Robbi Ryan and Teige Morrell starred to keep Joondalup Wolves in NBL1 West top two hunt with Rockingham Flames scoring two emphatic wins over Perry Lakes Hawks, and Wolfpack men consolidated their playoff spot at expense of Kalamunda Eastern Suns.
First Nations Round in the NBL1 West began on Friday with the two women's match where the Joondalup Wolves beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 87-69, and the Rockingham Flames defeated the Perry Lakes Hawks 84-58.
Then in the men's matches, the Wolves beat the Eastern Suns 100-95 and the Flames downed the Hawks 105-85.
SUNS GIVE 300-GAMER MAXWELL NEW LEASE ON LIFE
WOMEN
Ryan, Morrell keep Wolves in top two hunt
With the top two teams doing battle on Saturday, the Joondalup Wolves kept the pressure to break back into the top two by beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 87-69 on Friday night.
The Wolfpack had slipped to third position with last week's loss to the Warwick Senators, but they remain a chance to move back into the top two with Willetton and Cockburn locking horns on Saturday.
The Wolves had to take care of business, though, and they did start well at HBF Arena Joondalup with a nine-point lead by quarter-time.
The Suns did well to stay in the contest, though, and the Joondalup lead was just 10 at half-time and back to nine by three quarter-time.
However, Joondalup pulled away again in the fourth stanza with the lead growing to as much as 20 before the home team scored the 18-point win to improve to 14-3 on the season.
It's another blow to the playoff hopes for Kalamunda who are now 6-11 having lost the past two to fall further back from the 7-10 Lakeside in eighth spot.
The double act of Teige Morrell and Robbi Ryan were ultimately the difference in the game. Morrell delivered 25 points and eight rebounds for the Wolves with Ryan adding 25 points, eight boards, three assists and two steals.
Emma Klasztorny also had 12 points and four rebounds as she approaches game 250 in the league with Chelsea Belcher adding nine points and two assists.
Natalie Chou did all she could to give the Eastern Suns a chance as she delivered 28 points, five rebounds and three assists but fellow import guard Makailah Dyer struggled with just four points on 2/9 shooting.
Sam Roscoe did put up 17 points and four rebounds as well for Kalamunda.
Flames beat Hawks to consolidate fourth spot
The Rockingham Flames took another significant step towards securing a top four finish proving too strong for the Perry Lakes Hawks with the eventual 84-58 victory.
The Hawks had the chance to close the gap on the fourth placed Flames with the win at Mike Barnett Sports Complex on Friday night, but arriving without key players Nici Gilday and Sam Ashby wasn’t going to help their cause.
However, Perry Lakes did start well to lead by seven at quarter-time but Rockingham took charge in the second period and would never look back from there.
The Flames scored 15 consecutive points to open up a 13-point lead in the second stanza and the home team would continue on with it from there on the way to leading by 20 in the third, and 26 in the last on the way to the eventual 26-point victory.
The win improves Rockingham to a 13-5 record to be solid in the top four with four straight wins and while Perry Lakes is locked into the playoffs, the top four hopes are all but gone at 11-8 having lost three of the past four.
Casey Samuels kept her strong form going for the Flames with another 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals including hitting 3/6 from behind the three-point line.
Lisa Koop added 13 points and eight rebounds, Mehryn Kraker 13 points and five boards, Tayah Burrows 12 points and eight rebounds, and Teyla Evans four points, nine boards, five assists, two steals and a block.
Emma Clarke did what she could to keep Perry Lakes in the contest with 26 points and 11 rebounds while knocking down 4/9 from behind the arc.
Ash Isenbarger also had 14 points and three rebounds, and Millie McCarthy eight points, four rebounds and two assists before she fouled out late in the piece.
How about this no-look dime from Teyla Evans ?
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MEN
Spectacular Dove lifts Wolves to crucial win
With plenty on the line for both teams, it was quite the entertaining affair at HBF Arena Joondalup but ultimately the brilliance of Quintin Dove led the Joondalup Wolves to the 100-95 victory against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.
The Wolfpack were playing host to the Suns with Joondalup trying to shore up their playoff position while the Suns were just trying to stay alive, and neither team came into the clash in top form with Joondalup having lost four of the last five, and Kalamunda six of the past seven.
The Wolves were again without Mathiang Muo and Bryan Michaels, but they did well to withstand the onslaught on the first quarter from Joe Cook-Green for the Eastern Suns.
The Kiwi star guard put up 15 points in the first term alone, but still by quarter-time the Wolves were leading 29-25.
However, Brendan Dinardo then caught fire in the second term and went into half-time shooting 5/6 from three-point range and that helped the Suns level up the scores heading into the locker room.
It all set the stage for a fascinating second half and the Suns made a run early in the fourth quarter. It started with a spectacular finish from 300-game milestone man Reece Maxwell back on his old home floor that he converted into a three-point play.
Cook-Green then made a couple of buckets and when Albert Almanza landed from beyond the arc, Kalamunda had all the momentum with a three-point lead.
However, Joondalup responded firstly with a triple from Christian Jurlina before Dove landed from beyond the arc too from the home team.
The hot shooting continued with Albert Almanza and Jordan Wellsteed trading blows for their respective teams, and then Dyson Lowe stepped up to restore the lead for the Eastern Suns.
Almanza was starting to feel it and when he turned another three into a four-point play, the Suns maintained a narrow lead with 3:30 on the clock.
The game then took a turn the way of the Wolves for good when Dove converted a turnover from CJ Turnage on Almanza into a breakaway dunk. Turnage then got to the rack all too easily to score soon after and the Wolfpack had done enough for the crucial five-point win.
It's a significant result for both teams with Joondalup locking in a playoff spot at 11-8 with the job getting all that harder now for Kalamunda at 8-11.
Ultimately the difference between the two teams was Quintin Dove. He finished with 40 points, 13 rebounds and two steals on the back of shooting 13/16 from the floor, 4/4 from downtown and 10/11 at the foul line.
CJ Turnage added 26 points, five assists and four rebounds, Ioannis Dimakopoulos 12 points, nine boards and five assists, and Christian Jurlina 10 points and seven assists.
Joe Cook-Green ended up with 29 points, nine assists, three rebounds and two steals for Kalamunda but 22 of those came in the first half.
All Brendan Dinardo's 15 points came in the opening half too with Albert Almanza adding 14 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Seb Salinas 12 points with 4/4 three-point shooting against the team he was championship captain of.
Reece Maxwell also ended up with six points, four assists and three rebounds in the 300th game of his career of which 265 were played for Joondalup and the last 35 with Kalamunda.
Jordan Wellsteed hustling on one end and setting up plays on the other ?
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Flames move clear in top spot with win over Hawks
The Rockingham Flames all but locked away the regular season championship with an emphatic display against the second placed Perry Lakes Hawks on Friday night to win 105-85.
The two teams renewed their rivalry that included Perry Lakes beating Rockingham back in the 2021 Grand Final on Friday night at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.
The Hawks did well on the road early and were leading by two when the in-form Mitch Clarke hit a three-pointer six minutes into the contest but then the Flames worked on top and it all started with a rare three-point bomb from Tom Jervis.
By quarter-time, Rockingham was leading 29-21 and then the home team blew the game wide open in the second period opening up a 24-point advantage at one point, and still leading 54-40 by the main break.
Perry Lakes did do its best to fight back and get close enough to strike in the second half as you would expect, but Rockingham continued to have all the answers and would go on to score the 20-point victory.
The result could very well decide the regular season champions for the season too with Rockingham now sitting with a 17-3 record on a nine-game winning streak as the defending NBL1 West and National Champions.
Perry Lakes does remain second at 15-5 but now has a fascinating last two weeks to try to hold on to that spot with a road trip to the third placed Geraldton and then hosting the Joondalup Wolves.
Reigning MVP Devondrick Walker delivered another 29 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Flames on the back of shooting 10/19 from the floor, 5/10 from downtown and 4/5 at the charity stripe.
He had plenty of help too with Marshall Nelson putting up 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds, Justin Beard 15 points and two boards, Jeremy Combs 14 points, 10 rebounds, six steals, three assists and two blocks, and Tom Jervis 13 points, 10 boards and five assists.
Daniel Alexander top-scored for Perry Lakes with 21 points, five rebounds and two assists with Mitch Clarke contributing 18 points, four assists, three boards and two steals, Andrew Ferguson 14 points and eight rebounds, and Matthew Leary 11 points, five steals, four boards and two assists.
Tom Jervis swats it away ?
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