news
Round 8 West Coast Classic Women’s Wrap
THE Joondalup Wolves and Warwick Senators both won twice to maintain the top two spots in the West Coast Classic with one round remaining while the Lakeside Lightning lost twice to put their finals aspirations in serious jeopardy.
It always had the potential to be a West Coast Classic-defining Round 8 on the weekend and that’s how it panned out.
The Lightning had a big task to maintain their push to play finals away to the Lady Wolfpack and at home to the Senators, and they came up short in both games to now be outside the top four while their two opponents in Round 8 now occupy the top two positions.
The Perry Lakes-Kalamunda clash on Friday also was potentially a virtual elimination affair and it was the Hawks who prevailed in that game but still with one round remaining in the West Coast Classic, there is genuinely seven teams who can still reach the finals weekend.
ROUND 8 SPOTLIGHT | LADY WOLFPACK BLOW AWAY LIGHTNING
ROUND 8 WEST COAST CLASSIC WOMEN’S PREVIEW
ROUND 7 WEST COAST CLASSIC WOMEN’S WRAP
Round 8 in the West Coast Classic got underway on Friday night with the Perry Lakes Hawks defeating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 92-65 while the Warwick Senators defeated the East Perth Eagles 99-79.
The Joondalup Wolves also beat the Lakeside Lightning 75-48 and the Rockingham Flames defeated the Mandurah Magic 77-39.
Then on Saturday, the Joondalup Wolves kept on winning with a 106-26 win against the South West Slammers with the Warwick Senators downing the Lakeside Lightning 83-70 and the Cockburn Cougars defeating the Mandurah Magic 83-49.
That means that coming into the final round of the West Coast Classic, it’s a race in three for the top two positions and for a home semi-final next Friday night between the Joondalup Wolves (9-1), Warwick Senators (9-1) and Rockingham Flames (8-2).
The Perry Lakes Hawks (7-3) sit in fourth position and that is their position to lose. Should they beat Cockburn in the final round on Saturday night, they will play finals but if they lose then suddenly the door is open for the next three teams.
The Perth Redbacks (6-4), Lakeside Lightning (6-4) and Kalamunda Eastern Suns (6-4) will all then fight over that fourth spot with the Lady Hawks if they lose to the Cougars and it could be percentage that determines who plays finals.
WEST COAST CLASSIC 2020 – WOMEN’S ROUND 8
FRIDAY
PERRY LAKES HAWKS 92 defeated KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 65
Just about everything went on the line for Perry Lakes and Kalamunda on Friday night, and it was the Lady Hawks who prevailed 92-65 at Bendat Basketball Centre.
Precious little separated the two teams on the standings coming into the game with both teams holding 6-3 records with two matches remaining in the West Coast Classic over the last two rounds of the competition.
And as it turns out, the 27-point win for Perry Lakes now sees them occupy fourth position heading into the final round with a chance to book their spot in the finals with a win over the Cockburn Cougars this Saturday night.
As for the Eastern Suns who have been one of the best stories this West Coast Classic under coach Tom Knowles, they now need to hope that the Hawks lose and beat the Mandurah Magic by enough to have a superior percentage over not only Perry Lakes but the winner of the Redbacks-Lightning game.
Knowing what was at stake for both teams, Perry Lakes were the ones that started impressively and by quarter-time they managed to lead 23 to 16.
The Lady Hawks really took control in the second quarter with Nat Burton and Sarah Donovan dominant inside and on the boards, and Morgan Ballantyne doing a terrific job in the point guard spot.
Perry Lakes put up 31 points to 21 in the second period to head into half-time leading 54-37.
It was then a bit more of a grind in the third quarter with both teams combining for just the 27 points before the Hawks got on a roll again in the final period with 24 points to 15 to come away with the impressive 92-65 victory.
The rebound dominance from the Lady Hawks was remarkable and they finished with 52 rebounds to just 24 from the Eastern Suns while having 20 more points in the paint and scoring 16 second chance points to just two.
Perry Lakes had a host of standout performers and none better than their experienced frontcourt pair of Nat Burton and Sarah Donovan. Burton finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and Donovan 19 points, nine boards and two steals.
Morgan Ballantyne was also tremendous with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals while shooting a percent 8/8 from the floor and 3/3 from downtown.
Nikita Martin also had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Hawks, Millie McCarthy nine points, seven boards and six assists, and Madeleine Dennis seven points.
Jessie Edwards did what she could for the Eastern Suns up against the Hawks frontcourt and finished the night with 17 points and four rebounds on 6/10 shooting.
Jewel Williams also had 17 points and seven assists, and Rebecca Motroni 15 points, four assists, three steals and two rebounds while hitting 5/9 from the land of plenty.
EAST PERTH EAGLES 79 lost to WARWICK SENATORS 99
The East Perth Eagles weren’t shy about throwing everything at Warwick at Herb Graham Recreation Centre on Friday night in their last game of the West Coast Classic, but the Senators proved too strong to keep their winning run going.
The Eagles might have only recorded one win during the West Coast Classic, but they have been a vastly more competitive unit throughout this competition and they showed more encouraging signs against the Senators despite the eventual 20-point margin.
What East Perth had to mindful of was another onslaught from reigning SBL MVP Stacey Barr who scored 75 games across two games the previous weekend, and the Eagles did well to limit her influence but ultimately too many others stepped up for the Senators.
The Senators put up 28 points in the first quarter to lead by six and then they extended that with 27 points to 17 in the second period to be up 55-39 by the half-time break.
Warwick continued on in the third quarter with another 26 points to 18 and they did lead by as much as 21 points at one stage but the Eagles did well to continue the fight the whole way through and even outscored the Senators in the fourth quarter.
The win kept the Senators in the top two of the West Coast Classic standings with Nicole Jorre De St Jorre outstanding against her former team with 27 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals on 11/16 shooting.
Tayla Hepburn added 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Warwick while Mackenzie Clinch-Hoycard contributed 15 points, nine assists, three rebounds and three blocked shots.
Jayda Clark also had 11 points and eight rebounds and Chloe Forster 10 while Stacey Barr scored 10 but shot 2/14 from the floor and 1/10 from three-point land.
Eryn Fisher continued her impressive form for East Perth with another 22 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals while Hannah-Rose Gillis caught fire shooting again for 19 points with 6/9 from beyond the arc.
Mya Dimanlig added 12 points and four rebounds for the Eagles, Meg Ferraz 10 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Fiona Madden four points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
JOONDALUP WOLVES 75 defeated LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 48
The depth and power of the Joondalup Wolves proved too much for the Lakeside Lightning on Friday night as they just about secured a top two spot and home final at HBF Arena with the 75-48 victory.
This loomed as a pivotal game for both teams with the Wolves to go closer to secure a top two finish while the Lightning just had to win to stay in the top four, but it was the Wolfpack who was on fire early.
And that was at both ends of the floor. The Wolves employed a full court press on defence that the young Lightning guards struggled to cope with and as the turnovers mounted up, the points racked up at the other end for the Wolves.
Nes’eya Williams was on fire early hitting the game’s first four points and then getting the offensive rebound and setting up Georgia Denehey for a triple to give the Wolves the 7-0 start.
That became 10-0 when Amber Land scored inside and then 10-0 when Williams knocked down a free-throw.
Lakeside eventually scored courtesy of Ellyce Ironmonger on a good pass from Courtney Mansfield, but the Wolves weren’t letting up and answered with a triple from Mikayla Pirini before Williams scored again to make it 15-2.
Land hit again to make it 17-2 and then it was a Kayla Steindl three-point play which made it 20-4 with the Lightning not knowing what hit them.
To Lakeside’s credit they did begin to work back into the contest and by quarter-time the Wolves were leading 28-11.
Lakeside then played some vastly improved basketball in the second quarter turning up the heat better on the Wolves and doing better offensively to go into half-time having given themselves a chance with Joondalup only leading 39-30.
The game might have still been up for grabs at half-time, but that didn’t last long into the second half.
Steindl opened proceedings in the third quarter knocking down her first three of the night and when Pirini did the same soon after the lead was out to 13 again.
Chelsea Belcher came on and hit another three for the Wolfpack too to see the lead balloon to 19 points, and the home side was up 58-37 by three quarter-time.
It was just going through the motions in the fourth quarter with both teams having Saturday night games to prepare for and the Wolfpack cruised to the 27-point win.
The Lightning have been a club known for their hot shooting but it didn’t work for them up at Joondalup on Friday night. Lakeside ended up going 19/59 at 32 per cent from the field and 4/29 at 13 per cent from downtown.
Add that in to 22 turnovers and the Wolves going at 44 per cent from the floor and 33 per cent from downtown, and it all added up to the big win for the home team to all but lock up a top two finish and the home final.
Kayla Steindl came back into the team for the Lady Wolfpack and led the way with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocked shots on efficient shooting of 5/8 from the floor and 2/2 from three-point land.
Amber Land ensured Joondalup’s bigs dominated the game putting up 13 points, five rebounds and four steals as well while Nes’eya Williams had a hot start and finished with nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
Mikayla Pirini added nine points and four rebounds for the Wolves, Chelsea Belcher seven points and two boards, Georgia Denehey six points and four assists, and Isabelle Miotti six points and two rebounds.
Ash Isenbarger battled valiantly once again for the Lightning to deliver 17 points and 12 rebounds with Courtney Mansfield contributing 11 points and three assists, Ellyce Ironmonger nine points and six rebounds, and Mia Jacobs seven points, three steals, three boards and two assists.
MANDURAH MAGIC 39 lost to ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 77
They might have quite the storied rivalry in the SBL as combatants representing the Peel region, but the Rockingham Flames flexed their muscles to retain their top two hopes against the Mandurah Magic on Friday night.
The Magic were hosting the Flames at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre and would have loved nothing more than to upset the top two aspirations of their rivals, but they just didn’t have a squad available or experienced enough to pull it off.
Missing Rachel Pettit and Tarsha Fletcher who have all appeared during the West Coast Classic on the back of losing Carly Boag, Casey Mihovilovich, Emma Klasztorny and two imports who they would have had for the SBL, and it was a Magic team who couldn’t match it with the Flames.
Rockingham needed to keep winning to retain hopes of finishing in the top two and earning a home semi-final, and the Flames started strongly outscoring the Magic 24 points to eight in the opening period.
It was more of the same the rest of the way to with the Flames scoring 21 points to 11 in the second quarter to lead 45-19 by half-time.
Rockingham put up another 17 points to nine in the third quarter and would end up leading by as much as 44 points before settling on the 77-39 victory.
While the Magic outrebounded the Flames 45 to 41, they had 35 turnovers on the night while shooting 14/55 from the field at 25 per cent and 2/22 at nine per cent from downtown. Rockingham went 43 per cent from the floor and 32 per cent from deep along with 42 points in the paint to 16.
Christina Boag ended the night with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists for Rockingham with Tayah Burrows returning to the line-up with 16 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Paris Duffield also delivered 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals while Zahli Jolly contributed eight points and four boards, Tahni Wilson-Palmer seven points and four rebounds, and Chloe Napolitano seven points and seven boards.
Rachel Halleen finished with eight points and four rebounds for Mandurah while Georgia Haines contributed eight points and two boards, and Jaide Britton seven points and three rebounds.
SATURDAY
SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 26 lost to JOONDALUP WOLVES 106
The Joondalup Wolves took their hot form from Friday night with them down to Eaton Recreation Centre on Saturday to give the South West Slammers the end to their West Coast Classic they were dreading.
It always loomed as a tough way to finish the West Coast Classic for the Slammers even on their home floor and even if they were fresh for the weekend while the Wolves had played the previous night at HBF Arena.
The problem was the Lady Wolfpack delivered a brilliant performance in that Friday night win over the Lakeside Lightning to head to Eaton full of confidence and knowing they needed to keep winning to remain in top position in the standings.
The Wolves also headed south with just about their full playing squad minus Amber Land and Shani Caldwell, and the signs were ominous early when Kayla Steindl and Nes’eya Williams combined for the opening five points.
Just minutes later and it was a 16-2 opening for the Lady Wolfpack when Chelsea Belcher knocked down a jumper and they went on to lead 22-9 by quarter-time.
It was then a monstrous second quarter from the Lady Wolfpack as they put up 34 points while limiting the Slammers to four and that saw them head into half-time leading by a commanding 56-13.
Unfortunately it didn’t get much better for the Slammers after the break with the Wolves putting up another 25 points to three in the third quarter, and 25 to 10 in the fourth to win 106-26 having at one stage led by as much as 82 points and scoring 24 points in-a-row.
The Wolves ended up with 55 rebounds to 29 from the Slammers while forcing their opponents into 42 turnovers and limiting their shooting to 11/45 from the floor and 2/12 from beyond the arc.
Kayla Steindl played just under 13 minutes and put in a remarkably efficient performance for the Wolves made up of 22 points, six rebounds and four steals on 8/11 shooting.
Chelsea Belcher added 13 points for Joondalup, Nes’eya Williams 13 points and five rebounds, Laniesha Paddon 10 points, five boards and four steals, Isabelle Miotti nine points and five steals, and Georgia Denehey eight points and four assists.
Anita Reca scored four points for the Slammers to go with four rebounds, four steals and two assists with Shannon Verhagen and Javene Fitch also scoring four points.
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 70 lost to WARWICK SENATORS 83
The Joondalup Wolves took their hot form from Friday night with them down to Eaton Recreation Centre on Saturday to give the South West Slammers the end to their West Coast Classic they were dreading.
It always loomed as a tough way to finish the West Coast Classic for the Slammers even on their home floor and even if they were fresh for the weekend while the Wolves had played the previous night at HBF Arena.
The problem was the Lady Wolfpack delivered a brilliant performance in that Friday night win over the Lakeside Lightning to head to Eaton full of confidence and knowing they needed to keep winning to remain in top position in the standings.
The Wolves also headed south with just about their full playing squad minus Amber Land and Shani Caldwell, and the signs were ominous early when Kayla Steindl and Nes’eya Williams combined for the opening five points.
Just minutes later and it was a 16-2 opening for the Lady Wolfpack when Chelsea Belcher knocked down a jumper and they went on to lead 22-9 by quarter-time.
It was then a monstrous second quarter from the Lady Wolfpack as they put up 34 points while limiting the Slammers to four and that saw them head into half-time leading by a commanding 56-13.
Unfortunately it didn’t get much better for the Slammers after the break with the Wolves putting up another 25 points to three in the third quarter, and 25 to 10 in the fourth to win 106-26 having at one stage led by as much as 82 points and scoring 24 points in-a-row.
The Wolves ended up with 55 rebounds to 29 from the Slammers while forcing their opponents into 42 turnovers and limiting their shooting to 11/45 from the floor and 2/12 from beyond the arc.
Kayla Steindl played just under 13 minutes and put in a remarkably efficient performance for the Wolves made up of 22 points, six rebounds and four steals on 8/11 shooting.
Chelsea Belcher added 13 points for Joondalup, Nes’eya Williams 13 points and five rebounds, Laniesha Paddon 10 points, five boards and four steals, Isabelle Miotti nine points and five steals, and Georgia Denehey eight points and four assists.
Anita Reca scored four points for the Slammers to go with four rebounds, four steals and two assists with Shannon Verhagen and Javene Fitch also scoring four points.
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 70 lost to WARWICK SENATORS 83
The Lakeside Lightning ended up having a horror weekend as they chase a finals spot in the West Coast Classic unable to bounce back on their home floor against the Warwick Senators on Saturday night.
The Lightning suffered a tough loss on the Friday night to Joondalup at HBF Arena which saw them slip behind the race for a top four spot but they had a chance at Lakeside Recreation Centre on Saturday to potentially move back into fourth with a week remaining.
However, standing in their way were a Senators team on a six-game winning streak including having won on Friday night away to the East Perth Eagles and they simply wouldn’t be denied.
It was a pretty tight opening half to the contest with the Senators up two by quarter-time and then stretching their advantage to seven by the long break.
However, the Lightning then got on a roll with a dominant third quarter as they put up 23 points to 11 and turned that seven-point deficit into a five-point advantage heading into the fourth period.
But the seesawing contest continued and it was the Senators who turned things around in impressive fashion to pile on 27 points in the fourth quarter and hold the Lightning to just nine to end up winning the game 83-70.
It’s s significant result for both teams with the Senators remaining in second spot at 9-1 having won seven in-a-row while the Lightning are now 6-4 and must beat the Perth Redbacks on Saturday night but will need Perry Lakes to lose to Cockburn to remain any chance of playing finals.
Young Senators gun Mackenzie Clinch-Hoycard was again outstanding with 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots while Stacey Barr bounced back with 23 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Chloe Forster added 12 points and seven rebounds for Warwick, Tayla Hepburn 10 points and eight boards, and Nicole Jorre De St Jorre nine points, four boards, four steals and two assists.
Ash Isenbarger couldn’t have done more to try and lift the Lightning to the win finishing with 29 points and 12 rebounds while Courtney Mansfield added 16 points and three assists, and Mia Jacobs nine points and six boards.
COCKBURN COUGARS 83 defeated MANDURAH MAGIC 49
The Cockburn Cougars continue to show they might be the most impressive team in the West Coast Classic out of finals contention with another impressive performance at home against the Mandurah Magic on Saturday night.
Both the Cougars and Magic came into Saturday night’s game at Wally Hagan Stadium with the two wins so far in the West Coast Classic, but Cockburn has been improving the whole way through and that was on display on their home floor.
The Magic had the heart of their squad ripped out for the West Coast Classic from what they expected to have for the SBL season in 2020 so it was always going to be tough for them, but Tyrone Thwaites has done well with what he’s put together from a Cougars perspective.
The Cougars might have only won two games coming into Saturday night, but they had been strongly competitive against the Flames, Redbacks and Senators as well who are all teams in the finals mix so they have been building nicely.
Then on Saturday night, they started impressively against the Magic with 25 points to 15 in the first period and then added another 16 to eight in the second to head into half-time leading 41-23.
The Cougars continued on with it from there in the second half too and went on a 12-0 scoring run at one point and the final margin of 34 points was the biggest lead of the night.
Tia Morgan continued her impressive West Coast Classic with another 25 points, five steals, three rebounds and two assists for the Cougars with Tahlia Morgan adding 12 points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds.
Matilda Muir also had 10 points and five rebounds for Cockburn, and Jodee Sontay seven points and five rebounds.
It was another tough evening for the Magic but Sydney Meares provided a great bright spark delivering 16 points and three rebounds while knocking down a perfect 4/4 from three-point land.
Rachel Halleen also had seven points and 10 rebounds, and Jaide Britton eight points and six boards.
Partners
Find out more about the partners that proudly support the State Basketball League
