NBL1 West Recap | Saturday Women's Round 4

What a memorable and historic night it was in the NBL1 West Women's competition with Casey Mihovilovich breaking the all-time games record with a Mandurah Magic win while the Goldfields Giants also recorded their maiden victory.

Round 4 in the NBL1 West Women's competition opened up on Friday night with the Joondalup Wolves remaining undefeated by beating the Warwick Senators 92-87 in a terrific contest at HBF Arena.

Not only did Casey Mihovilovich reach 513 games for the Mandurah Magic to overtake Sue Williams as the games record holder in the competition, but she again showed she's one of the best players in the competition.

Mihovilovich was remarkable again with 25 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in Mandurah's 71-68 win against the East Perth Eagles at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

The defending champion Willetton Tigers also beat the South West Slammers 104-41 on Saturday night at Willetton Basketball Stadium. Emma Gandini put up a remarkable 18 points, 13 steals, nine rebounds and seven assists for Willetton. Tylinn Carter had 17 points for the Slammers.

History was then made Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium with the Goldfields Giants scoring their first NBL1 West Women's victory beating the Rockingham Flames 87-78. Emma Klasztorny produced 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Giants with Taylor Ortlepp scoring 24 points for the Flames.

The Perth Redbacks finished full of running to overrun the Lakeside Lightning to win 87-83 at Lakeside Recreation Centre. Shenae Hartree put up 28 points for the Redbacks and Makailah Dyer 27 while Sara Dickey had 20 points for the Lightning.

The last game of the evening's action saw the Perry Lakes Hawks defeat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 85-41 at Ray Owen Sports Centre. Emma Clarke delivered 27 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks with Lexie Bland putting up 27 points for the Suns.

NBL1 WEST – 2022 WOMEN'S SEASON
ROUND 4 – SATURDAY NIGHT

MANDURAH MAGIC 71 defeated EAST PERTH EAGLES 68

What a historic night it was at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre with Casey Mihovilovich not only breaking the games record in the competition, but sending a reminder that she remains one of the best players in the league.

On the night she played her 513th match either in the SBL or NBL1 West, all of which have been with Mandurah, the league announced that the MVP trophy will be named in her honour moving forward and that's a fitting accolade for perhaps the finest player the WA state league has seen.

The only thing missing now from her resume is that elusive first championship with the Magic and there is no reason to suggest this year couldn’t be the one after they remained unbeaten with the 71-68 victory against the East Perth Eagles at home on Saturday night.

The Magic led 57-49 at three quarter-time and held off the Eagles for the three-point win with Mihovilovich the difference on her record setting night. She delivered 25 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and four steals while shooting 3/6 from downtown and 10/16 overall.

Alex Wittinger added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Magic, and Lily Fitzgerald nine points and four boards.

East Perth slipped to 1-3 with the loss despite Jorjah Smith putting up 31 points on 7/16 shooting from three-point land.

Maria Blazejewski added 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and BJ Moyes eight points, five boards, five assists and two steals.

 

WILLETTON TIGERS 104 defeated SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 41

The defending champion Willetton Tigers continued to warm into the 2022 season nicely with a big win against the South West Slammers on Saturday night.

The Tigers lost their first game of the season to the Joondalup Wolves, but that was without star pair Emma Gandini and Alex Sharp who were on Perth Lynx duties in the WNBL.

As a result of Saturday night's win over the still winless Slammers, Willetton's championship defence is building some momentum with the three consecutive victories.

The Tigers stamped their authority on the match up from the outset racing to a 32-2 lead just before quarter-time. The result was a formality from there with Willetton putting up another 37 points to eight in the fourth quarter to end up winning 104-41.

Willetton had a remarkable dominance on the glass pulling down 68 rebounds to 31 from the Slammers which included 36 at the offensive end to 13. They also forced South West into 30 turnovers and limited them to shooting 15/54 from the floor, and 1/18 from beyond the arc.

Willetton put up 14/38 from downtown and shot 41/94 overall at 43.6 per cent.

Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Emma Gandini showed this past WNBL season she belongs at that level, and has come back to Willetton full of confidence and that was on show on Saturday night. She finished with 18 points, 13 steals, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Alex Sharp added 14 points and 11 rebounds, Grace Foster 12 points and three boards, Desiree Kelley 17 points, eight boards, five assists and four steals, Hayley Winter 10 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, and Talicia Hansen 10 points.

Tylinn Carter was the standout for the Slammers with 17 points and six rebounds.

 

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 87 defeated ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 78

History was made in Kalgoorlie on Saturday night with the Goldfields Giants scoring their first NBL1 West Women's victory by defeating the Rockingham Flames.

The Giants were back home at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium still chasing their first victory of their inaugural NBL1 West season. They had gone so close back in Round 1 against the Lakeside and they would have to wait no longer.

Goldfields started well with 25 points to 20 in the opening quarter but Rockingham hit back with 26 points to 22 in the second period.

The Flames outscored the home team again 20 points to 18 in the third quarter to see them lead 66-65. But the Giants dominated the fourth period with 22 points to 12 to create their slice of history with the 87-78 victory.

The Giants pulled down 51 rebounds to 38 including 14 offensive boards to six while they took 27 free-throws to just nine from the Flames.

Emma Klasztorny was used to winning in her time at the Mandurah Magic and she led the way for the Giants with 22 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Jaya Scafidi added 20 points and six rebounds, Jemma Gatti 15 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds and three steals, and Danielle McCray 12 points, seven boards, four assists and four steals.

Taylor Ortlepp is doing admirable job juggling her WAFLW and NBL1 West commitments this season, and put up 24 points for the Flames on Saturday night in Kalgoorlie.

Christina Boag added 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Patty Brossmann 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Chloe Napolitano 10 points and three boards.

 

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 83 lost to PERTH REDBACKS 87

The Perth Redbacks came from behind to record their second win of the NBL1 West Women's season with a win on the road to the Lakeside Lightning on Saturday night.

It was a tight opening to the contest with scores locked at 24-24 by quarter-time. Lakeside then only took a narrow 41-39 lead into the half-time break at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

Lakeside extended its advantage in the third quarter with another 24 points to 21 but the Redbacks fired back with a big final period with 27 points to 18 to end up winning 87-83.

The win improved the Redbacks to a 2-3 record on the season while the Lightning are now 2-2.

The Lightning lived and died by the three ball getting up 40 attempts for the night and making 14 at 35 per cent. The Redbacks only took 21 from deep and made eight but they did attempt eight extra free throws in the end than Lakeside.

Shenae Hartree continues her emergence for the Redbacks by hitting 4/6 from three-point land to finish with 28 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Makailah Dyer added 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Perth, Jess Jakens 17 points and nine boards, and Mikayla Pirini eight points, nine assists and five rebounds.

Sara Dickey delivered 20 points, four rebounds and four assists for Lakeside, Caitie Jones 17 points, seven assists and four boards, Mia Jacobs 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Opal Mader 11 points, three boards and three steals. 

 

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 41 lost to PERRY LAKES HAWKS 85

Both the Kalamunda Eastern Suns and Perry Lakes Hawks were hunting their second wins of the NBL1 West Women's season at Ray Owen Sports Centre on Saturday night.

While the Eastern Suns regained head coach Tim Rendulic, they were without key pair Georgia Denehey, Ella Thornton-Elliott and Marissa Pangalos which was always going to make things challenging, and that's how the evening played out.

Perry Lakes only narrowly led by three points at quarter-time but they really opened up a sizeable gap in the second term with 33 points to seven to go into the half-time interval leading 54-25.

While the Suns did well to outscore the Hawks 16-15 in the third quarter. Perry Lakes pulled away further in the fourth period with 27 points to seven on the way to the 96-48 victory.

The win improved the Hawks to a 2-2 record on the season while the Eastern Suns are 1-4.

Emma Clarke was the star of the evening for Perry Lakes with 27 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two assists on 10/16 shooting from the field and 5/8 from three-point range.

Maddy Dennis produced 12 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks, Mia Satie 12 points and 14 rebounds, Sara Loomis 11 points, six boards and four assists, and Millie McCarthy 10 points and four assists.

Lexie Bland battled valiantly for Kalamunda with 27 points, six rebounds, five steals and three assists. Aisha Forrest added nine points and three boards, and Eleanor Hartill seven points, nine rebounds and three steals.