sports Complex on Saturday night.

The Eastern Suns arrived looking to make a statement with captain for the night Dinardo also celebrating his 200-game milestone in the absence of Rob Huntington, and his team started on fire.

Kalamunda put up 31 points to 18 in the opening quarter and led by as much as 13 points in the second before Rockingham came back scoring 11 straight points to cut the Suns lead to 56-52 at half-time.

However, the Eastern Suns just wouldn’t be denied and were back up double-figures in the second half, and it was 502-game legend Seb Salinas who dropped a couple of dagger triples down the stretch to help the Suns secure the seven-point win.

Kiwi Joe Cook-Green produced another scintillating performance for Kalamunda with 32 points, seven assists and three rebounds while playing all 40 minutes and shooting 11/19 from the floor, 4/8 from three-point range and 6/10 at the foul line.

Albert Almanza also produced 29 points, four rebounds and four assists with 7/11 three-point shooting while Reece Maxwell contributed 15 points, six rebounds and three steals, and Seb Salinas 12 points and four rebounds with 4/6 shooting from beyond the arc.

It was a third straight loss for Rockingham despite Jeremy Combs delivering 32 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 33 minutes off the bench.

Devondrick Walker also finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and three assists, Tom Jervis 12 points, 11 boards, three assists and two steals, and Justin Beard 12 points and seven rebounds.

Devondrick Walker JAMS IT?

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