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THE Perth Redbacks hit back hard from their winning streak ended to beat the Stirling Senators on Friday night in the Women’s SBL with the Kalamunda Eastern Suns winning a tight one over the Joondalup Wolves.

There were two matches in the Women’s SBL to open Round 8 of the 2018 season starting with the Perth Redbacks beating the Stirling Senators 82-55 at Belmont Oasis.

The other Friday night contest saw the Kalamunda Eastern Suns score an impressive victory at HBF Arena in a tight contest, beating the Joondalup Wolves 78-75.

WOMEN’S SBL PREVIEW – WEEK 8

The Redbacks went into their clash at Belmont Oasis coming off their second loss of the season last Saturday night at the hands of the Willetton Tigers.

That loss ended a five-game winning run for the Redbacks but they responded strongly on Friday night at home to the Senators to come away with the 27-point victory.

It improves the Redbacks to a 6-2 record on the season while the Senators slip to 3-6.

Jess Jakens continued her career-best season for the Redbacks in a new role as a scoring threat off the bench. She finished with 22 points and four rebounds on 10/12 shooting.

Mikayla Pirini added 19 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals for Perth while Makailah Dyer finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Kayla Standish eight points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Amber Land had another strong performance for Stirling finishing with 18 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocked shots.

Jasmine Martin added 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Senators with Janee Johnson contributing 10 points, five rebounds and five steals, and Jodee Sontay eight points and six boards.

The other Friday night contest turned out to be a much tighter affair at HBF Arena.

It was a tight affair all evening and then the two teams only combined to score 17 points in the fourth quarter as the pressure went up. But in the end Kalamunda scored 10 points to seven in the last quarter to claim the three-point victory on their first ever visit to the new Joondalup venue.

Jennie Rintala was a dominant presence inside for the Eastern Suns and put the team on her back to lead them to an important victory. She finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

Alex Ciabattoni was important for Kalamunda in the victory too ending the evening with 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Jorjah Smith also had nine points, four steals and three assists for the Suns with Hannah King contributing seven points, three rebounds and two assists.

Chelsea Belcher top-scored for the Lady Wolfpack with 16 points and four rebounds with Kourteney Zadina adding 13 points and three boards.

Shani Amos also had 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Wolves with Nikita Martin finishing with 10 points, four assists and three boards, Amy Kidner 10 points and Tayla Pipes nine points and five rebounds.

WEEK 8 WOMEN’S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Perth Redbacks 82 defeated Stirling Senators 55
Joondalup Wolves 75 lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns 78

SATURDAY
Willetton Tigers v Rockingham Flames – Willetton Basketball Stadium 6.00pm
Perry Lakes Hawks v Lakeside Lightning – Bendat Basketball Centre 6.00pm
Mandurah Magic v East Perth Eagles – Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre 6.00pm
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Cockburn Cougars – Ray Owen Sports Centre 6.30pm

SUNDAY
Cockburn Cougars v Perry Lakes Hawks – Wally Hagan Stadium 12.00pm