West Recap | Round 9 Sunday

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Tana Kopa made a spectacular debut and Andrew Black helped Willetton Tigers to overtime NBL1 West win over Geraldton Buccaneers while Jorjah Smith completed a remarkable Joondalup Wolves comeback win over Eastern Suns.

WEST RECAP | ROUND 9 SATURDAY

CLARKE ALWAYS THANKFUL TO WAIS WARRIORS

BLACK PROUD TO BE FIRST TIGER TO 300 AS ROLE PLAYER

THREE-POINT RECORD LAST THING ON RALPH'S MIND

WOMEN

East Perth Eagles (97) defeated Goldfields Giants (64)

The East Perth Eagles shook off a frustrating finish to their game on Friday night to produce a strong all-round showing with six players scoring in double-figures in 97-64 win against the Goldfields Giants.

Both teams arrived on Sunday at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre having already played earlier this weekend with the Eagles having been overrun by the Perth Redbacks at Belmont Oasis back on Friday night.

The Giants then opened their road double on Saturday night with a tough loss to the Warwick Senators as they tried to bounce back against the Eagles on Sunday.

East Perth made a strong start looking to consolidate a top four position by the end of the weekend by putting up 30 points to 19 in the first quarter on 12/20 shooting while holding Goldfields to shooting 5/18.

It was another 24 points to 13 from the Eagles in the second quarter and that saw them end up leading by as much as 23 points, and being on top 54-32 by the half-time break.

That lead continued to grow through the second half for East Perth with the lead 28 points in the third frame, and 36 in the fourth before they secured the 33-point victory.

The Eagles ended up shooting 51 per cent as a team to 32 from the Giants as they scored the win to improve to a 7-2 record to end their weekend splitting the double-header.

Sasha Goodlett once again led the charge in the win for East Perth with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two assists on 10/14 field goal shooting, but she had plenty of help.

Madi Torresin added 17 points and eight rebounds, Taylor Roberts 14 points, four boards and two assists on 4/6 three-point shooting, Awatea Leach 13 points, six rebounds and two steals, Abby Cubillo 10 points, nine boards, seven assists and two steals, and Tessa Morrison 10 points and three assists.

The Giants return to Kalgoorlie with a pair of losses to now sit on a 2-9 record with Nici Gilday finishing with another 21 points and seven assists with Erin Antosh adding 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Kate Sidebottom 10 points, eight boards and two assists.

EAST PERTH EAGLES 97 (Goodlett 20, Torresin 17, Roberts 14)

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 64 (Gilday 21, Antosh 21, Sidebottom 10)

Kalamunda Eastern Suns (78) lost to Joondalup Wolves (81)

Jorjah Smith returned to her former home court and delivered the Joondalup Wolves the most remarkable of overtime wins against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns when she hit the half-court walk off buzzer beater for the 81-78 win.

They might have been the bottom two teams coming into the round's action but what the Suns and Wolves produced over 45 minutes at Ray Owen Sports Centre could very well have been the most dramatic game with the most wild swings so far this season.

Kalamunda were looking for a second win of the season and Joondalup a third, and it was the Eastern Suns who were on top most of the way.

The Suns were leading 25-18 by the end of the first quarter before pushing their advantage to double-figures in the second period and still being on top 39-27 by half-time.

That lead for the home team got out to 17 points in the third frame as well and they were still in control at 61-47 at three quarter-time.

The Wolfpack weren’t going down without a fight, though, and it was the tenacity of feisty guards Stefanie Berberabe and Lesila Finau that helped them create turnovers by turning the pressure up on the Suns ball handlers.

Jorjah Smith then started to feel it from beyond the arc on her former home floor and she hit a couple early in the fourth to bring Joondalup back within seven.

When she knocked down a third three ball of the quarter with 2:15 to play, scores were suddenly level and the momentum was all with the Wolves.

Finau then also hit from deep to put them up three before Kalamunda were back in front thanks to buckets from import pair Karly Murphy and Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant.

Berberabe then made just 1/2 at the foul line to leave scores level with the Suns having one last possession to try and win it, but they had a turnover and Smith did have the chance to steal it, but her shot wouldn’t quite fall.

That sent the game to overtime with scores tied at 72-72 and Kalamunda were out to an early four-point lead, but Joondalup hit back once more although it did appear a second overtime period was on the cards.

Scores were level at 78-78 with the Suns having what should have been the last possession with the chance to win it, but once again they turned the ball over and this time it cost them the game.

McGhee went for the outlet pass but it was intercepted by Kurstyn Harden who then dished it off to Smith who got up the shot right on halfcourt exactly and it never looked like missing.

It was the most spectacular way to complete what had been a remarkable fightback from the Wolves with Smith at the centre of it having played 131 of her 230 career games at the Suns.

She finished with 21 points on 5/12 three-point shooting while Maddie Sutton added 20 points, six rebounds and two steals, Lesila Finau 16 points, eight boards, six steals and four assists, and Stefanie Berberabe 14 points and five steals.

Karly Murphy finished with 30 points, 21 rebounds, seven assists and three steals for the Eastern Suns while Alyssa Bowen delivered 17 points, nine boards and three steals, Emma Strelein 10 points, five assists and three rebounds, and Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant eight points, seven boards and six assists.

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 78 (Murphy 30, Bowen 17, Strelein 10)

JOONDALUP WOLVES 81 (Smith 21, Sutton 20, Finau 16)

MEN

Willetton Tigers (103) defeated Geraldton Buccaneers (99)

Tana Kopa made a stunning debut and the Andrew Black helped the Willetton Tigers get to overtime and eventually beat the Geraldton Buccaneers 103-99 the day after Buccs captain Aaron Ralph broke the three-point record.

It was the first meeting between the two teams since the Tigers shocked the Buccs in last year's preliminary final in Geraldton to book in their place in the grand final at RAC Arena.

Both teams were also in action on Saturday night with the Buccaneers beating the Lakeside Lightning with Ralph hitting five three-pointers to now be the all-time leading shooter from behind the arc in league history.

Willetton also won a thriller against local rivals Cockburn with both teams backing up on Sunday afternoon at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

Both during the first and second quarters Willetton were able to open up an eight-point lead, but by quarter-time they were only leading 22-20, and by half-time scores were all tied at 49-49.

Geraldton then produced 20 points to 13 in the third period to open up an eight-point lead, which got out to 10 in the fourth quarter but the Tigers fired back in the 300th game of captain Andrew Black.

Black even knocked down a three ball as part of the fourth quarter fightback to bring the margin back to one before he added a second with four minutes to play to level scores up.

Debutant Tana Kopa then hit another triple to put Willetton in front and then he made a hero out of himself in his first appearance with the Tigers after his time at Canisius College by hitting the triple that sent the game to overtime.

Then in the extra period, Kopa made another couple of huge three-pointers, Black made a couple of crucial free throws and Tom Gerovich helped ensure the four-point win at home for Willetton.

The Tigers improve to an 8-3 record as a result of the pair of thrilling wins this weekend and it was a remarkable debut performance from 22-year-old Tana Kopa who produced 25 points on the back of knocking down 7/13 from three-point territory.

Tom Gerovich also delivered 24 points, eight rebounds and two assists with Taeshon Cherry adding 18 points, six boards, four steals, two assists and two blocks, and milestone man Andrew Black eight points, two rebounds and two assists with 2/3 three-point shooting.

Geraldton returns home having again split a road double with a 7-4 record with Josh Keyes putting up 26 points and 10 rebounds trying to cover for the absence of fellow import Akeem Springs with a hamstring injury.

Verle Williams added 20 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals, Nik DeSantis 15 points, five assists, three boards and two steals, Liam Hunt 12 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, and Johny Narkle 11 points, six assists, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Aaron Ralph made another three- triples to become the first man to surpass 1100 in his career on his way to 11 points and three rebounds.

WILLETTON TIGERS 103 (Kopa 25, Gerovich 24, Cherry 18)

GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 99 (Keyes 26, Williams 20, DeSantis 15)

East Perth Eagles (79) defeated Goldfields Giants (74)

The 2025 season of the East Perth Eagles was potentially on the line at there quarter-time with them down 10 to the Goldfields Giants, but they delivered a scintillating fourth term for the heartening 79-74 victory.

The Eagles suffered a disappointing loss on the road to the undermanned Perth Redbacks on Friday night which left them further out of a top eight spot with a 3-6 record.

That put the pressure on Sunday's match up against a Giants outfit at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre who came into the weekend double on the road sitting third in the standings.

The Giants did lose on Saturday night to the Warwick Senators but lost no admirers in putting in a strong showing, and then it was Goldfields who dominated proceedings against East Perth for the first three quarters.

The Giants held the Eagles to 4/18 shooting from the field in the first quarter to open up an eight-point lead before that got out to 10 in the second term with Goldfields still leading 43-35 by the half-time break.

The Giants extended that lead to 10 by three quarter-time as well and the Eagles just couldn’t afford to slip to 3-7 by losing a second game of the weekend.

The players responded to that position they found themselves in as well and delivered what could well have been their best quarter of basketball for the season so far.

The Eagles ended up outscoring the Giants 29 points to 14 in that last 10 minutes where they shot 11/18 from the floor, held Goldfields to 6/15 shooting and turned that 10-point deficit into the eventual five-point victory.

East Perth will be hoping the win kickstarts their season with them improving to a 4-6 record with Lee Roberts finishing with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three assists on 6/10 field goal shooting.

Matthew Lang added 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Max Rice eight points, five boards, three assists and three steals.

The Giants return home having played plenty of strong basketball across the eight quarters against Warwick and East Perth but not quite getting over the line to now sit at 7-4.

EAST PERTH EAGLES 79

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 74

Kalamunda Eastern Suns (68) lost to Joondalup Wolves (77)

The Joondalup Wolves produced a huge third quarter and that proved the difference in a hard fought battle with the Kalamunda Eastern Suns as they prevailed 77-68.

It was the lone game of the weekend for both teams on Sunday afternoon at Ray Owen Sports Centre with the Wolfpack trying to bounce back from a loss in a cracking contest last Saturday night to the Rockingham Flames.

The Suns were also trying to break back into the top eight after a narrow loss to the Perry Lakes Hawks last week too but it was always going to be a challenge in the absence of Marshall Nelson and the 21.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists a game that he provides.

Kalamunda did start well enough on their home floor leading 20-14 by quarter-time on holding Joondalup to shooting 6/20 from the field.

The Suns then opened up a double-figure lead during the second quarter and went into the half-time break leading 41-34.

The Wolfpack turned things around completely in the third stanza as they put up 27 points to 10 on the back of knocking down 6/10 from three-point territory to score 12 straight points and open up their own double-digit advantage.

From there the Wolves went on to secure the nine-point victory to improve to an 8-4 record on the season ahead of a trip to Geraldton to take on the Buccaneers in a rematch of the 2019 and 2023 grand finals next Saturday night.

CJ Turnage produced another 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the win for the Wolfpack with Ethan Elliott adding 17 points, five assists, four boards and four steals.

Joey Baker also had 16 points on 4/10 three-point shooting, and Caleb Davis eight points, 13 rebounds and four assists.

The Eastern Suns remain outside the top eight now having lost two straight to sit at 4-7 with Terrico White top-scoring with 15 points to go with eight rebounds and two assists.

Marley Sam added 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals, Lewis Thomas 11 points, 10 boards and four assists, and Travis Fee 11 points and seven rebounds.

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 68 (White 15, Sam 12, Thomas 11, Fee 11)

JOONDALUP WOLVES 77 (Turnage 19, Elliott 17, Baker 16)