NBL1 West Recap | Women's Saturday Round 9

The Joondalup Wolves made it 10 straight wins, the Willetton Tigers nine and there were also Round 9 Saturday night victories for the Goldfields Giants, Lakeside Lightning and Rockingham Flames in the NBL1 West Women's competition.

Following the break for the WA Day long weekend, the NBL1 West season resumed with the start of Round 9 on Friday night with the Joondalup Wolves defeating the Perry Lakes Hawks 88-77 and the Willetton Tigers beating the South West Slammers 95-66.

That led into the Saturday evening action with the undefeated Joondalup Wolves putting their streak on the line at HBF Arena against the Cockburn Cougars. It turned out to be a terrific contest but the Wolves moved to 10-0 with the 101-89 victory at home.

Teige Morrell delivered 30 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and four steals for the Wolfpack with Chelsea Belcher knocking down six triples for 26 points. Alina Hartmann finished with 24 points for the Cougars.

The defending champion Willetton Tigers then also made it a double win weekend and won a ninth straight match this season beating the Mandurah Magic 102-71 at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

Five Willetton players scored in double-figures with Emma Gandini leading the charge with 19 points and seven rebounds with Alex Sharp returning after missing Friday night with 15 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

It was a rough night for Mandurah but Sarah Toeaina battled hard for 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Then at Kalgoorlie's Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium, it was a memorable occasion for the Goldfields Giants as they won their second ever NBL1 West game by defeating the Perth Redbacks 79-75.

She might be in her first season with the Giants in their maiden season, but Emma Klasztorny showed her class and experience of 227 games delivering 26 points and 12 rebounds in the win for the Giants.

Both Makailah Dyer and Mikayla Pirini scored 25 points for the Redbacks in the loss.

The Rockingham Flames consolidated their place inside the top eight proving too good for the East Perth Eagles with the 74-47 win at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

Patty Brossmann continued her superb form for Rockingham with another 23 points and 12 rebounds with Maria Blazejewski delivering 21 points and eight boards for East Perth.

The final game of the night took place at Ray Owen Sports Centre with the Lakeside Lightning beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 107-64.

Mia Jacobs had the night of her 23-game career with 34 points while Ruth Hamblin was a dominant presence inside with 19 points and 10 boards. Lexie Bland top-scored for Kalamunda with 15 points.

The round will now wrap up on Sunday at midday with the Mandurah Magic playing the Perry Lakes Hawks at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

NBL1 WEST – 2022 WOMEN'S SEASON
ROUND 9 – SATURDAY NIGHT

JOONDALUP WOLVES 101 defeated COCKBURN COUGARS 89

The Joondalup Wolves had to battle hard but ended up remaining undefeated this NBL1 West season with a 12-point win at home over the Cockburn Cougars.

The Wolfpack hosted the Cougars at HBF Arena on Saturday night and while the home team came into the game defending their undefeated record, it was a significant challenge against a talented Cockburn team who had won six of eight matches so far in 2022.

Joondalup did start well going on an 8-0 run during the first quarter on the way to leading by as much as six points, but then the Cougars got on an impressive roll during the second term.

Cockburn scored 10 straight points to grab the lead, but it only lasted for 40 seconds before the Wolves took back over with their own 11-0 run to head into the half-time break leading 48-39.

The Wolfpack pulled away further in the third period with seven straight points seeing their lead grow to 22 points. The Cougars kept fighting and did manage to get back within nine points late in the piece, but that's as close as they could get.

Joondalup went on to score the 101-89 victory to improve to a perfect 10-0 record with their two wins inside 24 hours in Round 9 after also beating the Perry Lakes Hawks on Friday. The Cougars are now 6-3 after nine rounds and nine matches in 2022.

It was a tremendous shooting night from the Wolves as they went 52.7 per cent from the floor and hit 14/24 at 58.3 per cent from downtown. The Cougars went at 45.1 per cent from the field and 31.0 per cent from deep.

Teige Morrell continued her dominant form down low this season for Joondalup producing another 30 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and four steals while shooting 13/22.

Chelsea Belcher drained 6/10 from the land of plenty on her way to 26 points with Nes'eya Parker-Williams contributing 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Robbi Ryan 12 points and 11 assists, and Kiara Phillips 18 points on 4/6 shooting from beyond the arc.

Alina Hartmann was impressive all evening for Cockburn finishing with 24 points and five rebounds with Jewel Williams also producing a strong performance running the point for 18 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Kat Tudor added 13 points and eight rebounds, Jessie Edwards 12 points and six boards, Haylee De Sousa 11 points and three rebounds, and Kristy Whitfield 11 points and five boards.

 

WILLETTON TIGERS 102 defeated MANDURAH MAGIC 71

The Willetton Tigers produced what might have been their most emphatic performance of their championship defence this season beating the Mandurah Magic by 31 points on Saturday night.

It did loom as a significant test for the Tigers at Willetton Basketball Stadium on Saturday on the back of playing in Eaton to beat the South West Slammers on Friday, and up against a talented Mandurah team coming into the game with a 6-2 record.

The Tigers welcomed back reigning MVP Alex Sharp into the line-up after she missed Friday's win against the Slammers and the defending champions were on fire from the outset on their home court.

Willetton opened up a 10-point advantage by the end of the first quarter before growing that lead to as much as 19 points during the second term and leading 52-40 by the half-time break.

Willetton stretched that lead to 20 by three quarter-time and weren’t done yet, going on another 12-0 run during the final term to end up winning 102-71.

The victory improves the Tigers to a 9-1 record on the season and having won nine matches in-a-row while the Magic slip to 5-3 ahead of hosting the Perry Lakes Hawks on Sunday to close Round 9.

There was a lot to like in the all-round performance from Willetton with Emma Gandini leading the charge with 19 points, seven rebounds and two assists on 8/12 shooting from the field and 3/5 from downtown.

Desiree Kelley continued her brilliant form with 15 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals with Alex Sharp adding 15 points, 11 boards, eight assists and three blocked shots.

Sam Lubcke also had 15 points and three assists in just 19 minutes off the bench while Hayley Winter contributed 11 points and six assists, and Tayla Hepburn eight points and nine rebounds.

Sarah Toeaina ended the night with 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals for Mandurah with Carly Boag adding 17 points, eight boards and five assists, and Alex Wittinger eight points and seven rebounds.

 

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 79 defeated PERTH REDBACKS 75

The Goldfields Giants inflicted some more pain on the struggling Perth Redbacks and recorded their second ever NBL1 West Women's victory in Kalgoorlie on Saturday night.

The Giants are in their first NBL1 West Women's season and had already won one game so far ahead of hosting the Redbacks at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium who had lost four of their previous five matches.

It was the Redbacks who started impressively leading by as much as 11 points during the first quarter but Goldfields worked their way back into the contest impressively and even held a 37-34 lead going into half-time.

It remained a tight contest, though, and nine straight points from the Redbacks during the third quarter meant scores were tied at 57-57 heading into the last quarter.

Perth made a break to score six straight points and to lead by four, but the Giants responded and ultimately it was an impressive floater in the paint from young gun Kiriana Hawaikirangi that sealed the eventual 79-75 win for the Giants.

The win improves Goldfields to a 2-6 record in their inaugural NBL1 West Women's season while the Redbacks now slip to 3-8.

Emma Klasztorny is the experienced leader on the Goldfields team having put together a tremendous career previously at the Mandurah Magic and the 227-game forward delivered 26 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals while hitting 4/9 from downtown.

Jaya Scafidi added 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals for Goldfields, Jemma Gatti 11 points, seven assists, six boards and three steals, and Aimee Borchet six points, six rebounds and two steals.

Makailah Dyer put up 25 points, five steals, four rebounds and three assists for the Redbacks with Mikayla Pirini adding 25 points including shooting 7/14 from three-point territory. New import big Parker Esary also had 12 points and 13 rebounds in her third appearance.

 

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 74 defeated EAST PERTH EAGLES 47

The Rockingham Flames showed they could still be a force this NBL1 West season with an emphatic 27-point win against the East Perth Eagles on Saturday night.

Despite having won four of eight matches so far this season, the Flames haven’t quite clicked into gear but that might have changed on Saturday with their big win over East Perth at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

It was East Perth who actually started the game better knocking down some huge shots and opening up an early 10-point advantage, but Rockingham had turned things back around to lead by two points at quarter-time.

Rockingham then scored 10 straight points during the second quarter to be in control leading 37-30 by half-time.

The Flames then dominated the second half with 16 points to seven in the third quarter, and then going on an 11-0 run during the fourth to lead by as much as 31 points and end up winning 74-47.

The win improves Rockingham to a 5-4 record on the season while East Perth slips to 3-7.

The difference in the game ultimately was Rockingham shooting 42.9 per cent from the field and East Perth 26.1 per cent with neither team getting going from deep combining to go 10/54 from three-point range.

Patty Brossmann continued her impressive form for Rockingham with 23 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots with Paris Duffield adding 12 points despite going 0/8 from downtown.

Mehryn Kraker added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Alecia Knowles 11 points on 3/4 shooting from three-point range.

Maria Blazejewski top-scored for East Perth with 21 points and eight rebounds with Jorjah Smith contributing eight points and five boards, and Ellyce Ironmonger seven points, 12 rebounds, four steals and two assists.

 

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 64 lost to LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 107

The Lakeside Lightning consolidated their hold on a position inside the top eight with an emphatic 43-point road win against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on Saturday night.

While the Eastern Suns would have come into the game at Ray Owen Sports Centre confident of their second win of the season having added Imani Guy to the line-up, it wasn’t to be with the offensive game of Mia Jacobs and inside presence of Ruth Hamblin proving too much.

It was a high-scoring and entertaining opening quarter with the two teams combining for 53 points with Lakeside leading narrowly 27-26 by quarter-time.

However, the Lightning began to take over during the second quarter with 21 points to 14 to go into half-time leading 48-40.

Lakeside then fully dominated the third period with 31 points to seven, and then another 28 points to 15 saw them deliver the comprehensive 107-64 victory away from home.

The win improves the Lightning to a 5-4 record on the season while the Eastern Suns suffered a ninth successive loss to now be 1-9.

It was a dominant performance on the glass from Lakeside pulling down 57 rebounds to 34 including 20 at the offensive end to eight. 

The Lightning also shot 51.2 per cent from the field opposed to 30.2 per cent from the Suns while having 25 free-throw attempts to 16, and forcing Kalamunda into 19 turnovers.

Mia Jacobs produced the best performance of her 23-game career with 34 points for Lakeside to go with nine rebounds and two assists on the back of shooting 12/19 from the field and 9/11 from the free-throw line.

Ruth Hamblin was a strong presence down low for the Lightning with 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks with Sara Dickey contributing 14 points and seven boards, Caitie Jones 12 points and nine assists, and Jade Gowland nine points, nine rebounds and two blocks.