West Recap | Round 12 Friday

Image credit: Michael Farnell (Sports Imagery)

Zitina Aokuso went for 45 for Willetton Tigers in NBL1 West on Friday, Elijah Pepper for 40 for Warwick Senators after Robbi Ryan was unveiled with East Perth Eagles scoring two crucial wins and Jamal Poplar leading South West Slammers to breakthrough.

CANNELL'S RETURN FOLLOWING ULTIMATE HIGH AND HELL

50-PIECE NELSON EXCITED TO WELCOME BELL TO SUNS

WEST RECAP | ROUND 11 SATURDAY

WOMEN

Warwick Senators (119) defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns (74)

The Warwick Senators got one step closer to being full strength for the first time in 2025 with the addition of Robbi Ryan and they showed their firepower in 119-74 win against the Eastern Suns.

The Senators had the services of last year's Rockingham Flames championship winning star and Perth Lynx WNBL import guard Ryan for the first time this season on Friday night at Warwick Stadium.

Two-time MVP Stacey Barr also returned after missing last week's trip to Kalgoorlie in the win over the Goldfields Giants, and even though they await the return of Kiara Waite, it's as close to full strength so far in 2025.

That meant it was a big task for the bottom placed Eastern Suns to come in and try to make the Senators sweat but there was added intrigue with Karly Murphy playing against her former team for the first time.

The Senators were on their home floor at Warwick Stadium and made a hot start with 32 points to 17 in the first quarter before that lead grew to 31 points in the second term.

Warwick went into half-time leading 70-47 with that 70-point performance with 10/22 three-point shooting and 16/19 at the foul line showing their array of offensive weapons.

The lead got out to 48 points in the fourth quarter too with another 30 points to 13 from Warwick in the last term for the eventual 45-point victory.

The win improves the Senators to an 11-2 record to remain in second place and having won five in-a-row with Chloe Forster continuing her hot form with another 28 points, five assists, three steals and two rebounds.

Kyana Weir delivered 21 points, three rebounds and two assists, Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard 18 points, six boards, four assists and three steals, and Stacey Barr 11 points, two rebounds and two steals.

Robbi Ryan played her first game at her third NBL1 West club for 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals while Emma Gandini finished with seven points, nine boards, seven assists and five steals.

The Eastern Suns remain in bottom place with a 1-11 record with Karly Murphy doing all she could against her former team with 28 points, nine rebounds and two assists.

Emma Strelein also had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists, Denae Civich six points, four boards and four assists, and Alyssa Bowen six points and five rebounds.

WARWICK SENATORS 119 (Forster 28, Weir 21, Clinch Hoycard 18)

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 74 (Murphy 28, Strelein 11, Bowen 6, Civich 6)

Lakeside Lightning (88) lost to Willetton Tigers (92)

Zitina Aokuso might not have had a triple-double but that was simply because she put up 45 points on 18/22 shooting as the Willetton Tigers kept on winning with the hard earned 92-88 win over the Lakeside Lightning.

The Lightning had slipped outside the top eight having lost their past two games ahead of hosting the Tigers at Lakeside Recreation Centre with Willetton having won their past couple to have moved up into fourth place.

It would prove to be a tremendous contest all evening with no more than nine points ever separating the two teams with Lakeside clinging to the 28-27 lead by quarter-time.

That lead was then just 54-52 by half-time in favour of the Lightning on the back of knocking down 10/17 from three-point territory while the Tigers went 6/14 from downtown.

When Sharn Hayward and Zitina Aokuso knocked down three balls early in the second half, it topped off an 11-0 run for Willetton that saw them open up the game's biggest lead of nine points.

However, the Lightning hit back and by three quarter-time the scores were all square and it set up a big finish.

Sam Lubcke gave Lakeside a two-point lead with a minute to play against the team she won a grand final MVP with back in 2021, but then the Tigers made their move to decide the game starting with a three ball from 268-game captain Desiree Kelley.

Both Aokuso and Ajulu Thatha then closed out the win for Willetton at the foul line with the Tigers claiming the four-point victory to make it three in-a-row to stay solid in fourth place at 9-4.

Zitina Aokuso produced another remarkably dominant performance for Willetton on the back of her 27 points, 20 rebounds and 14 assists in last week's overtime win over the East Perth Eagles.

The two-time WNBL championship winner was unstoppable with 45 points, 12 rebounds and three assists on 18/22 field shooting including 3/5 from long range and 6/8 at the foul line.

Ajulu Thatha provided 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Tigers, Sharn Hayward 13 points and two assists, Desiree Kelley 13 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals, and Eva Langton seven points, 10 assists and four boards.

The Lightning remain outside the top eight at 5-8 following a third consecutive defeat with reigning MVP Sam Lubcke producing 12 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Sarah Allen was back up against her junior club and scored 20 points with 5/10 three-point shooting while Oceane Kounkou added 15 points on 4/10 shooting from deep, Sam Lubcke 12 points, six rebounds and three assists, and Kennedi Williams 10 points and eight assists.

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 88 (Morrell 22, Allen 20, Kounkou 15)

WILLETTON TIGERS 92 (Aokuso 45, Thatha 14, Hayward 13, Kelley 13)

South West Slammers (66) lost to Cockburn Cougars (118)

The Cockburn Cougars continued their perfect NBL1 West season to date by heading south on Friday night and coming away with the 118-66 win against the South West Slammers.

Considering the Slammers have only won two games in their past 65 matches in the NBL1 West and those came earlier this season against the bottom placed Kalamunda Eastern Suns, and it was always a tall order for them to come up against the Cougars.

Cockburn arrived at Eaton Recreation Centre having won their 12 matches this season by an average of 25.8 points as they attempt to reach a third straight grand final having never previously played in one in the women's competition.

The Cougars didn’t waste any time finding their groove putting up 36 points in the first quarter with 6/9 three-point shooting on the way to then building a 29-point advantage in the second term.

Cockburn were leading 64-35 by half-time and then that lead got out to 46 points in the third quarter, and 53 in the fourth before the Cougars secured the 52-point victory.

The win improves the Cougars to a perfect 13-0 record this season ahead of backing up on Saturday when they host an East Perth Eagles team knocking on the door of the top four.

Jessie Edwards top-scored for Cockburn with 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks with Steph Gorman adding 16 points and three boards with 3/6 three-point shooting.

Ruby Porter also provided 14 points and two steals, Jewel Williams 11 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals, and Sarah Mortensen 11 points, six boards, four steals and three assists.

The Slammers lost a fifth straight game to now be 2-12 but they did battle hard with import guard Mykea Gray finishing with 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Cayla King added 11 points and three rebounds, Cougars championship winner from 2023, Zaya Black, 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Addison Edwards eight points.

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 66 (Gray 21, King 11, Black 10)

COCKBURN COUGARS 118 (Edwards 19, Gorman 16, Raber 14, Porter 14)

East Perth Eagles (96) defeated Perth Redbacks (84)

Sasha Goodlett, Madi Torresin, Awatea Leach and Abby Cubillo all dug deep to play virtually the whole game and deliver the East Perth Eagles a crucial 96-84 home win over the Perth Redbacks.

The Eagles and Redbacks remain locked in a battle over a top four position in the NBL1 West heightening the stakes when they locked horns on Friday night at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

They had met only three weeks ago at Belmont Oasis where the Redbacks came from behind to win on the back of a big fourth quarter, and adding to the intrigue on Friday was the absence of a key player on either side.

The Redbacks were without MVP fancy Anneli Maley who is with the Australian Gangurrus team at the FIBA 3x3 World Cup in Mongolia while Emma Clarke didn’t play with an eye to being able to be out there on Saturday for the Eagles given her minutes restriction on return from a knee injury.

Patty Brossmann did return for the Redbacks after missing the past two games and she had 14 points in the first quarter alone to help Perth to the 23-18 quarter-time lead.

The Eagles were able to turn the tide in the second term and it was all thanks to going inside. They only attempted two three-pointers for the quarter, but shot 7/14 inside the paint and got to the foul line eight times for 29 points to 21 to be leading 47-44 at the half.

East Perth were then only clinging to a two-point lead by three quarter-time, but it was then all the Eagles in the fourth frame with 28 points to 18 as they secured the important 12-point victory.

The win improves East Perth to an 8-4 record to keep them right in the hunt for a top four place ahead of a clash with the undefeated Cockburn Cougars on Saturday at Wally Hagan Stadium.

Eagles coach Tim Symons had to call on his four big guns to put in a whole hearted performance and they were up to the task with Abby Cubillo playing all 40 minutes for 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Sasha Goodlett played 37:51 for 24 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots with Madi Torresin playing 37:40 with 20 points, six boards, four assists and two steals, and Awatea Leach played 36:41 for 20 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals.

The Redbacks do remain in the top four at 10-4 following the loss but they do have to back up hosting the red hot defending champion Rockingham Flames on Saturday.

Patty Brossmann produced 28 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in her return for the Redbacks with Natalie Chou adding 16 points, three boards and two assists, Alaska Rhebok 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Georgia Denehey 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

EAST PERTH EAGLES 96 (Goodlett 24, Cubillo 23, Leach 20, Torresin 20)

PERTH REDBACKS 84 (Brossmann 28, Chou 16, Rhebok 13)

MEN

Warwick Senators (112) defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns (94)

The presence of Randy Bell on debut of the Kalamunda Eastern Suns wasn’t enough for them against the Warwick Senators with Elijah Pepper putting up another 40 points in his team's 112-94 win.

The Senators did need to keep winning to maintain their top two position with the Willetton Tigers breathing down their necks as they returned to Warwick Stadium after a big win in Kalgoorlie over the Goldfields Giants last Saturday night.

The Eastern Suns also came into the match up having won their past two games and now bringing in import point guard Randy Bell who starred at the Giants in 2024 to the point he was named to the All-Second Team by the season's end.

That set up a tantalising match up and by quarter-time it was the Senators leading the Suns 30-25 thanks to hitting 6/13 from three-point range while the Eastern Suns went 5/7 from downtown.

It was then another 30 points to 20 in the second quarter for Warwick even with going 3/14 from long-range and that saw the home team on top 60-45.

That lead continued to grow through the second half with the Senators leading by as much as 23 points on the way to scoring the 18-point victory.

Warwick got up another 47 three-point attempts of which they made 18 as they beat the Suns by 18 points even though they shot 51 per cent from the field for the night.

Elijah Pepper put in another standout performance in the win for the Senators with 40 points to go with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals with 8/18 three-point shooting.

Cooper Creek added 18 points, eight rebounds and two assists while going 4/7 from deep with Mitch Clarke providing 18 points, five assists and three boards, and George Pearl 16 points on 4/7 shooting from behind the arc.

Coming off his 50-point performance last week, Marshall Nelson had another 22 points on 4/8 three-point shooting for the Eastern Suns with Travis Fee adding 18 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Randy Bell played his first game with the Suns and had 17 points, five assists and three rebounds with Terrico White contributing 17 points, six boards and three assists, and teenager Marley Sam nine points and two steals.

WARWICK SENATORS 112 (Pepper 40, Clarke 18, Creek 18)

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 94 (Nelson 22, Fee 18, Bell 17, White 17)

Lakeside Lightning (88) lost to Willetton Tigers (93)

Taeshon Cherry was back for the Willetton Tigers and delivered 32 points as they overcame a big fightback from the Lakeside Lightning to score the 93-88 victory.

The Tigers arrived at Lakeside Recreation Centre on a five-game winning streak to be in third place but did need to keep winning to stay there.

They beat the East Perth Eagles by a solitary point last Saturday night in the absence of Cherry and they regained their leading-scorer on Friday for the clash with local rivals Lakeside.

The Lightning might have just been clinging to the slimmest of playoff hopes, but had won their past two games over the Mandurah Magic and Cockburn Cougars.

Willetton had managed to open up a five-point lead by the end of the first quarter which had grown to eight by half-time and 13 by three quarter-time but the Lightning weren't going away.

An 8-0 run early in the fourth term including three-pointers to Isaiah Lewis and Michael Garbellini had the Lightning back within three points before another run of scoring seven straight points had them in front with seven minutes to play.

Lakeside had extended that advantage to as much as three with 3:45 on the clock but from there Willetton finished the game scoring 10 of the last 12 points with Damien Scott, Taeshon Cherry, Tom Gerovich and Taeshon Cherry all scoring down the stretch.

The victory is a sixth in-a-row for the Tigers as they improve to an 11-3 record on the back of playing in last year's grand final with Cherry providing 32 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Tom Gerovich added 18 points, six rebounds and three assists, Damien Scott 14 points, six assists, three boards and two steals, and Roosevelt Williams Jr eight points, six assists and five rebounds.

Lakeside are now 4-10 following the loss with Isaiah Lewis delivering 31 points and three assists with 5/9 three-point shooting.

Corey Shervill added 21 points, six rebounds and three assists, Tim Hollick 12 points and three assists, AJ Wilson eight points and five rebounds, and Michael Garbellini eight points, six boards and two steals.

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 88 (Lewis 31, Shervill 21, Hollick 12)

WILLETTON TIGERS 93 (Cherry 32, Gerovich 18, Scott 14)

South West Slammers (90) defeated Cockburn Cougars (86)

Jamal Poplar returned for South West Slammers and his two massive rebounds at either end to close the game in which he had 35 points led his team to their first win of 2025, beating the Cockburn Cougars 90-86.

The bottom two teams in the NBL1 West with a combined 1-25 record for the season arrived at Eaton Recreation Centre with both having realistic expectations of getting a drought breaking win.

The Slammers were on a 15-game losing streak dating back to last year while the Cougars had lost their past seven with just one win to their credit this season coming into the match up.

The teams couldn’t be split by the end of the first quarter with scores tied at 25-25 and it was a high quality opening 10 minutes with the Slammers shooting 11/20 from the field and the Cougars 10/17.

Both teams had their turn with five-point leads in the second period before it was the Slammers clinging to the 45-44 lead by the half-time interval.

South West were still leading by a point come three quarter-time and then three-pointers early in the fourth term from Manny Wugol and Cory Richardson had the Slammers up by five points.

Cockburn responded with the next seven points and they were then leading by two when Terrandus Smith scored with just under two minutes to play.

It was 188-game veteran Clive Weeden who then came up huge for the Slammers with four quick points to restore his side to the four-point lead with 45 seconds on the clock.

Smith did score for Cockburn to make it a one possession game again, but then he fouled out on the next possession and it proved a cruel blow to the Cougars.

Gavin Deacon split his free throws but when he missed his second, the returning Jamal Poplar grabbed a massive offensive rebound which led to Pharell Keats also sent to the line to extend the lead to three.

Josh Hunt made just 1/3 at the foul line for Cockburn after he was fouled attempting the game tying three and then it was Poplar collecting the defensive board before Deacon was able to go up for the layup as time expired and the Slammers broke their losing streak.

South West won their first game of the season with Jamal Poplar ultimately the difference between the two teams on his return from a two-game suspension as he delivered 35 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals on 13/26 field goal shooting and 4/8 from deep.

Pharell Keats contributed 14 points, five assists, four steals and two rebounds, Devan Craig 13 points, three assists and two boards, and Rivar Evans six points and three steals.

Cockburn have now lost eight games straight to sit at 1-13 ahead of hosting the East Perth Eagles on Saturday with Terrandus Smith top-scoring with 30 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Fellow import Kortland Martin knocked down 5/9 from deep for 27 points with Josh Hunt adding 15 points and four assists, and Riley Eves six points and five rebounds.

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 90 (Poplar 35, Keats 14, Craig 13)

COCKBURN COUGARS 86 (Smith 30, Martin 27, Hunt 15)

East Perth Eagles (105) defeated Perth Redbacks (77)

The East Perth Eagles produced their most emphatic performance of the season to date to beat the Perth Redbacks 105-77 at home to enhance their playoff prospects.

The two teams had played three weeks earlier at Belmont Oasis with the Redbacks putting in a strong showing for the win despite the absence of a host of key players including Joe Cook-Green.

Cook-Green was in for his second game back on Friday night at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre while the Eagles were without star guard Jonah Antonio who is representing the Australian Gangurrus at the FIBA 3x3 World Cup in Mongolia.

With both teams on the outside of the top eight, it was a crucial game for each of them to stay in the playoff race as well and by quarter-time it was the Eagles leading narrowly 26-25.

It was in the second quarter when East Perth took control with 23 points while holding the Redbacks to nine points on 4/13 shooting which saw the home team in control leading 49-34 by half-time.

The Eagles then put the result to bed early in the third quarter by scoring the first 13 points coming out of the break including a pair of three balls that are undefendable coming out of the hands of the 7'2 Ioannis Dimakopoulos.

That blew the East Perth advantage out to 28 points and it would grow to as much 33 during the second half before the Eagles cruised to the 28-point victory.

The Eagles knocked down 13/30 from behind the arc opposed to the 5/14 from the Redbacks while also able to force Perth into 19 turnovers and limit them to three offensive rebounds as East Perth ended up attempting 21 extra field goals in the game.

The win improves the Eagles to a 6-7 record on the season and they have the chance to return to the top eight with a win on the road to the Cockburn Cougars on Saturday.

Max Rice continues to show what a lethal scorer he is the longer the season goes finishing with 34 points and five assists with 6/10 shooting from behind the three-point arc.

Chier Maker also knocked down 4/8 from deep for 23 points and three rebounds with Lee Roberts contributing 10 points, five boards and five assists, Sharif Watson eight points and eight rebounds, and Ioannis Dimakopoulos eight points, five boards, five assists and two steals.

The Redbacks slip to a 5-10 record with the loss with Joe Cook-Green top-scoring with 22 points and six rebounds while Lochlan Cummings added 19 points and four assists, and Emmanuel Kanwei 18 points and eight rebounds on 7/10 field goal shooting.

EAST PERTH EAGLES 105 (Rice 34, Maker 23, Roberts 10)

PERTH REDBACKS 77 (Cook-Green 22, Cummings 19, Kanwei 18)