West Recap | Round 12 Saturday

Image credit: Travis Anderson | @andmediaphoto

Johny Narkle again asked what more does it take to get an NBL opportunity with 53 points for Geraldton Buccaneers while Perth Redbacks and Rockingham Flames split NBL1 West thrillers while young gun Tana Kopa hit another six threes for Willetton.

WEST RECAP | ROUND 12 FRIDAY

CANNELL'S RETURN FOLLOWING ULTIMATE HIGH AND HELL

50-PIECE NELSON EXCITED TO WELCOME BELL TO SUNS

WOMEN

Joondalup Wolves (65) lost to Perry Lakes Hawks (96)

The Perry Lakes Hawks continue to flex their muscles with a full squad available heading up the freeway to convincingly beat the Joondalup Wolves 96-65 for the second time in a week.

Perry Lakes did lose two heartbreakers to Mandurah and Rockingham a fortnight ago, but they did offer a glimpse into what coach Craig Mansfield was capable of getting out of a group featuring Megan McKay, Alex Fowler, Jayda Clark, Amy Jacobs, Grace Stone, Maddy Dennis and Mia Satie.

The Hawks then won big over the Wolfpack at Bendat Basketball Centre by 35 points last week ahead of their rematch at Arena Joondalup on Saturday night.

Perry Lakes kept that momentum going from last week with 32 points to eight in the first quarter with 13/19 shooting from the field and holding the Wolves to 2/14.

It was another 31 points to 18 in the second frame which saw Perry Lakes go into the half-time break well in command at 63-26.

The lead got out to 39 points in the second half for the Hawks and even though the Wolves actually outscored them after half-time with 39 points to 33, Perry Lakes still cruised to the 31-point victory.

The Hawks improve to a 6-6 record as a result of the win ahead of upcoming match ups with finals bound teams the East Perth Eagles, Perth Redbacks and Cockburn Cougars.

Alex Fowler produced 25 points, 10 rebounds and two assists on 10/14 field shooting for Perry Lakes with Megan McKay adding 16 points and four boards on 7/8 shooting, and Jayda Clark 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Grace Stone also had 12 points, five assists and three rebounds, Amy Jacobs nine points, four boards and four assists, and Eryn Fisher eight points, two rebounds and two assists.

Finals are now appearing out of reach of the Wolfpack with them slipping to a 3-10 record with the loss with Stefanie Berberabe finishing with 17 points and two assists with Kurstyn Harden contributing 15 points, 16 boards and two steals, and Jorjah Smith eight points and three assists.

JOONDALUP WOLVES 65 (Berberabe 17, Harden 15, Smith 8)

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 96 (Fowler 25, McKay 16, Clark 13)

Cockburn Cougars (107) defeated East Perth Eagles (72)

The Cockburn Cougars remain the team to beat this NBL1 West season as they made it two more wins this weekend to stay undefeated with the 35-point home win against the East Perth Eagles.

Both teams arrived at Wally Hagan Stadium coming off big Friday night wins with the Cougars heading south to beat the South West Slammers by 52 points while the Eagles scored a 12-point win at home against the Perth Redbacks.

With Emma Clarke also still on a minutes restriction coming back from a knee injury, she didn't play for East Perth on Friday and came back in for the clash with the undefeated Cougars, but Cockburn already had a 31-23 lead by the end of the first quarter.

It was another 27 points to 14 in the second term from the Cougars and they ended up leading by as much as 24 points before going into the half-time break on top 58-37.

The Eagles did mount a fightback in the third quarter and managed to put together a run of scoring 11 straight points to get the deficit back to 10, but Cockburn were able to pull away again to be leading by 24 points at three quarter-time.

It was then 29 points to 12 in the last quarter from the Cougars as they scored the 35-point win to improve to a perfect 14-0 record on the season to maintain their gap in top spot.

Sarah Mortensen delivered 34 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in the win for Cockburn with 15/23 shooting from the field and 4/8 from three-point range.

Steph Gorman added 21 points, six rebounds and four assists also shooting 5/10 from three with Ruby Porter contributing 17 points, five boards, five assists and two steals, and Jessie Edwards eight points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

The Eagles split their double-header weekend to be 8-5 and still solid in a playoff spot, but outside a top four position.

Awatea Leach top-scored for East Perth with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists with Sasha Goodlett adding 16 points and 10 boards, Abby Cubillo 16 points and five assists, and Madi Torresin eight points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

COCKBURN COUGARS 107 (Mortensen 34, Gorman 21, Porter 17)

EAST PERTH EAGLES 72 (Leach 17, Goodlett 16, Cubillo 16)

Perth Redbacks (80) defeated Rockingham Flames (79)

The Perth Redbacks shook off a loss the previous night to maintain their top four spot with a thrilling 80-79 win over the Rockingham Flames with each team missing one half of Australian basketball's great playing couple.

Rockingham's Marena Whittle and Perth's Anneli Maley had the best possible reason to miss the match up against one another due to representing the Australian Gangurrus at the FIBA 3x3 World Cup in Mongolia.

That only added extra intrigue to the match up at Belmont Oasis with the Redbacks losing the night before to the East Perth Eagles in the absence of Maley while the Flames were attempting to win a sixth straight game, and fifth in-a-row since Ryan Petrik took over as coach.

It was a strong start from the Redbacks with them opening up a 10-point lead but the Flames hit back and by quarter-time were leading 25-21 thanks to knocking down 5/12 from three-point land.

Rockingham then kept that momentum going in the second term with 24 points to 15 which saw them end up leading by as much as 13 points and to go into half-time on top 49-36.

It was the turn of the Redbacks to take the momentum in the third quarter as they scored 22 points to 15 even though Rockingham were still leading by six at three quarter-time.

The Flames were still up five with 4:45 to play with a couple of free throws from Alex Ciabattoni but then the Redbacks went on a 7-0 run to grab the lead when Sophie Doran scored going to the basket against the team she played in a championship with in 2024.

Sydney Erikstrup returned Rockingham to the lead with a couple of free throws and then a three ball but in the end the game was decided with Georgia Denehey scored attacking the basket to give the Redbacks the one-point lead.

That's where the score remained in a frantic finish with Alex Ciabattoni's shot blocked by Shenae Hartree and then a turnover at either end, but the end result was the one-point victory for Perth.

The Redbacks are now 11-4 following the thrilling win on their home floor with Natalie Chou top-scoring with 23 points, eight rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocked shots.

Alaska Rhebok added 15 points, Sophie Doran 14 points, six rebounds and three assists, Patty Brossmann 13 points and eight boards, and Shenae Hartree eight points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The Flames suffered a first loss since making the coaching change from Lukas Carey to Ryan Petrik to now be 6-6 on the season.

Championship captain Alex Sharp produced 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Rockingham with Sydney Erikstrup adding 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Alex Ciabattoni produced 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals while Jess Jakens (five points, five boards, three assists) and Rosie Deegan (10 points, five rebounds) were both back on their old home floor.

PERTH REDBACKS 80 (Chou 23, Rhebok 15, Doran 14)

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 79 (Sharp 21, Erikstrup 17, Ciabattoni 13)

Willetton Tigers (84) defeated Mandurah Magic (73)

Zitina Aokuso delivered another dominant performance and the Willetton Tigers kept rolling to maintain their top four spot with the 84-73 win at home to the Mandurah Magic.

The Tigers made it three straight wins this season beating the Lakeside Lightning on Friday night ahead of returning to Willetton Basketball Stadium on Saturday night to host the Magic trying further lock up a playoff position.

It was a hot start at home for the Tigers as they opened up a 16-point lead in the first quarter while going on a 10-0 scoring run and ending up leading 31-17 by quarter-time.

Willetton were then still leading 48-33 by half-time and then completed the job from there in the second half leading by as much as 20 on the way to the eventual 11-point victory.

The Tigers ended up shooting 49 per cent from the floor opposed to the 35 from the Magic with Mandurah unable to capitalise on getting up an extra 12 shot attempts in the game.

Willetton improves to a 10-4 record on the season with the pair of wins for the weekend with Zitina Aokuso an unstoppable presence inside once more with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists on 11/16 field goal shooting.

Ajulu Thatha added 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals with Eva Langton contributing 19 points, two boards and two assists, Sharn Hayward seven points, five rebounds and three assists, and Desiree Kelley six points, seven boards and four assists.

The Magic are now 7-7 for the season following the defeat with Claire Jacobs finishing with 20 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals.

Tina Stephens also had 13 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and three assists, Grace Berg 11 points and 10 boards, and legendary games record holder Casey Mihovilovich seven points, seven assists and five rebounds.

WILLETTON TIGERS 84 (Aokuso 25, Thatha 21, Langton 19)

MANDURAH MAGIC 73 (Jacobs 20, Stephens 13, Berg 11)

MEN

Goldfields Giants (88) defeated Geraldton Buccaneers (135)

Johny Narkle unleashed his full array of skills and the Geraldton Buccaneers showed how lethal they can be by putting the Goldfields Giants to the sword with the thumping 135-88 win in Kalgoorlie.

The two regional powers play each other just once this season and that just happened to be on Saturday night at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium with the Giants trying to get back on track, and the Buccs looking to keep their form rolling.

Goldfields came into the match up having lost their past four games and were still without import point guard and captain Shaun Stewart, who just happens to be a championship winner with the Buccs back in 2023.

The Buccaneers arrived in Kalgoorlie having won their last couple and needing to keep winning to stay in the top four, and it didn’t take them long to take control of the contest.

Geraldton piled on 37 points to 18 in the first quarter on the back of shooting 13/15 from the field with Johny Narkle unstoppable.

It was another 39 points to 23 in the second term for the Buccs and they went into half-time leading 76-41 having shot 68 per cent from the field and hitting 12/19 at 63 per cent from beyond the arc with Narkle scoring 31 of those points with 6/11 three-point shooting.

It was then another 31 points to 22 in the third quarter, and 28 to 25 in the fourth with Geraldton scoring the dominant 47-point win finishing up shooting 62 per cent for the game and 55 per cent from three while having 42 rebounds to 29, and forcing the Giants into 19 turnovers.

Johny Narkle was just one shot away from setting a new NBL1 scoring record by finishing with 53 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals on shooting 19/33 from the field, 6/14 from downtown and 9/14 at the foul line.

Akeem Springs also had 19 points with 5/8 three-point shooting, Nik DeSantis 16 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals, Liam Hunt 13 points, 10 boards and three assists, Josh Keyes 12 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Ryan Blanchett 11 points and five boards.

It was a horror night for the now 7-7 Giants who are on a five-game losing slide with Michael Jok top-scoring with 15 points and three assists.

Nick Shaw added 13 points and two rebounds, Josh Duach 12 points, three boards and two assists, Kur Maler 10 points and two rebounds, Jerome Reid 10 points and three assists, and De'Sean Parsons 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 88 (Jok 15, Shaw 13, Duach 12)

GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 135 (Narkle 53, Springs 19, DeSantis 16)

Joondalup Wolves (79) defeated Perry Lakes Hawks (76)

The Joondalup Wolves stormed back from a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to overrun the Perry Lakes Hawks for the 79-76 victory to keep themselves right in the hunt for a top four finish.

The two teams also played one another last week at Bendat Basketball Centre which saw the Wolves score the 90-74 as they had the quick rematch seven days later with the Wolves trying to stay in the top four hunt, and the Hawks trying to get back into the top eight.

It was just a three-point lead the way of Joondalup by the end of the first quarter before Perry Lakes put up 23 points to 15 in the second term which meant the visitors went into the half-time break on top 40-35.

The Hawks were then able to push their advantage out to nine points in the third quarter and their lead was still eight with 5:30 to play when Kyiah O'Donohue knocked down a three-pointer.

That's when the Wolfpack fired up on their home floor beginning with a 9-0 run made up of a pair of tree-pointers to Joey Baker and another to Caleb Davis.

Captain and 275-game veteran Jordan Wellsteed landed another three shortly after and in the end a couple of finishes at the rim from CJ Turnage sealed the three-point win for the Wolves on the big final quarter comeback.

The win improves Joondalup to a 10-5 record on the season after the pair of wins over Perry Lakes with Joey Baker finishing with 19 points on 4/10 three-point shooting.

CJ Turnage added 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Adili Kuerban 14 points, seven boards and two steals, Caleb Davis 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Gabe Chadinha 10 points, four boards, two assists and two steals.

The Hawks are now 6-8 on the season having lost their past three matches with Jaden Stanley-Williams top scoring with 17 points, three assists and two steals on 4/7 three-point shooting.

Nick Floyd added 14 points, six rebounds and two assists, Luke Phillips 12 points, nine boards, four assists and two steals, and Matt Leary 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.

JOONDALUP WOLVES 79 (Baker 19, Kuerban 14, Turnage 14)

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 76 (Stanley-Williams 17, Floyd 14, L Phillips 12)

Cockburn Cougars (122) defeated East Perth Eagles (107)

Just when the East Perth Eagles looked like they were building some momentum into their season with a big Friday night win, they brought back to earth with a thud with the Cockburn Cougars snapping an eight-game losing slide with the 122-107 win.

East Perth started the weekend by beating the Perth Redbacks at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre by 28 points while Cockburn became the first team to lose in 2025 to the South West Slammers at Eaton Recreation Centre.

So the teams couldn’t have been coming off more different confidence levels after what happened on Friday night when they arrived at Wally Hagan Stadium, but right from the outset and the Eagles just had no answers defensively to put the clamps on the Cougars.

The trio of Josh Hunt, Kortland Martin and Terrandus Smith fired for Cockburn from the outset and in the first quarter they put up 33 points to the 30 from the Eagles while shooting 12/21 from the field.

The Cougars got out to a 10-point lead in the second quarter and went into the half-time break with a 60-54 advantage, but the Eagles did hit back in the third term and went on an 8-0 scoring run to grab the lead and stay there for almost five minutes.

By three quarter-time the Cougars were back in front by five points and then they controlled the game's last 10 minutes with 37 points to 27 with 15/20 shooting on the way to leading by as much as 16, and winning by 15.

The win snaps an eight-game losing slide for Cockburn to improve them to a 2-13 record and to keep them above the Slammers who they lost to the previous night.

It was a dazzling offensive performance from the Cougars to put up the 122 points on shooting 58 per cent from the field and 14/32 from downtown while also taking 16 extra shots that East Perth but giving up 35 free-throw attempts to their 20.

Kortland Martin produced 35 points and three assists in the win on shooting 6/14 from behind the three-point arc while Josh Hunt added 28 points, four rebounds and two assists on 5/6 three-point shooting, and Terrandus Smith 27 points, seven assists, five boards and two steals.

Riley Eves added 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Nathan Pond 12 points and seven boards.

It was a disappointing night from East Perth who had the chance to set up their season with a pair of wins this weekend after beating the Redbacks the night before, but never appeared locked in defensively from the outset against a team that lost to a team that was previously winless the night before.

The Eagles remain outside the top eight as a result at 6-8 with Chier Maker finishing with a season-high 28 points, five assists and four rebounds on 5/6 three-point shooting.

Max Rice added 27 points, four rebounds and four assists, Lee Roberts 25 points, 12 boards and four assists, and Ioannis Dimakopoulos 12 points and two rebounds.

COCKBURN COUGARS 122 (Martin 35, Hunt 28, Smith 27)

EAST PERTH EAGLES 107 (Maker 28, Rice 27, Roberts 25)

Perth Redbacks (97) lost to Rockingham Flames (98)

Tevin Jackson hit a couple of huge late shots on his old home floor and MVP fancy Isaac White's three-point play saw the Rockingham Flames escape with the 98-97 victory against the Perth Redbacks to retail top spot in the NBL1 West.

Form suggest the Flames arrived at Belmont Oasis as warm favourites on Friday night with them sitting in top spot and on a 10-game winning streak while the Redbacks had lost the past two to all but be out of playoff attention including a 28-point loss the previous night away to the East Perth Eagles.

The challenge was ahead of the Redbacks but they showed they were up for it from the start by putting up 35 points in the first quarter with 5/9 three-point shooting while holding Rockingham to 24 points with 0/7 from behind the three-point line.

Perth had led by as much as 16 points and then still be as much as 11 in that second quarter before holding on to the 55-51 lead by half-time in what was turning out to be a high quality affair.

No more than seven points ever separated the two teams through the second half and even when the Flames were up six with five minutes to play after a three ball from 204-game veteran Travis Durnin, the Redbacks responded.

It started with three consecutive scores inside from Emmanuel Kanwei to tie scores up once more before Joe Cook-Green completed the 9-0 run for the home team and they were back out to a three-point advantage.

Tevin Jackson was playing his first game for Rockingham as a visitor at Belmont Oasis and he hit a huge corner right in front of the Redbacks faithful in the grandstand before Cook-Green responded with an and-one.

Isaac White responded with a triple to make scores level once more and that's where they stayed with a minute to play following a score each from Kanwei and Emmett Naar.

It was then the Redbacks leading by two after a couple of free throws from Cook-Green with the shot clock turned of with the Flames looking for a final possession out of a timeout to either send it to overtime or take the win.

The possession almost never happened but White was able to collect the ball in the end, and was able to get in the paint and put up a floater that fell. He was fouled as well and made the extra to give Rockingham the one-point edge.

There was still enough time for the Redbacks to get up a shot at the other end and Cook-Green got a good look at a deep two, but it rattled hard and the Flames escaped with the one-point win.

The victory is an 11th straight for Rockingham as they improve to 13-1 on the season to stay in top spot with Isaac White doing his MVP hopes no harm with 29 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Jervon Pressley added 15 points and 10 rebounds, Travis Durnin 13 points and five boards, Justin Beard 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks, Emmett Naar 10 points and seven assists, and Laquinton Ross eight points and 11 rebounds.

The Redbacks are now 5-11 despite the strong showing on their home floor even with losing two-time championship winning guard Lochlan Cummings in the opening minute.

Joe Cook-Green finished with 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds with Emmanuel Kanwei adding 26 points and six boards.

Connor Mincherton put up a season-high 13 points with 3/6 three-point shooting while Jacob Formosa added 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Cousteau Kyle 10 points and three assists.

PERTH REDBACKS 97 (Cook-Green 26, Kanwei 26, Mincherton 13)

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 98 (White 29, Pressley 15, Beard 13, Durnin 13)

Willetton Tigers (95) defeated Mandurah Magic (87)

The shooting of returning college star Tana Kopa ended up being pivotal in the Willetton Tigers keeping their winning form going overcoming the Mandurah Magic 95-87 in a grand final rematch.

It was the second time the two teams have met this season after playing last year's classic grand final at RAC Arena with Willetton prevailing back in the opening round on the same night Mandurah raised the championship banner on their home court.

Then coming into Saturday night's match up at Willetton Basketball Stadium and the Tigers were on a six-game winning streak including having scored a hard fought Friday night win against the Lakeside Lightning.

The Magic arrived just clinging to a spot in the top eight having lost their past four matches but there was always going to be that bit of extra feeling coming off last year's grand final.

Looking to avoid a fifth straight loss, the Magic started strongly opening up a 13-point lead during the first quarter and still being up 28-20 by the end of one.

The Tigers were then able to go on a 15-0 scoring run either side of quarter-time including opening up the second term with a barrage of three balls from Tana Kopa, Roosevelt Williams Jr and Andrew Black.

Despite that, Mandurah steadied and were able to still be leading 49-46 by half-time before the Tigers worked on top throughout the second half to be up by two at three-quarter-time, and then to lead the entire fourth quarter and completing the eight-point victory.

Willetton have now won seven straight to be sitting on a 12-3 record and knocking on the door of the top two with Tana Kopa continuing to be a difference maker on return to his junior club after his college carer recently finished with Canisius College.

Kopa shot 6/15 from three-point land in the win for 19 points and six rebounds.

Taeshon Cherry added 18 points, five rebounds and four assists, Andrew Black 12 points, five boards and two assists, Tom Musumeci 10 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals, Michael Vigor 12 points, six boards and four assists, Tom Gerovich nine points and three rebounds, and Roosevelt Willliams Jr eight points, seven assists and four boards.

Mandurah have now lost five straight as the reigning champs to be just clinging to a top eight spot with Julian Pesava continuing his career-best season with another 32 points, three rebounds and two steals with 5/8 shooting from downtown.

Sammie Freeman put up 21 points and 20 rebounds with Jahcoree Ealy contributing 15 points, seven assists and six boards, and Jermaine Malie 11 points with 3/4 shooting from the land of plenty.

WILLETTON TIGERS 95 (Kopa 19, Cherry 18, Vigor 12, Black 12)

MANDURAH MAGIC 87 (Pesava 32, Freeman 21, Ealy 15)