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THE Joondalup Wolves, Lakeside Lightning and Willetton Tigers all broke away as the top three teams after eight rounds of the Women’s SBL over the weekend while the Perth Redbacks continued to grow with two more victories.

Round 8 of the Women’s SBL saw the Wolves, Lightning and Tigers all continue their winning ways to have the top three teams open up a handy gap on the rest of the competition while the Warwick Senators came up short in two challenging match ups.

Meanwhile, the Redbacks won twice to be knocking on the door of the top eight for the first time in 2019 under new coach Craig Allen.

ROUND 8 SPOTLIGHT | LADY WOLFPACK DOMINATE SECOND HALF OVER SENATORS
ROUND 8 SPOTLIGHT | LADY HAWKS OVERCOME EASTERN SUNS
DENIELLE LIPSCOMBE | 250 GAMES
ROUND 8 WOMEN’S SBL PREVIEW

Round 8 began on Friday night with the Perth Redbacks beating the East Perth Eagles 90-56 with the Rockingham Flames also defeating the Warwick Senators 79-72 and the Perry Lakes Hawks prevailing 75-64 over the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

Then on Saturday night, the Perth Redbacks continued their emergence beating the South West Slammers 92-86 in Denielle Lipscombe’s 250th SBL appearance.

The Willetton Tigers made it five straight wins beating the Rockingham Flames 74-66 with the Joondalup Wolves coming back from being down nine at half-time to beat the Warwick Senators 87-74 while the Lakeside Lightning also downed the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 87-81.

Following eight rounds in the Women’s SBL, the Joondalup Wolves and Lakeside Lightning are both out on top with 8-1 records, just ahead of the Willetton Tigers who are now 8-3.

The Warwick Senators sit fourth at 5-3 just ahead of the also 5-3 Rockingham Flames.

The South West Slammers (4-5), Perry Lakes Hawks (4-5) and Mandurah Magic (4-5) round out the top eight ahead of the Perth Redbacks (3-6), Kalamunda Eastern Suns (3-7), Cockburn Cougars (2-5) and East Perth Eagles (0-10).

FRIDAY

SCHWEIGEN EAST PERTH EAGLES 56 lost to TEXTURE WA PERTH REDBACKS 90

The East Perth Eagles were back at home on Friday night attempting to put a horror Round 7 behind them and while they were more competitive, the Perth Redbacks continued their emergence winning by 34 points.

The Eagles had a weekend to forget back in Round 7 with hefty losses to the Perry Lakes Hawks and Joondalup Wolves dearly missing the presence of import Janee Johnson.

She was only back for 25 seconds on Friday night at Herb Graham Recreation Centre before again leaving the court. The Redbacks were minus Lauren Mansfield but soon took control of the contest.

The Redbacks went on to lead 27-12 by quarter-time but the Eagles were able to stem the tide during the second term to limit Perth’s lead to just 18 at the major break.

East Perth then did well to score 17 points themselves in the third quarter. But Perth added 24 of their own and then with 22 points to 13 in the final period they ran out 90-56 winners.

The win improved the Redbacks to 2-6 on the season after losing their opening six games while the Eagles remain winless and have lost 42 on the trot.

The Redbacks were able to outrebound the Eagles 66 to 43 while also again forcing East Perth into another 26 turnovers from which they scored 25 points.

Emerging star Nes’eya Williams top-scored for the Redbacks with 25 points, five rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocked shots on the back of shooting 11/21 from the field and 3/6 from three-point range.

Rosie Deegan added 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists too for Perth with Alix Hayward contributing nine points, eight boards and three assists, Jess Jakens eight points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Morgan Pullins eight points and five boards.

Cameron Flynn continues to be a shining light for the Eagles delivering 18 points and five rebounds while Rose Aryang finished with nine points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots, Kailee Booth eight points and Ella Dimanlig eight to go with four rebounds.

CLASS 1 ORTHODONTICS ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 79 defeated BETHANIE WARWICK SENATORS 72

The Rockingham Flames and Warwick Senators have both shown enough to suggest they will be strong forces in 2019 setting the stage for a fascinating Friday night battle and it ended up seeing the Flames come from behind to win by seven points.

With the Flames entering the round at 4-2 and the Senators at 5-1, there was plenty on the line in the contest as both teams started double-header weekends for the clash at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

The Senators managed to lead 22-19 by quarter-time and then maintained a narrow edge through the second quarter to go into half-time leading 46-41.

Warwick then pulled away further with 17 points to 10 in the third quarter to end up leading by as much as 12 points but Rockingham wasn’t done with.

The Flames produced a dominant fourth quarter display at both ends of the floor outscoring the Senators 28 points to nine to come away with the strong 79-72 victory.

Rockingham turned up the pressure on Warwick and ended up forcing them into 26 turnovers from which they scored 24 points. The Flames significantly won the possession game taking 16 more shots than the Senators which proved pivotal with little between the percentages of both teams.

Janelle Adams top-scored for Rockingham with 23 points, six rebounds, six steals and three assists despite hitting just 1/9 from three-point territory.

Christina Boag also had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Flames with Maddie Allen producing 11 points and 11 boards, Ella Kennedy 10 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Ariana Hetherington seven points, six boards, three steals and two assists.

Stacey Barr top-scored for the Senators with 24 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals while Caitlyn Jones contributed 13 points and four boards, Samaria Howard 12 points and five rebounds, Tayla Hepburn nine points and five boards, and Nicole Jorre de St Jorre eight points and six rebounds.

SCARBORO TOYOTA PERRY LAKES HAWKS 75 defeated KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 64

The Perry Lakes Hawks made it consecutive wins holding off a late charge from the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Bendat Basketball Centre on Friday night to win by 11 points.

Perry Lakes came into the game after ending their three-game losing run on Saturday night against East Perth and then despite some players arriving late due to delays on the freeway, they came out firing in the first quarter against the Eastern Suns.

The Hawks closed the quarter on a 17-2 run to lead 22-6 by quarter-time and they then led 27-8 after five quick combined points from Rebecca Benson and Jamie Cherry.

A triple from Cherry and then jumper from Sam Ashby saw Perry Lakes lead 34-10 soon after and the home team remained in control leading 43-28 at the major break.

Kalamunda wasn’t going away, though, and opened the second half with the first four points and by the time Lauren Jeffers nailed a jump shot against the team she helped lead to the 2017 championship, the margin was just seven.

Jeffers helped trim that deficit to five by three quarter-time and suddenly with 3:30 left to go in the game, the Eastern Suns had drawn level with a Carla Drennan layup.

Nikita Martin responded for Perry Lakes with her own jump shot and she hit another soon after in her best performance of the season having crossed from Joondalup.

Benson then hit a triple and Cherry hit another bucket as Perry Lakes scored the last 11 points after the scores were tied to win by that margin.

Jamie Cherry continued her fine first season in the SBL for the Hawks with the point guard delivering 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Nikita Martin did well for 13 points and five rebounds while Rebecca Benson nailed 4/7 from downtown for 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Kristan Teasdale finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds also for the Hawks.

Jennie Rintala battled hard for the Eastern Suns and stayed out of foul trouble for 17 points, 13 rebounds and two steals, including going a perfect 8/8 from the foul line.

Carla Drennan produced likely the best of her 57-game SBL career with 14 points, six rebounds and three steals as well while Jewel Williams finished with 12 points and four steals, Lauren Jeffers nine points, six assists, five boards and three steals, and Rebecca Motroni eight points, four rebounds and three steals.

SATURDAY

TEXTURE WA PERTH REDBACKS 92 defeated PRINT SYNC SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 86

The Perth Redbacks continued to build their momentum making it three successive wins beating the South West Slammers by six points at Belmont Oasis on Saturday.

After losing their opening six matches of the season, the Redbacks had won two straight coming into the clash against the Slammers and their import from last season, Makailah Dyer.

The Redbacks had beaten East Perth on Friday night to open the round and went on to lead 22-20 by quarter-time on Saturday against the Slammers.

The Redbacks extended their advantage with 24 points to 18 in the second quarter to head into half-time leading 46-38.

While the Slammers did continue to fight right throughout the second half, the Redbacks did enough to come away with the 92-86 win to improve to 3-6 on the season with the three straight wins.

The Slammers are now 4-5 having lost their past three matches.

The Slammers did a lot right during the game including winning the rebound count by eight and shooting the ball at 43 per cent from the field and 32 per cent three-point range. They did get to the foul line 34 times too, but struggled shooting there making just 21.

The Redbacks did force the Slammers into 20 turnovers from which they scored 19 points with Perth benefitting in the end from taking 18 more shots on the game while also shooting at 43 per cent.

Rosie Deegan top-scored for the Redbacks with 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Nes’eya Williams continued her brilliant weekend with 21 points and three rebounds while Lauren Mansfield produced 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals, Jess Jakens 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals, and Morgan Pullins 10 points, three boards and two assists.

Denielle Lipscombe celebrated her 250th game in the SBL with five points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals in the win for the Redbacks.

Makailah Dyer delivered a big performance against her former team for the Slammers with 27 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Brittni Montgomery also finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds for South West, Courtney Bayliss 15 points and 10 boards, and Bianca Donovan eight points, five boards, three steals and two assists also up against her old side.

WILLETTON TIGERS 74 defeated CLASS 1 ORTHODONTICS ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 66

Willetton brought some hot form into their home clash with Rockingham on Saturday but the Flames had also won well the previous night setting the stage for a tremendous contest with the Tigers holding on for the eight-point win.

The Tigers had won four straight games coming into the contest at Willetton Basketball Stadium with the arrival of imports Laina Snyder and Wendi Bibbins having an immediate impact.

But the Flames have been looking strong too and won well over the Warwick Senators on their home floor on Friday night coming into the trip to Willetton.

The Tigers started off impressively and by quarter-time led 23-19 before putting their foot down in the second quarter with 32 points to 19 to head into half-time with a 55-38 advantage.

That 17-point lead would prove the biggest of the match as the Flames battled hard to get back into the contest in the second half.

They were able to hold Willetton to just 19 points in the second half, but they managed just the 28 points themselves with the Tigers winning 74-66 to improve to 8-3 on the season on a five-game winning run.

Laina Snyder continued to make her case to be MVP leading the Tigers once more with another 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals on shooting 10/19 from the field and 4/6 from three-point range.

Taryn Priestly contributed 13 points and seven assists off the bench for Willetton with Desiree Kelley producing 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, Imogen Ayliffe nine points and three boards, and Emma Gandini seven points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Janelle Adams top-scored for Rockingham with 14 points, six rebounds and two steals while Maddie Allen produced 13 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, Paris Duffield nine points, Christina Boag eight points, nine boards and four assists, and Ella Kennedy eight points, seven rebounds and three steals.

BETHANIE WARWICK SENATORS 74 lost to CHAMBERS FRANKLYN JOONDALUP CITY WOLVES 87

The Joondalup Wolves had to come from behind at half-time but produced a dominant performance at both ends of the floor in the second half led by Amber Land on her return to Warwick Stadium in Saturday night’s 13-point win over the Senators.

The Senators and Wolves both came into the game in hot form to start the season, and that continued with a hot pace in the opening quarter with the teams combining for 54 points, with the home team leading 28-26 by quarter-time.

After Olivia Basso and Amber Land helped the Wolves to a 35-31 lead early in the second period, the Senators took charge for the rest of the half.

They held the Wolfpack to just five points over the last 6:45 of the half. In that time, Warwick was able to put up 18 points themselves with imports Samaria Howard and Bianca Villegas, and emerging star Caitlyn Jones particularly impressive.

The Lady Wolfpack had work to do at half-time but came out and scored the opening two baskets of the second half through Land and Kayla Steindl. The Wolves went on an 11-2 run to open the second half and finished the quarter with 24 points to eight on the back of a late Mikayla Pirini triple.

That saw Joondalup having turned a nine-point half-time deficit into seven-point three quarter-time lead, and with Land, Steindl and Amy Kidner tremendous inside, the Wolves continued to pull away to end up winning 87-74.

That sees the Lady Wolfpack improve to 8-1 on the season to remain top-of-the-table while the Senators are 5-3 having lost to both the Rockingham Flames and Wolves this weekend.

Not a lot separated the teams in terms of numbers with the Senators outrebounding the Wolves 51 to 45, but the Wolfpack forced them into 18 turnovers from which they scored 13 points.

The Wolves just had 12 turnovers themselves and shot a little better going 41 per cent from the field and 28 per cent from deep opposed to 36 and 25 per cent respectively for the Senators.

But through the second half it was the inside force for the Wolfpack of Kayla Steindl, Amy Kidner and Amber Land that took over. The trio combined for 55 points, 24 rebounds and four blocks on 22/40 shooting.

It was a long night for Bianca Villegas and Tayla Hepburn up against the trio with Lakeside’s championship-winning centre from last year, Sam Roscoe, still finding her feet.

Steindl finished the night with 22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots for the Wolves with Land enjoying her first return visit as an opposition player to Warwick Stadium with 21 points, 10 boards, three steals, two assists and two blocks.

Kidner added 12 points and four rebounds for Joondalup with Mikayla Pirini producing 12 points and three assists, and Isabelle Miotti six points, five assists and three rebounds.

Stacey Barr top-scored for the Senators with 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists on shooting 7/19 from the field and 3/10 from beyond the arc.

Bianca Villegas added 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks for Warwick with Samaria Howard contributing 14 points, 11 boards and three assists, and Nicole Jorre de St Jorre 13 points and three rebounds.

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 81 lost to LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 87

The Lakeside Lightning played their first game of the season without Ali Schwagmeyer and were able to overcome a slow start to beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns by six points.

The Eastern Suns were desperate to return to the winner’s list having lost their last couple including on Friday night to open the round against the Perry Lakes Hawks.

And Kalamunda started well at Ray Owen Sports Centre in a rematch of last year’s semi-final series to lead 32-24 by quarter-time on the back of a hot opening quarter performance.

While the Lightning worked back into the contest in the second quarter, the Eastern Suns still held a narrow 45-44 lead at the main break.

Things remained tight throughout the second half but in the end the defending champions did enough to come away with the 87-81 victory.

Lakeside’s import point guard GeAnna Luaulu-Summers proved the difference between the two teams finishing the evening with 35 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals on shooting 13/23 from the field, 4/10 from deep and 5/8 from the foul line.

Claire and Amy Jacobs enjoyed their increased opportunities in the absence of Ali Schwagmeyer, with Claire producing 14 points, three steals and two rebounds, and Amy 14 points, two rebounds and two steals.

Jess Van Schie added 11 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists for Lakeside with Ash Grant producing eight points and six boards.

Jewel Williams top-scored once more for the Eastern Suns with 22 points and five rebounds with Jennie Rintala contributing 19 points, 10 boards, five assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

Rebecca Motroni stepped up for 17 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals as well.