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TWO wins for the Warwick Senators over fellow contending teams saw them make quite the statement in Round 11 of the Women’s SBL while the Joondalup Wolves and Perry Lakes Hawks kept winning, and Rockingham Flames and Kalamunda Eastern Suns scored important victories.

There was always going to be plenty learned from the action in Round 11 of the Women’s SBL and in the end it saw the Warwick Senators win impressively against both the Lakeside Lightning and Willetton Tigers on back-to-back nights.

The Joondalup Wolves also kept winning to consolidate top spot while the Perry Lakes Hawks made it four straight and the Rockingham Flames and Kalamunda Eastern Suns ended their losing slides.

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Round 11 in the Women’s SBL began on Friday night with the Joondalup Wolves beating the Perth Redbacks 79-72 at Belmont Oasis and the Warwick Senators defeating the defending champion Lakeside Lightning 71-63 at Warwick Stadium.

Then on Saturday night, the Warwick Senators backed up by beating the Willetton Tigers 92-67 at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

The Rockingham Flames beat the East Perth Eagles 83-53 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex as well while the Perry Lakes Hawks defeated the Cockburn Cougars 60-52 at Bendat Basketball Centre, and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns defeated the South West Slammers 92-74.

Following Round 11 in the Women’s SBL, the Joondalup Wolves (11-2) remain clear on top of the standings ahead of the Lakeside Lightning (9-2), Warwick Senators (9-3) and Willetton Tigers (10-5).

The Perry Lakes Hawks (6-5) are fifth with the Rockingham Flames (6-5), Mandurah Magic (5-6) and South West Slammers (5-7) rounding out the top eight.

The Kalamunda Eastern Suns (4-8) are just outside a playoff position ahead of the Perth Redbacks (4-8), Cockburn Cougars (2-9) and East Perth Eagles (1-12).

ROUND 11 WOMEN’S SBL

FRIDAY

TEXTURE WA PERTH REDBACKS 72 lost to CHAMBERS FRANKLYN JOONDALUP CITY WOLVES 79

The Joondalup Wolves moved further clear on top of the Women’s SBL on Friday night heading to Belmont Oasis and beating the Perth Redbacks by seven points.

The game always had an extra bit of interest with first-year Wolfpack coach Charles Nix heading back to Belmont after coaching the Redbacks last season and taking them to the semi finals.

Mikayla Pirini and Kayla Steindl joined him in the move too from the Redbacks to Wolves in the off-season, and while Steindl didn’t play on Friday night, Pirini did and the Lady Wolfpack bounced back from last week’s loss to Willetton to maintain their hold on top position.

The Redbacks started strongly and led by two points at the end of the first quarter but the Wolves held the home team to just 11 second quarter points while scoring 16 themselves to lead 38-35 by half-time.

Joondalup’s defence continued to be stifling with the Redbacks managing just 10 third quarter points as the Wolves’ lead grew to 57-45 by half-time before they went on to win the game 79-72 and improve to 11-2 on the season while the Redbacks are now 4-8.

In the end the major difference between the two teams was the three-point shooting with the Wolves going 12/27 at 44 per cent and the Redbacks 4/21 at just 19 per cent.

Without Kayla Steindl, Amber Land made sure she stepped up even further to make sure her absence was covered finishing with 15 points, 20 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocked shots for the Wolves.

Mikayla Pirini ended up top-scoring for the Lady Wolfpack with 21 points and two assists while Isabelle Miotti contributed 18 points and six rebounds, Georgia Denehey eight points and five boards, and Amy Kidner eight points and 12 rebounds.

Rosie Deegan, fresh off committing to Davidson College in North Carolina, had a big night for the Redbacks finishing with 26 points and eight rebounds.

Morgan Pullins produced 18 points and 12 rebounds for Perth with Lauren Mansfield contributing 11 points and seven assists, and Alex Hayward eight points.

BETHANIE WARWICK SENATORS 71 defeated LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 63

The Warwick Senators showed they are a team to be reckoned with in the Women’s SBL in 2019 opening up a big lead and then pulling away again to survive the fight back from the defending champion Lakeside Lightning at Warwick Stadium on Friday night.

With Rebekah and Hannah Throns both back for the Senators from college and with Lakeside championship winner from last year Sam Roscoe playing her fifth game, Dion Dagostino’s side is settling into the season nicely.

In a lot of ways the season for Lakeside is starting now with coach Craig Mansfield and captain Courtney Mansfield just returning from getting married with import big Hannah Stewart arriving this week too and given she’s replacing a guard in Ali Schwagmeyer, it changes the Lightning’s make up.

And it looked like a settled Warwick team against a Lakeside line-up trying to find its feet for the first half on Friday night at Warwick Stadium as the Senators opened up a 39-19 advantage by late in the first half.

But threes just before half-time for Lakeside to Jae Flynn and Ellyce Ironmonger at least kept them within touch just 14 points behind.

Stewart then came out and drained a three to open the second half for the Lightning and when Ironmonger hit another from deep, the margin was just eight. When Stewart hit her second triple of the third period soon after, the Lightning trailed by only five and it was game on.

Warwick still led by five heading into three quarter-time but 45 seconds into the fourth quarter and Lakeside had levelled scores thanks to five quick points from Ash Grant and Jess Van Schie.

Stacey Barr responded with a three-point play for the Senators who added another and-one just 30 seconds later. Barr continued to be the difference making enough crucial shots to keep the Senators on top as they held on for the eight-point victory.

Warwick ended up with 10 more rebounds than a Lakeside team who played with three genuine bigs for much of the night. That led to 16 second chance points to just five for the Lightning.

The Lightning also had 21 turnovers from which the Senators scored 12 points from.

Stacey Barr finished the night with 20 points and eight rebounds for the Senators despite missing all seven of her attempts from downtown.

Samaria Howard was tremendous as well with 17 points and 12 rebounds while Caitlyn Jones contributed 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Bianca Villegas 10 points and nine boards, and Sam Roscoe eight points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

Switching to the three spot for much of the game, Ash Grant top-scored for Lakeside with 20 points and 13 rebounds while new import big Hannah Stewart put up 14 points and 11 rebounds on debut.

Ellyce Ironmonger hit two threes on the night for 10 points and five rebounds with GeAnna Lualu-Summers having a tough offensive night going 2/16 from the field for nine points, four rebounds and three assists.

Jess Van Schie did contribute seven points, six rebounds and three steals while Tiahrn Flynn had four assists and two steals in her 200th SBL appearance.

SATURDAY

WILLETTON TIGERS 67 lost to BETHANIE WARWICK SENATORS 92

The Warwick Senators backed up their big win on Friday night with an emphatic 25-point victory over the Willetton Tigers at Willetton Basketball Stadium on Saturday night.

The Senators were on a high after winning at home against Lakeside on Friday and continued that momentum against a Willetton team coming off a fascinating weekend where they beat the league-leading Wolves on Friday and then lost to the bottom placed Eagles on Saturday.

It was a close first half even though Warwick led by a point at quarter-time and then by four at half-time, Willetton was still hanging in there.

But the Senators pulled away throughout the second half putting up 27 points to 16 in the third quarter while adding another 24 points to 14 in the fourth period to come away with the 92-67 victory.

The win improves the Senators to 9-3 on the season having won four straight now while the Tigers have lost their last two to be 10-5.

Neither team shot the ball well from beyond the three-point line with the Senators going 4/18 and the Tigers 3/17, but Warwick went 56 per cent inside the arc and Willetton just 39 per cent.

The Senators also finished with 16 more rebounds and 16 offensive boards for 22 second chance points along with forcing the Tigers into 16 turnovers for 18 points along with racking up 33 points from the bench.

All those bench points were courtesy of two players for Warwick with Tayla Hepburn producing 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Caitlyn Jones 16 points and six boards.

Samaria Howard added 15 points and four rebounds, Stacey Barr 15 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, Bianca Villegas 12 points and nine boards, and Sam Roscoe 10 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Laina Snyder top-scored for Willetton with 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals with Desiree Kelley adding 11 points, five boards, five assists, two steals and two blocks, Emma Gandini 10 points and three assists, and Hayley Winter eight points, six assists and four boards.

SCARBORO TOYOTA PERRY LAKES HAWKS 60 defeated ROUND 1 FITNESS COCKBURN COUGARS 52

The Perry Lakes Hawks continued their momentum from before the weekend off with a hard fought eight-point win on Saturday night against the Cockburn Cougars at Bendat Basketball Centre.

The Lady Hawks had won their last three matches before the Round 10 bye and then were able to make it four wins in succession on Saturday night with Nat Burton back in the line-up for the first time in 2019.

But they didn’t have it all their own way with the Cougars also welcoming their second import, Alina Hartmann, as they attempted to snap their losing run.

Cockburn came out strongly too and led 18-13 by quarter-time before Perry Lakes steadied in the second quarter with 19 points to 10 to head into half-time leading 32-28.

The Cougars continued to throw everything into getting their third win of the season and got on top in the third term with 16 points to 10 to lead 44-42 at three quarter-time.

That left the challenge ahead of the Hawks but they responded to dominate the fourth quarter and claim the 60-52 win to improve to 6-5 on the season while the Cougars are now 2-9 having lost nine straight.

Sam Ashby had a breakout game for Perry Lakes, playing more than 24 minutes off the bench and producing 14 points, six rebounds and two assists on shooting 6/7 from the field.

Nat Burton marked her first appearance of the season with 10 points and six rebounds while Nikita Martin contributed 10 points, Sarah Donovan seven points and 10 rebounds, Jamie Cherry seven points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Rebecca Benson seven points and three assists.

Kisha Lee top-scored for Cockburn with 17 points and nine rebounds with Jodee Sontay contributing 11 points and eight boards, new import Alina Hartmann seven points and five rebounds, Haylee De Sousa six points and Matilda Muir six points and four boards.

CLASS 1 ORTHODONTICS ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 83 defeated SCHWEIGEN EAST PERTH EAGLES 53

East Perth was coming off its first win in two years for a trip to Rockingham and the Eagles took it right up to them at least for a half before the Flames pulled away to win by 30 points.

The Eagles snapped their 43-game losing streak in style last Saturday night beating a Willetton Tigers team that was on their own impressive winning run.

That saw East Perth coming into a game on Saturday night in Rockingham coming off that high and the Eagles were able to maintain the momentum by only trailing by four points at quarter-time.

East Perth then produced a strong second period outscoring Rockingham 17-15 to leave the Flames only leading 36-34 going into half-time.

The Flames did get flowing a little more in the second half with 47 points to just 19 from the Eagles to see them win 83-53 but it was another performance for East Perth with positives to suggest they are showing signs of improvement.

Rockingham did dominate the glass with 63 rebounds to 42 for the game including 26 at the offensive end from which they scored 22 second chance points. The Flames also forced the Eagles into 26 turnovers from which they scored 18 points.

Darcee Garbin is settling back into life at the Flames nicely with the Townsville Fire WNBL and Australian Opals star delivering 25 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.

Christina Boag had a big night for Rockingham too with 17 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocked shots while Paris Duffield stepped up for the injured Janelle Adams to start and produce 16 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Chelsea Petrik added seven points and five assists, Ella Kennedy six points and eight rebounds, and Jesni Cooper six points.

Cameron Flynn continued to be a bright spark for East Perth with another efficient 14 points, three steals and two rebounds on shooting 6/10 from the field and 2/3 from three-point territory.

Bree Fisher contributed 11 points for the Eagles while sister Eryn returned from college for her first game of 2019 and had a tough shooting night going 2/14 from the field, but contributed seven points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Janee Johnson added seven points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Rose Aryang six points and six boards.

PRINT SYNC SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 74 lost to KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 92

Two teams that look destined to fight over a playoff position this season did battle at Eaton Recreation Centre on Saturday night with the Kalamunda Eastern Suns recording an important 18-point victory.

Kalamunda had lost its past four matches coming into the trip to Bunbury against a Slammers team coming off a win last week following a four-game losing run of their own so it was always going to be a significant result either way.

With new import Katie Yohn settling into the line-up and Alecia Knowles back from a knee injury to add to the depth at the Eastern Suns, they started strongly putting up 28 points in the opening quarter to lead the Slammers by nine at quarter-time.

Kalamunda still led 50-42 at half-time before the visitors pulled further away in the third period with 23 points to 16. That was enough to set up the match-winning advantage with the Eastern Suns going on with the job to score the 92-74 victory.

The win improves the Eastern Suns to a 4-8 record on the season in ninth position while the Slammers sit eighth at 5-7.

While the Slammers won the rebound count by eight, they did have 25 turnovers from which the Eastern Suns were able to score 22 points from.

The Suns also had a better shooting night putting up 32/72 from the field at 44 per cent and 11/29 from three-point range at 37 per cent. They also went 17/21 from the foul line. The Slammers went 26/66 from the field at 39 per cent and 6/23 at 26 from downtown.

Katie Yohn showed what a significant addition for Kalamunda she will be leading the way in the win with 22 points, four rebounds and two assists on an efficient 7/12 shooting from the field and 4/7 from deep.

Jennie Rintala also produced 17 points and five rebounds for the Eastern Suns while Jewel Williams added 17 points and four assists, Lauren Jeffers 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Rebecca Motroni eight points, four boards and three assists.

Makailah Dyer continued her hot form for the Slammers with another 29 points, five rebounds and three assist while Courtney Bayliss contributed 17 points and 10 boards, Brittni Montgomery nine points and nine rebounds, and Bianca Donovan six points and three assists.