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THE Willetton Tigers continued to emerge with two more wins across Round 7 of the Women’s SBL action with the Lakeside Lightning also scoring another two victories while the Perth Redbacks also opened their account.

Round 7 in the Women’s SBL started way back on ANZAC Day with two traditional fixtures to commemorate the occasion. Those games saw the Warwick Senators beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 93-85 and the Willetton Tigers defeat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 70-64.

Then on Friday night there were three more matches which saw the Perth Redbacks beat the Mandurah Magic 71-65, the Joondalup Wolves defeat the East Perth Eagles 99-27 and the Lakeside Lightning down the Rockingham Flames 109-85.

There were three more matches on Saturday night with the Perry Lakes Hawks beating the East Perth Eagles 100-43, the Rockingham Flames defeating the Cockburn Cougars 86-67 and the Lakeside Lightning prevailing 82-70 over the South West Slammers.

The round then concluded on Sunday afternoon at Willetton Basketball Stadium with the Willetton Tigers beating the Mandurah Magic 64-52.

MANSFIELD HAS LIGHTNING FOCUSED FOR BIG FINISH
ROUND 7 WOMEN’S SBL PREVIEW

The results mean that after seven rounds, the Joondalup Wolves and Lakeside Lightning both sit at the top of the standings with 7-1 records, just ahead of the now 5-1 Warwick Senators.

The Willetton Tigers have improved to 7-3 ahead of the Rockingham Flames (4-2), South West Slammers (4-4) and Mandurah Magic (4-5).

The Perry Lakes Hawks (3-5) make up the top eight ahead of the Kalamunda Eastern Suns (3-5), Cockburn Cougars (2-5), Perth Redbacks (1-6) and East Perth Eagles (0-9).

ANZAC DAY

SCARBORO TOYOTA PERRY LAKES HAWKS 85 lost to BETHANIE WARWICK SENATORS 93

The Women’s SBL ANZAC Day action got underway at Bendat Basketball Centre with an overtime thriller that ended up seeing the Warwick Senators beat the Perry Lakes Hawks by eight points.

It was an exciting opening to the contest with 54 points combined between the two teams in the opening quarter with the Senators leading 28-26 at quarter-time.

Things remained tight in the second period with Perry Lakes tying scores up at 46-apiece by half-time.

The Senators controlled the third period holding the Lady Hawks to 12 points while scoring 20 themselves but the home team managed to turn it around in the fourth stanza setting up a thrilling finish.

Warwick was still up by four after a Samaria Howard three-point play with under two minutes left. Jamie Cherry and Kristen Teasdale responded for Perry Lakes to tie scores up and that’s where it stayed at the end of regulation with Cherry missing an attempted game-winning triple.

Then during overtime, the Senators were up five with just over a minute to go after a bucket to Nicole Jorre de St Jorre. But the Hawks weren’t done with yet. Sam Ashby hit her own jumper and then Nikita Martin hit a free-throw to make it a two-point game.

Warwick again responded with a Tayla Hepburn layup and then dominated the rest of the way to come away with the 93-85 victory to make it four consecutive wins.

Six Warwick players ended up scoring in double-figures led by Tayla Hepburn’s 18 points, five rebounds, four blocks, two steals and two assists.

Samaria Howard also had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Senators with Bianca Villegas contributing 15 points, 17 rebounds and three steals, Stacey Barr 13 points, six boards, four assists and two steals, Caitlyn Jones 12 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Nicole Jorre de St Jorre 10 points, four assists, three boards and two steals.

Rebecca Benson continued her strong season for the Lady Hawks with another 21 points including going 5/12 from three-point territory.

Jamie Cherry added 12 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds with Sam Ashby contributing 11 points, Sarah Donovan 10 points and five rebounds, and Nikita Martin nine points and 10 rebounds.

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 64 lost to WILLETTON TIGERS 70

The other ANZAC Day fixture in the Women’s SBL took place at Ray Owen Sports Centre and it saw the Willetton Tigers continue their winning form with a six-point win over the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

The Tigers came into the game in hot form with three straight wins coinciding with the arrivals of imports of Laina Snyder and Wendi Bibbins, but it was the Eastern Suns who started impressively on Thursday to lead 28-20 by quarter-time.

Willetton turned things around in the second quarter holding Kalamunda to just nine points while scoring 19 themselves to lead 39-37 at half-time.

The Tigers maintained their edge through the second half to end up winning 70-64 to make it four wins in succession to improve to 7-3 on the season while the Eastern Suns slipped to 3-5 in the rematch of last year’s quarter-final match up.

Despite 22 turnovers, Willetton dominated the boards with 61 rebounds to 39 from Kalamunda including 26 offensive boards for 24 second chance points.

The Tigers only shot at 17 per cent from three-point range and only got to the foul line nine times, and despite only leading by as much as eight points, still managed to come away with the strong six-point victory.

Laina Snyder continued the stunning start to her SBL career with another 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Tigers on 11/18 shooting from the floor.

Desiree Kelley added 22 points, nine rebounds and four steals for Willetton with Taryn Priestly contributing eight points, seven assists and five boards, and Wendi Bibbins six points and 11 rebounds.

Jewel Williams top-scored for the Eastern Suns with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals with Lauren Jeffers also finishing with 11 points, five assists and five rebounds, Carla Drennan nine points and Jennie Rintala nine points and four rebounds despite foul trouble limiting her to 22 minutes.

FRIDAY

CACHET HOMES MANDURAH MAGIC 65 lost to TEXTURE WA PERTH REDBACKS 71

Mandurah and Perth played off in last year’s semi finals but have had mixed starts to the Women’s SBL season before the Redbacks opened their account for 2019 with a win on Friday night.

Coming off that semi-final series last year which the Magic won to advance to a second straight Grand Final, Mandurah had split their opening eight games of 2019 under new coach Craig Watts.

But the Redbacks had failed to win any of their opening six games under their own new coach, Craig Allen, meaning they were desperate to change that on the trip to Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre on Friday night.

With Perth Lynx WNBL star in the line-up for her debut appearance, the Redbacks started well too to lead 23-20 by quarter-time. The Redbacks then pulled further away with 23 points to 11 in the second period to be up 46-31 at half-time.

The Redbacks were able to continue to control the contest and extended their lead to 19 three quarter-time.

It proved to be a match-winning advantage but only just with the Magic storming home with 19 points to six in the fourth term. But the Redbacks held on to win 71-65 and score their first victory of the season.

The Redbacks did have 27 turnovers on the night but shot the ball at 44 per cent from the field opposed to 30 per cent from the Magic.

Lauren Mansfield played 18 minutes in her first appearance with the Redbacks for 11 points and two rebounds.

Young star Rosie Deegan finished with 22 points and seven rebounds for the Redbacks while Jess Jakens added 12 points and nine rebounds, Nes’eya Williams nine points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals, and Alex Hayward six points and seven boards.

Delany Junkermier top-scored for Mandurah with 12 points and five rebounds despite only playing 22 minutes.

Ginka Palusna added 10 points, six rebounds and three assists, Rachel Pettit nine points, Carly Boag seven and Rachel Halleen seven.

CHAMBERS FRANKLYN JOONDALUP CITY WOLVES 99 defeated SCHWEIGEN EAST PERTH EAGLES 27

It always loomed as a big ask for the East Perth Eagles in their bottom against top clash against the Joondalup Wolves, that became more so the case in the absence of import Janee Johnson and the result was a 72-point win for the Lady Wolfpack.

The Eagles have been fighting hard on building up a young group from scratch over the past 18 months but they are at a point where they just can’t cover the loss of a player the calibre of Janee Johnson especially against as impressive a team as what the Wolves possess.

Joondalup came out hot too putting up 30 points to 11 in the opening quarter before continuing its dominance in the second quarter to lead 53-19 by half-time.

East Perth then managed just two points the entire third quarter and six in the fourth with Joondalup still putting up another 46 second half points to run out 99-27 winners.

The win improves the Lady Wolfpack to a 7-1 record on the season having now won four straight since losing to Lakeside while East Perth lost its eighth straight game to open 2019.

It’s no surprise the Wolves dominated all areas with 60 rebounds to 28 while forcing the Eagles into 36 turnovers on the night and as a result holding them to only 41 field goal attempts.

The Wolfpack shot the ball at 42 per cent from the field and 31 per cent from downtown while finishing with 28 assists and 23 steals.

Amber Land finished with 17 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three steals for Joondalup with fellow big Kayla Steindl producing 14 points, 16 boards, six assists and five steals.

Mikayla Pirini added 14 points, four rebounds and four steals for the Wolves while Amy Kidner ended up with 12 points and six boards, Isabelle Miotti 11 points, six assists and three rebounds, and Chelsea Belcher nine points and three assists.

It was a tough night for East Perth but Rose Aryang battled hard in 32 minutes for 10 points and nine rebounds. Bree Fisher also had six points and four rebounds.

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 109 defeated CLASS 1 ORTHODONTICS ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 85

Friday night promised to feature a cracking contest between two genuine contending teams but it was the Lakeside Lightning who proved too strong for the Rockingham Flames, winning by 24 points.

The Lightning were playing at Lakeside Recreation Centre for the last time for a month also marking the last home game of the season triple MVP winning superstar Ali Schwagmeyer, and they made sure they left their home fans with a good taste in their mouth.

Lakeside came out on fire with 32 points to 21 in the first quarter and never looked back.

The Lightning would go on to lead 62-44 at half-time and then stretch that advantage to a 27-point lead by three quarter-time.

Rockingham did finish the better with 22 points to 19 in the last quarter but the Lightning still won 109-85 to improve to 6-1 on the season while the Flames slipped to 3-2.

The Lightning had a scorching shooting night going 43/81 from the field at 53 per cent and 15/35 from deep at 42 per cent on the back of 33 assists despite the 22 turnovers. They did force the Flames into 20 turnovers too and scored 23 points from those.

They ended up with 54 points in the paint on top of the 45 from beyond the arc.

Rockingham went 34/86 at 39 per cent from the field but struggled from long-range with 5/23 at 21 per cent.

GeAnna Luaulu-Summers was frustrated with foul trouble eight days earlier against Cockburn but took that out on Rockingham on Friday, leading the way for the Lightning with 28 points and four rebounds including a stunning 8/11 from three.

Ash Grant added 23 points and 10 rebounds for Lakeside with Ali Schwagmeyer contributing 19 points and nine assists, Courtney Byrnes 19 points and six assists, and Ellyce Ironmonger eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Maddie Allen returned for Rockingham with 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots while Christina Boag added 16 points, six boards and four steals, Janelle Adams 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Chelsea Petrik 14 points.

SATURDAY

SCHWEIGEN EAST PERTH EAGLES 43 lost to SCARBORO TOYOTA PERRY LAKES HAWKS 100

East Perth had another significant challenge 24 hours after the big loss to Joondalup and didn’t fare too much better with Perry Lakes claiming the 57-point win on Saturday night.

The Eagles were back on their home floor at Herb Graham Recreation Centre smarting from the 72-point loss to the Wolves, but without Janee Johnson once again the going was tough against the Lady Hawks.

Perry Lakes ended its own losing slide in the process and it started with 30 points to eight in the first quarter.

It was another 25 points to 13 in the second quarter before things turned a bit scrappy in the third period with just 26 points between the two teams.

But Perry Lakes pulled away again in the final period with 31 points to 10 to end up winning 100-43 and improve to 3-5 on the season against the 0-9 East Perth.

East Perth had a remarkable 50 turnovers against Perry Lakes with the Hawks scoring 44 points from those. The Hawks had 35 assists on their 39 made field goals in an efficient display that included 41 rebounds and 37 steals.

Rebecca Benson top-scored for Perry Lakes with 22 points, eight assists, four steals and three rebounds while playing just 22 minutes.

Jamie Cherry added 16 points, two assists and two steals with Sarah Donovan contributing 14 points, 12 steals, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a stunning triple-double performance.

Kristan Teasdale also had 13 points and three rebounds with Nikita Martin adding eight points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Bree Fisher top-scored for the Eagles with 16 points and six rebounds with Rose Aryang adding another 12 points and 16 boards.

CLASS 1 ORTHODONTICS ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 86 defeated ROUND 1 FITNESS COCKBURN COUGARS 67

The Rockingham Flames were looking to bounce back from their loss to Lakeside and did so impressively beating the Cockburn Cougars by 19 points on Saturday night.

The Flames suffered just their second loss of the new season under coach Craig Reynolds on Friday night against Lakeside but bounced back well against a Cougars team who did regain the services of superstar import Kisha Lee.

The Flames came out hot with 20 points to 16 in the first quarter to set the tone for the evening. They continued the momentum in the second half to go into the half-time break leading 40-30.

Rockingham then put up 28 points in the third quarter as the offence began to click before they ended up winning 86-67 to improve to 4-2 on the season while Cockburn is 2-5 having lost five straight.

The pressure from Rockingham was impressive forcing Cockburn into 25 turnovers from which they scored 31 points on the night.

Christina Boag again impressed for the Flames with 21 points, 15 rebounds and three steals with Tayah Burrows contributing 13 points, six assists and four rebounds, and Maddie Allen 13 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots.

Captain Chelsea Petrik also had 13 points for Rockingham with Ella Kennedy contributing 11 points.

Matilda Muir continued her emergence for the Cougars with another 23 points while Kisha Lee returned with 19 points. Jodee Sontay had eight points and three rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.

PRINT SYNC SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 70 lost to LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 82

The Lakeside Lightning continued their momentum and farewelled Ali Schwagmeyer in style on Saturday night beating the South West Slammers by 12 points at Eaton Recreation Centre.

Lakeside was coming off an impressive win over Rockingham the previous night but it was always going to be a challenging trip south to take on the Slammers.

It started out that way too with both teams combining for 49 first quarter points with Lakeside leading 25-24 by quarter-time.

The Lightning began to pull away in the second quarter to go into half-time leading 43-37 but the Slammers wouldn’t go away and were just four points behind by three quarter-time.

Lakeside produced a strong fourth quarter with 25 points to 17 to win 82-70 and improve to 7-1 on the season the Slammers are now 4-4.

Both teams played well with Lakeside finishing with 48 rebounds, 20 assists and just 12 turnovers while shooting at 42 per cent from the field and 37 per cent from three-point range.

The Slammers had 44 rebounds, 19 assists and 11 turnovers to go with shooting 36 per cent from the floor and 24 per cent from downtown. But Lakeside got to the line 20 times to just 13 from the home side.

GeAnna Luaulu-Summers top-scored for Lakeside with 16 points, four assists and three rebounds with Courtney Byrnes adding 15 points and eight assists and Tiahrn Flynn 11 points and two assists.

Ali Schwagmeyer was playing her last game of the season and had 11 points and 12 rebounds with Ash Grant contributing nine points and seven boards, and Ellyce Ironmonger seven points, five rebounds and three assists.

Makailah Dyer top-scored for the Slammers with 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and two blocks with Courtney Bayliss adding 21 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists, and Brittni Montgomery 18 points and eight rebounds.

SUNDAY

WILLETTON TIGERS 64 defeated CACHET HOMES MANDURAH MAGIC 52

The final game of the round in the Women’s SBL took pace on Sunday at Willetton Basketball Stadium with the Willetton Tigers continuing their hot streak with a 12-point win over the Mandurah Magic.

Willetton came into the game having already beaten Kalamunda back on ANZAC Day to make it three straight wins while Mandurah was looking to bounce back from losing to the Perth Redbacks on Friday night.

Willetton came out starting strongly opening up a lead of 21-13 by quarter-time and then holding the Magic to just eight second quarter points and 21 for the half to go into the break leading by 15.

The Tigers managed just nine points themselves in the third quarter as Mandurah worked back into the contest but it wasn’t to be with the Tigers ending up winning 64-52.

The win was a fourth straight for Willetton who now hold a 7-3 record on the season while the Magic are 4-5 after their two losses in Round 7.

Laina Snyder again was the standout for the Tigers with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Desiree Kelley added another 17 points, six rebounds, six steals and three assists with Emma Gandini contributing nine points, six boards, four steals and three assists, and Hayley Winter nine points, four rebounds and two assists.

Carly Boag top-scored for the Magic off the bench in 28 minutes with 19 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots on shooting 8/14 from the field.

Casey Mihovilovich also finished with nine points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, Rachel Halleen eight points and four rebounds.