West Recap | Easter Round

Image credit: Michael Farnell (Sports Imagery)

Elijah Pepper continued his tear not seen since 'Snoopy' Graham in 1990 on an Easter Thursday NBL1 West of thrilling wins for the men's Warwick Senators and Rockingham Flames, and women's Perth Redbacks on a huge Anneli Maley performance.

FEE THRIVING IN NEW HOME AT SUNS

WEST RECAP | ROUND 2 SATURDAY

WOMEN

South West Slammers (77) lost to Lakeside Lightning (86)

The Lakeside Lightning are on the board for 2025 on the back of strong showings from Oceane Kounkou, Teige Morrell and Sam Lubcke in the 86-77 win over the South West Slammers.

The Slammers played host to the Lightning at Eaton Recreation Centre looking for their second win of the season up against a winless Lakeside team.

Lakeside did get off to a strong start chasing that first win of 2025 to open up an early seven-point lead, but the Slammers responded well with an 8-0 run on the way to the 24-21 advantage at quarter-time.

South West maintained that advantage for most of the second quarter too until the Lightning gradually worked on top and ended up leading 44-40 going into the half-time break.

The Lightning went on an 8-0 scoring run in the third period to open up a double-figure lead which grew to as much as 13 in the final term before they held on for the nine-point win even with the Slammers managing to put a scare into them with 10 straight points in the fourth quarter.

Lightning import Oceane Kounkou produced her best performance of the season making 6/14 from three-point range on her way to 26 points and three assists.

Reigning MVP Teige Morrell put up 23 points, 23 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks while former Grand Final MVP Sam Lubcke delivered 18 points, 11 boards and two assists.

The Slammers have now lost their last two games since that first up win over the Eastern Suns with Cayla King finishing with 24 points, six rebounds and three steals on 6/9 three-point shooting.

Mykea Gray added 19 points and two steals, Ella Edwards 10 points and two assists, and Courtney Bayliss nine points on 3/6 three-point shooting.

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 77 (King 24, Gray 19, Edwards 10)

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 86 (Kounkou 26, Morrell 23, Lubcke 18)

Kalamunda Eastern Suns (64) lost to East Perth Eagles (87)

The big three at the East Perth Eagles of Sasha Goodlett, Madison Torresin and Abby Cubillo kept their team undefeated with the Easter Thursday 87-64 road win over the Eastern Suns.

The Eagles put their undefeated record on the line against the winless Eastern Suns when they locked horns at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

East Perth had started its season under new coach Tim Symons with wins against the Rockingham Flames and Mandurah Magic, and they started well to already be leading 26-19 by quarter-time.

The Eagles went on with the job in the second frame with another 27 points to 14 on the way to the dominant 53-33 lead by the half-time break.

That lead got out to as much as 28 points for the Eagles in the second half before they secured the 23-point win to improve to a perfect 3-0 record to start the season with Emma Clarke still to suit up.

East Perth won despite shooting just 4/22 from behind the three-point arc but they went 25/34 at the foul line with WNBA championship winner Sasha Goodlett a dominant presence inside with 22 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

Fellow import Madison Torresin was outstanding as well with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two assists with Abby Cubillo adding 17 points, seven assists and six boards, Aleka Kabugua nine points and three assists, and Awatea Leach seven points and six rebounds.

The Eastern Suns now slip to 0-4 to start their season with Karly Murphy providing 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Olivia Berry 18 points and three assists, but as a team they went 2/14 from deep, and just 6/9 at the foul line 

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 64 (Murphy 25, Berry 18, Gayo 8)

EAST PERTH EAGLES 87 (Goodlett 22, Torresin 20, Cubillo 17)

Willetton Tigers (81) defeated Rockingham Flames (54)

Zitina Aokuso produced another imposing performance and had plenty of help as the Willetton Tigers beat the defending champion Rockingham Flames 81-54.

The Tigers scored their first win of the season last week against the Eastern Suns with the presence of Aokuso into the line-up while the Flames were coming off their first win as reigning champions beating the Warwick Senators.

Willetton had already opened up an 11-point lead by the end of the first quarter before pushing that advantage out to as much as 19 points in the second term on the way to the 44-25 half-time lead.

The Tigers then rammed home their dominance further with another 22 points to 10 in the fourth frame on the way to the eventual 27-point victory to improve to 2-1 on the season.

Zitina Aokuso is having an immediate impact and finished with another 21 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals on 9/17 shooting.

Ajulu Thatha is also settling in quickly with 17 points, 15 rebounds and three assists while Desiree Kelley added 15 points, 12 boards, six steals and three assists, and Eva Langton 12 points, three assists and two rebounds.

The Flames are now 1-3 in their championship defence while still without key players Georgia Pineau, Rosie Deegan and Marena Whittle still not in the line-up.

Championship winning captain and Grand Final MVP Alex Sharp had 17 points, 10 rebounds and two assists for Rockingham with Aysha Kemp providing 11 points, 12 boards and two blocks, and Alex Ciabattoni nine points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists.

WILLETTON TIGERS 81 (Aokuso 21, Thatha 17, Kelley 15)

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 54 (Sharp 17, Kemp 11, Ciabattoni 9)

Cockburn Cougars (94) defeated Mandurah Magic (80)

Not even the return of Ally Wilson could lift the Mandurah Magic over the on-fire Cockburn Cougars who scored the 94-80 home win with Sarah Mortensen, Daniel Raber and Steph Gorman dominant.

The Cougars were back home at Wally Hagan Stadium and having started the season in ominous fashion even under new coach Russell Hann on the back of playing in the past two grand finals with Tyrone Thwaites in charge.

They were hosting a Magic team who had also won two of their first three games of the new season and they had Ally Wilson back in the line-up even with Craig Reynolds in the coaching chair for the night in place of Vlad Alava.

It was a hot opening from the Cougars as they went on an 11-0 run in the first quarter to open up a 20-point lead and to still be on top 30-16 by quarter-time.

Even with Mandurah scoring 28 points in the second frame, Cockburn was still leading 55-44 by half-time with the Cougars then pulling away again in the second half to lead by as much as 28 points in the fourth period.

The Magic did keep fighting and cut the final margin to 14 points, but it was still an impressive performance once more from the Cougars who improve to a perfect 4-0 on the season.

While Steph Gorman and Jewel Williams have been constants over the past two years in the grand final run, Sarah Mortensen starred in the 2023 championship and Daniel Raber was a big part of last year's team.

The four of them are now all together in 2025 and things are clicking ominously already with Gorman brilliant on Thursday night with 29 points, eight assists and five rebounds on hitting 9/14 from three-point land on top of her trademark defence.

Raber added 27 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and four steals on 11/21 shooting with Mortensen delivering 18 points, eight rebounds and two steals on 8/13 shooting.

Amelia Corasaniti also added eight points, three rebounds and three assists, and Williams seven points and two assists even while shooting 1/10 from downtown.

The Magic are now 2-2 following the defeat with McKenna Dale finishing with 23 points, eight rebounds, six steals and four assists with Ally Wilson back in the line-up with 14 points, six boards and three assists.

Grace Berg also had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Claire Jacobs 11 points, four boards and three assists.

COCKBURN COUGARS 94 (Gorman 29, Raber 27, Mortensen 18)

MANDURAH MAGIC 80 (Dale 23, Wilson 14, Berg 13)

Perry Lakes Hawks (91) lost to Perth Redbacks (96)

You could have been excused for confusing the contest with a WNBL one given the high-quality talent involved but in the end the sheer will of Anneli Maley saw the Perth Redbacks beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 96-91.

The Bendat Basketball Centre played host to quite the intense battle with the Hawks lining up with a team including Alex Fowler, Sami Whitcomb, Jayda Clark, Amy Jacobs and Maddy Dennis while the Redbacks had Maley, Natalie Chou and unveiled new import Patty Brossmann.

The contest didn’t disappoint even if it wasn’t always pretty. The pressure applied on either side saw Perry Lakes rack up 31 turnovers while Perth had 20 but the Hawks made up for that by shooting 49 per cent opposed to 37.

The Redbacks pulled down 25 offensive rebounds to end up taking nine extra field goals and a monstrous 42 free throws to just 12 from Perry Lakes.

It was the Hawks who had the better of the first half opening up a 15-point lead in the second quarter and to go into half-time leading 58-43.

That lead got out to 19 points in the third quarter, but the Redbacks willed themselves to get on top with Maley leading the charge with her undeniable spirit and intensity.

The Redbacks ended up outscoring the Hawks 24 points to 13 in the third quarter and 29 to 20 in the fourth to end up winning by five.

In the end it was that possession game that won it for the Redbacks and two monstrous offensive rebounds on missed free throws by Maley and Brossmann were the biggest plays of the game.

The Redbacks are now 2-0 to start the season with the win and Maley was incredible finishing with 37 points, 23 rebounds, six steals, three assists and two blocks on 12/33 shooting from the field, 4/9 from downtown and 9/14 at the foul line.

Natalie Chou also had 24 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks, Sophie Doran 16 points, four steals and three assists, and Georgia Denehey 11 points.

Perry Lakes is now 2-1 on the season with the loss in what was the last game with Sami Whitcomb before she joins the Phoenix Mercury ahead of the WNBA season, but they do have Grace Stone to soon come in.

Whitcomb finished with 23 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals with Townsville Fire WNBL star Alex Fowler delivering 27 points, 10 boards and two steals on 11/15 shooting before fouling out.

Jayda Clark made an impressive return from injury with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks with Beige Harris adding 10 points, three boards and two assists, and Maddy Dennis eight points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots.

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 91 (Fowler 27, Whitcomb 23, Clark 15)

PERTH REDBACKS 96 (Maley 37, Chou 24, Doran 16)

Joondalup Wolves (81) lost to Warwick Senators (98)

The Warwick Senators hit back and kept the Joondalup Wolves winless in 2025 with the 98-81 victory at Arena Joondalup.

The Senators opened the season with a win over the Lakeside Lightning on a stunning fightback but they went down to the defending champion Rockingham Flames last week.

The Wolfpack opened their season with losses to the Perth Redbacks and Cockburn Cougars, and despite being home at Arena Joondalup, were still without Laniesha Paddon, Chelsea Belcher and Maddie Sutton.

The Senators started well to already get out to an 11-point lead in the first quarter and to still be on top 26-21 by quarter-time.

Warwick were still leading 49-42 by half-time and then the lead continued to grow in the second half for the Senators getting out to as much 13 points in the third frame, and 21 in the fourth.

The Senators ended up winning by 17 points from there to improve to a 2-1 record with Nat Burton returning and taking charge inside for 23 points, 11 rebounds and three assists on 11/15 shooting.

Chloe Forster delivered 18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds with Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard adding 18 points, 10 boards, three assists and two blocks, and Stacey Barr 12 points, 13 rebounds and five assists despite shooting 4/17 from the field.

The Wolfpack are now 0-3 to start the season with Ella Thornton-Elliott top-scoring with 20 points and three steals on 4/13 three-point shooting.

Stefanie Berberabe contributed 12 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and three steals while Ty Bolland added 11 points and two boards, and Jhazmin Joson eight points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

JOONDALUP WOLVES 81 (Thornton-Elliott 20, Berberabe 12, Bolland 11)

WARWICK SENATORS 98 (Burton 23, Clinch Hoycard 18, Forster 18)

MEN

South West Slammers (84) lost to Lakeside Lightning (100)

The Lakeside Lightning are on the board for 2025 with the 100-84 road win over the still winless South West Slammers thanks to standout performances from Isaiah Lewis, Corey Shervill and Josh Davey.

The Slammers and Lightning both came into the match up at Eaton Recreation Centre looking for their first win of the season with South West having lost to the Eastern Suns and Goldfields Giants so far, and Lakeside to Perry Lakes, Warwick and Mandurah.

It was the Slammers who kept threatening to take control of the game much of the first three quarters with import big Jamal Poplar putting in a tremendously impressive showing.

South West did build a five-point lead in the first quarter and led by as much as 10 in the second before going into half-time with the 50-45 advantage.

The lead for the Slammers got out to as much as 12 points as well early in the second half, but then the Lightning dug deep determined not to slip to 0-4 to start 2025 just as they did in 2024.

Lakeside turned the tide by going on a 12-0 scoring run to turn a six-point deficit into the six-point lead, and then the visitors went on with the job with another 23 points to 11 in the final stanza on the way to the eventual 16-point win.

The Lightning are now 1-3 on the season following the win with Isaiah Lewis producing his best performance with 27 points, seven rebounds and two steals with 5/9 three-point shooting.

Corey Shervill added 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists with Josh Davey contributing 19 points, 13 boards and two blocks, and AJ Wilson 12 points and five steals.

The Slammers slip to 0-3 with the defeat having also lost eight of the first nine to start 2024 with Jamal Poplar terrific all evening for 33 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks on 13/23 shooting.

Devan Craig also impressed with 21 points on 7/12 shooting including 3/4 from deep with Calvin Whipple adding 12 points, five assists and four rebounds.

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 84 (Poplar 33, Craig 21, Whipple 12)

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 100 (Lewis 27, Shervill 22, Davey 19)

Kalamunda Eastern Suns (68) lost to East Perth Eagles (75)

The East Perth Eagles had to come from seven points down in the last quarter but scored the last 13 points of the contest to score their opening win of 2025 beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 75-68.

The Eastern Suns once again didn’t have the services of Marshall Nelson as they hosted the winless Eagles at Ray Owen Sports Centre on Easter Thursday night.

Kalamunda started strongly looking to improve on their 2-2 record to open up a nine-point lead by quarter-time.

The Eagles responded with their best quarter of the season so far in the second term by scoring 22 points while holding the Suns to just 11 which saw the visitors head into half-time leading 40-38.

Things remained tight in the third quarter with East Perth on top 59-56 by three quarter-time but then Kalamunda captain Lewis Thomas took charge early in the fourth quarter.

He was a man possessed scoring inside up one end, blocking shots up the other and pulling down important rebounds as the Suns completed a 10-0 scoring run to be up by seven once more.

The Eastern Suns looked on track to score the win when leading 68-62 still with four minutes to play, but it was all East Perth from that moment.

In the last four minutes, the Eagles forced the Suns into four turnovers including two shot clock violations while up the other end Max Rice made a couple of important jumpers, and then Chier Maker and Ioannis Dimakopoulos knocked down three-pointers.

That put East Perth in front and they ended up scoring the only 13 points in the last four minutes to go from six points down to winning by seven and to open their account for 2025.

Max Rice put up a match-winning display for the Eagles with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals on 9/14 shooting from the floor and 3/6 at three-point range.

Taylor Young also had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Ioannis Dimakopoulos 11 points and six rebounds, Chier Maker eight points, six boards and two blocks, and Lee Roberts six points and 10 rebounds.

The Eastern Suns are now 2-3 with the defeat with captain Lewis Thomas leading the charge with 20 points, seven rebounds, four steals, two assists and two blocks.

Travis Fee continued his career-best form with 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals with Terrico White adding 12 points and five assists, and Joel Vaiangina eight points and two rebounds.

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 68 (Thomas 20, Fee 15, White 12)

EAST PERTH EAGLES 75 (Rice 22, Young 14, Dimakopoulos 11)

Willetton Tigers (102) lost to Rockingham Flames (104)

The Rockingham Flames delivered a huge finish with Isaac White and Emmett Naar again outstanding as they got one back for last year on the Willetton Tigers with the 104-102 win.

It was the first meeting since last year's semi-final where the Tigers shocked the Flames with Marshall Nelson torching his former team on the way to reaching the grand final.

They were back at Willetton Basketball Stadium on Thursday night with the Tigers having won their first two games so far in 2025 while the Flames had also won two of their three.

Willetton shot right out of the blocks with a 36 points to 19 first quarter on the back of leading by as much as 19 points.

The Tigers remained in control leading 58-40 by half-time and then the lead was out to a game-high 20 early in the third quarter, but then the Flames began the charge all the way back.

Rockingham ended up outscoring Willetton 32 points to 20 in the third term to cut the Tigers lead to 78-72 by three quarter-time.

But the Flames had picked up the momentum and went on with the job in the last 10 minutes also outscoring the Tigers 32 points to 24 to come all the way back from 20 points down in the second half to win by two.

A late Ryan Godfrey triple sealed the deal in his 332nd appearance but Willetton did still have a shot at forcing overtime and Damien Scott had a good look in the post, but his shot wouldn’t go and Rockingham won by two.

The back court NBL pair for Rockingham of Isaac White and Emmett Naar was again outstanding with the former delivering 28 points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals, and the latter 24 points, six assists, four boards and two steals.

Tevin Jackson also had 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Flames, Godfrey 14 points on 4/6 three-point shooting, and captain Justin Beard eight points and four rebounds.

Tyreese Davis produced his best performance of the season for Willetton with 24 points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals with 3/5 shooting from downtown with fellow import Taeshon Cherry providing 19 points, six boards and two assists.

Tom Gerovich also had 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals, Scott 14 points, four rebounds and two assists, and Roosevelt Williams Jr 13 points and seven assists.

WILLETTON TIGERS 102 (Davis 24, Cherry 19, Gerovich 17)

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 104 (White 28, Naar 24, Jackson 15)

Cockburn Cougars (95) lost to Mandurah Magic (100)

Kortland Martin and Josh Hunt did their best to shoot the Cockburn Cougars to a first win of 2025 but they didn’t have enough help as the defending Mandurah Magic pulled away for the 100-95 win.

The Cougars were back home at Wally Hagan Stadium looking for a first win of the season on the back of the mass loss of experience from last year including the departures of Gavin Field, Kyle Armour, Seva Chan, Rhys Vague and Hunter Clarke.

The Magic had won their last two as defending champs as well coming into the game but it was Cockburn who got the better of the start with 32 points to 22 in the first quarter with Martin and Hunt both catching fire.

The Cougars then built a lead as big as 16 points in the second frame and even though Mandurah fought back, they were still leading 54-51 by half-time.

Once the Magic worked in front in the third quarter, they stayed there the rest of the way to end up securing the third straight victory by five points to improve to 3-1 on the season.

There was no Jermaine Malie and Hamish Warden once again for Mandurah hurting their depth, but import centre Sammie Freeman was the best big man in the game with 24 points, 15 rebounds and four assists on 11/16 shooting.

Julian Pesava continued his career-best form back on his former home court with 22 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals with Jahcoree Ealy contributing 20 points, six boards, three assists and two steals, and Lachlan Bertram 18 points and six assists.

The Cougars are now 0-4 on the season and have lost six straight dating back to 2024 with Kortland Martin making 8/18 from three-point land for 34 points, six assists and four steals.

Josh Hunt also had 22 points and seven assists before fouling out with Nathan Pond contributing 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Chan Nai 10 points and seven boards.

COCKBURN COUGARS 95 (Martin 34, Hunt 22, Pond 11)

MANDURAH MAGIC 100 (Freeman 24, Pesava 22, Ealy 20)

 

Perry Lakes Hawks (67) lost to Perth Redbacks (79)

Lochlan Cummings returned to one of his former home floors for the first time with the Perth Redbacks and helped his new team to the 79-67 win against the Perry Lakes Hawks.

Both teams were looking to build on their 1-1 starts to the season in the first two rounds with the Hawks splitting their games with the Lightning and Eastern Suns while the Redbacks had also split their first two with a win over the Wolves but big loss away to the Buccaneers.

The Redbacks did start well for an early eight-point lead but that advantage was back to just 19-18 by quarter-time.

Perth then build that lead back up in the second frame and it got out to as much as 11 points thanks to an 8-0 run and the Redbacks remained on top 40-31 by half-time.

The Redbacks did continue to lead the entire way in the second half on the way to the 12-point victory to improve to 2-1 three rounds into the season.

Lochlan Cummings played in a championship at the Hawks back in 2018 and is back in the NBL1 West this season after a stint at the Albury-Wodonga Bandits. He produced 21 points and five rebounds in the win for the Redbacks.

Joe Cook-Green also had 23 points, two rebounds and two assists, Jacob Formosa 10 points, six boards, three assists and two steals, and Michael Riley nine points on 3/8 three-point shooting.

The Hawks are now 1-2 following the defeat despite Matt Leary delivering 18 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Jaden Stanley-Williams added 15 points and four rebounds, and Kyiah O'Donohue nine points and two assists.

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 67 (Leary 18, Stanley-Williams 15, O'Donohue 9)

PERTH REDBACKS 79 (Cook-Green 23, Cummings 21, Formosa 10)

Joondalup Wolves (98) lost to Warwick Senators (102)

The Battle of Joondalup is turning into the best rivalry in the NBL1 West and another chapter was written on Thursday night with Elijah Pepper delivering another 48 points as the Warwick Senators beat the Joondalup Wolves 102-98.

The feeling between the two local rivals only increased further in the off-season with Warwick stalwarts Ash Litterick and Jarrod Hodge joining fellow former Senators Caleb Davis and Ethan Elliott with the Wolfpack.

Adding to that and both teams came into the Easter Thursday match up at Arena Joondalup so far undefeated in 2025 with the Senators beating the Lakeside Lightning and Rockingham Flames while Joondalup had beaten the Redbacks and Cougars.

Throw in that Perth Wildcats guard Elijah Pepper has started his NBL1 career with 101 points across the first two games for the Senators and there was plenty to look forward to with his performances reminiscent of Paul 'Snoopy' Graham's 10-game stint in 1990.

Across those games at the Goldfields Giants, Graham averaged 43.3 points and then signed off with a league record-equalling 82 points against Willetton with Pepper the first player since in the league to have back-to-back 50-point outings.

There were plenty of eyes on him to see if could do it again against Joondalup and he did help Warwick to the 30-22 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The Wolves responded with 30 points to 25 in the second frame with Warwick just clinging to the 55-54 lead by half-time in a high quality and intense contest.

It remained tight right throughout the second half with no more than six points ever separating the two teams in a dramatic finish that did get heated.

CJ Turnage and Damon Ballantyne made back-to-back buckets for Joondalup to put the home team up three with just over three minutes to play before Pepper knocked down his ninth three of the game to level scores up.

He landed another soon after to give Warwick the three-point lead but new Joondalup import Joey Baker answered in kind before Todd Withers hit from deep for the Senators, and Baker threw down a dunk.

That would be the last score of the game for the Wolfpack, though, and a couple of unsportsmanlike foul calls helped the Senators secure the win at the foul line through Withers and Cooper Creek.

Warwick improve to 3-0 even without Mitch Clarke yet to arrive and Cody Ellis out injured and they went 20/46 from deep as a team with Elijah Pepper brilliant once more even if he didn't quite get to 50.

He finished with 48 points, eight assists and five rebounds on shooting 16/30 from the field, 10/21 from three-point range and 6/7 at the foul line.

Withers added 24 points, four rebounds and three assists while going from 6/12 from behind the arc, and Creek 13 points, 14 boards and six assists.

Joondalup is now 2-1 on the season despite Joey Baker delivering 31 points and five rebounds with Ethan Elliott adding 25 points and five assists, and CJ Turnage 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals.

JOONDALUP WOLVES 98 (Baker 31, Elliott 25, Turnage 22)

WARWICK SENATORS 102 (Pepper 48, Withers 24, Creek 13)