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THE Perry Lakes Hawks guaranteed their clash with the Mandurah Magic on Saturday night will be for top spot after a win on Friday night in the Women’s SBL with the Stirling Senators and Willetton Tigers also prevailing.

There were three games in the Women’s SBL to open Heritage Round on Friday night with the Perry Lakes Hawks beating the Perth Redbacks 77-72. That sets up the Lady Hawks’ clash with the Magic on Saturday night with top spot on the line.

The other two Friday night matches saw the Willetton Tigers thrash the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 93-45 and the Stirling Senators beat the East Perth Eagles 80-75.

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Week 16 of the Women’s SBL was always going to be a crucial one for a host of teams and that began on Friday night with the Senators needing to beat the Eagles at Warwick Stadium to remain on solid in fourth spot.

That took on extra significance with Willetton’s big win over Kalamunda, but Stirling was up to the task recording the five-point victory to improve to a 12-5 record to remain solid in the top four.

It was another competitive effort from the Eagles but ultimately it left them with two wins still for 2017.

Point guard Jasmine Martin ended up with 17 points and five rebounds for Stirling with Kisha Lee contributing 17 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals.

Amber Land added 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots for the Senators while Rebekah Throns contributed 11 points and Hannah Throns 10 points, six boards and five assists.

Haylee DeSousa had a good night off the bench for East Perth playing 32 minutes and delivering 18 points, five rebounds and three steals while hitting 4-of-8 from downtown.

Nicole Jorre St Jorre also had 16 points and eight assists for the Eagles and Kaylee Kilpatrick 15 points and five boards.

The defending champion Tigers hosted the Eastern Suns at Willetton Basketball Stadium and Willetton made quite the statement with the 48-point victory.

Just two weeks after losing themselves to Mandurah by 44 points, it was a big result for the Tigers who were still without Desiree Kelley even though Kate Malpass returned to play 13 minutes.

The win keeps Willetton in the hunt for a top four finish but could prove damaging to Kalamunda’s playoff hopes. The Suns slip to 5-13 with the heavy loss.

It was a dominant performance by Willetton who opened a 58-21 lead by half-time to put the result beyond doubt.

Stacey Barr had another solid game for the Tigers with 23 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks despite shooting just 8-of-23, but it was the help she got that was the key.

Emma Gandini was impressive with 20 points, eight rebounds and three steals with Zoe Harper adding 14 points and six boards, Jess Hootmann 12 points and six assists, and Carla Drennan eight points.

Mel Moyle put up 14 points, six rebounds and three steals for the Eastern Suns but shot just 6-of-19 from the field. With their season potentially on the line, the Suns didn’t get enough from imports Jennie Rintala and Devanny King who combined for 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Rachel Brooks did score eight points to go with four assists for Kalamunda.

The Lady Hawks then improved to a 16-1 record ahead of taking on the 17-1 Magic in Mandurah on Saturday night beating the Redbacks by five points at Bendat Basketball Centre on Friday night.

The win sets up the clash with the Magic perfectly for the Hawks to try and reclaim top spot.

It’s another damaging blow for the Redbacks despite a strong showing. They have now lost seven straight games to be just clinging to a spot in the top eight at 6-10.

The Hawks shot quickly out of the blocks racing to a 13-point lead by quarter-time, but the Redbacks hit back well to be three points up by the half. Perth still led narrowly heading into the fourth but Perry Lakes pulled away for the five-point win.

Captain Kate Anthony top-scored for the Lady Hawks with 20 points and three rebounds shooting 9-of-18 from the floor and 2-of-3 from deep.

Nat Burton added 19 points and 20 rebounds for Perry Lakes with Lauren Jeffers contributing 17 points, eight boards, seven assists and five steals. Toni Farnworth also had eight points, six rebounds and six assists.

Ajay Jones returned for the Redbacks and made a significant impact with 23 points, five steals and three assists. Emilee Harmon also had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Perth and Rebecca Benson 12 points, nine assists and four boards.

Heritage Round of the Women’s SBL continues Saturday night with the Perth Redbacks playing the Cockburn Cougars, the South West Slammers hosting the Rockingham Flames and the Mandurah Magic locking horns with the Perry Lakes Hawks.

The round concludes on Sunday afternoon with the Lakeside Lightning hosting the Joondalup City Wolves.

FRIDAY NIGHT ROUND 16 WOMEN’S SBL RESULTS
Stirling Senators 80 defeated East Perth Eagles 75
Willetton Tigers 93 defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns 45
Perry Lakes Hawks 77 defeated Perth Redbacks 72

SATURDAY NIGHT ROUND 16 WOMEN’S SBL FIXTURES
Perth Redbacks v Cockburn Cougars – Belmont Oasis 6pm
South West Slammers v Rockingham Flames – Eaton Recreation Centre 6pm
Mandurah Magic v Perry Lakes Hawks – Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre 6pm

SUNDAY ROUND 16 WOMEN’S SBL FIXTURES
Lakeside Lightning v Joondalup City Wolves – Lakeside Recreation Centre 2pm

Photo by June Halliday