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ROUND 14 in the Women’s SBL concluded on Sunday afternoon with the Kalamunda Eastern Suns making for a terrific weekend remaining in touch of a top four spot beating the Stirling Senators by nine points.

The Round 14 action in the Women’s SBL began with four matches on Friday night that saw the Perry Lakes Hawks beat the Willetton Tigers 73-53, the Perth Redbacks defeat the Joondalup Wolves 86-60, the Lakeside Lightning taking an 87-85 thriller over the Cockburn Cougars and the Rockingham Flames beating the Mandurah Magic 75-63.

There were then two more matches on Saturday evening with the South West Slammers beating the East Perth Eagles 67-58 and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns defeating the Rockingham Flames 94-80.

There was then just the one match on Sunday to conclude the round and that saw the Kalamunda Eastern Suns continue their momentum from the previous night, beating the Stirling Senators 81-72 at Warwick Stadium.

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The lone Sunday fixture in the Women’s SBL took place at Warwick Stadium and it was an important one for both the Senators and Eastern Suns.

Stirling was playing its only game of the weekend coming off a win last Saturday night over East Perth that consolidated their spot inside the top eight but Kalamunda had won well on Saturday against Rockingham to stay close to a top four berth.

That the stage for a good contest and it didn’t disappoint, but it was the Eastern Suns who held sway most of the way even though scores were tied at 39-apiece at half-time.

But the combination of the Suns dominating on the glass, largely thanks to Jennie Rintala inside, and their superior shooting meant they pulled away in the finish.

Kalamunda ended up with 46 rebounds to 31, including a monstrous 18 at the offensive end, as they ended up taking 18 more shots for the game and ending up shooting 32/74 from the field at 43 per cent and 8/25 from beyond the arc at 32 per cent.

Stirling fought hard but shooting 18 fewer shots and then going at just 41 per cent from the floor and 27 per cent from three-point range hurt, but getting to the foul line 26 times and making 21 kept them in touch.

Alex Ciabattoni was again a strong all-round presence for the Eastern Suns finishing the afternoon with 23 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals.

Jennie Rintala was a powerful force inside and ended up with 22 points and 15 rebounds including shooting 9/18 from the field and 3/5 from three-point territory.

Jessie Edwards also had 15 points and five rebounds for Kalamunda, Jorjah Smith 11 points, four boards and three assists, and Rebecca Motroni six points, six rebounds and three assists.

Jasmine Martin top-scored for the Senators with 23 points and three steals on shooting 8/14 from the field, 3/6 from three-point range and 4/5 from the charity stripe.

Amber Land battled hard for 12 points, five rebounds and four assists with Janee Johnson contributing 14 points, eight boards, three blocked shots, two steals and two assists, Nicole Jorre de St Jorre 11 points and Hannah Throns nine points, five rebounds and four assists.

WEEK 14 WOMEN’S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Perry Lakes Hawks 73 defeated Willetton Tigers 53
Perth Redbacks 86 defeated Joondalup Wolves 60
Lakeside Lightning 87 defeated Cockburn Cougars 85
Rockingham Flames 75 defeated Mandurah Magic 63

SATURDAY
South West Slammers 67 defeated East Perth Eagles 58
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 94 defeated Rockingham Flames 80

SUNDAY
Stirling Senators 72 lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns 81