Feature images via: Sports Imagery | Arctic Moon Photography
New Rockingham Flames veterans Jess Jakens and Shani Amos helped keep them unbeaten this NBL1 West season to set up the clash with the Joondalup Wolves while Aaron Ralph's three-point mastery kept the Geraldton Buccaneers unbeaten.
Saturday night's women's results saw the Perry Lakes Hawks beat the Lakeside Lightning 84-77, the Warwick Senators defeat the Perth Redbacks 93-77, the Joondalup Wolves down the South West Slammers 106-45, the Willetton Tigers down the East Perth Eagles 77-68, and the Rockingham Flames win 79-75 over the Cockburn Cougars.
Then in the men's matches, the Geraldton Buccaneers beat the Goldfields Giants 96-94 in overtime while the Hawks downed the Lightning 94-87, the Senators beat the Redbacks 124-78, the Wolfpack won 83-63 against the Slammers, the Tigers defeated the Eagles 87-85, and the Flames beat the Cougars 83-75.
RECAP NBL1 WEST | ANZAC ROUND FRIDAY
RECAP NBL1 WEST | ROUND 5 ANZAC DAY
GOULDING SHOCKING HERSELF WITH INSPIRATIONAL RETURN
NELSON EXCITED BY WILLETTON HOME HE'S LANDED AT
WOMEN
Perry Lakes Hawks (84) defeated Lakeside Lightning (77)
The Perry Lakes Hawks kept its winning form going even without the on-fire Ash Isenbarger in the 84-77 home win over the Lakeside Lightning.
Isenbarger came up huge with 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists in Friday night's road win over the Mandurah Magic for the Hawks, but she wasn’t out there against the team she started her career with and won a championship with at Bendat Basketball Centre.
Giving Perry Lakes confidence was that it was a similar story last week. Isenbarger put up 37 points in last Friday's win over the Perth Redbacks but the Hawks kept winning the next night over the East Perth Eagles in her absence.
It was a similar story this time around against a Lakeside team fresh off beating the South West Slammers by 73 points the previous night, but it took until the last quarter for Perry Lakes to shake off the Lightning.
No more than seven points separated the two teams throughout the first three quarters with both teams having their turn on top, but it was when the Hawks blew out to a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter where they set up the eventual seven-point win.
It's a fourth straight victory for the now 5-2 Perry Lakes with Grace Stone delivering 22 points, five rebounds and two assists while Millie McCarthy added 16 points, eight assists, three boards and two steals.
Mia Satie also had 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots with Maddy Dennis contributing 11 points and five assists, and Beige Harris 11 points, seven boards and three assists.
Lakeside is now 3-2 following the loss with Teige Morrell finishing with 27 points and 12 rebounds while Jade Gowland added 15 points and six boards, and Marnelle Garraud 12 points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Perry Lakes remains at home on Friday night against the Warwick Senators while Lakeside will also be hosting the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.
PERRY LAKES HAWKS 84 (Stone 22, McCarthy 16, Satie 13)
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 77 (Morrell 27, Gowland 15, Garraud 12)
Warwick Senators (93) defeated Perth Redbacks (77)
Chloe Forster continues to play the best basketball of her career and had another 28 points to lead the Warwick Senators to the 93-77 win over the Perth Redbacks.
The Senators came into the contest at Warwick Stadium having won five of six matches this season and having just announced that Marena Whittle will soon be on board once her season in Spain comes to an end.
Warwick just happened to come up against her fiancé Anneli Maley's Redbacks team on Saturday night with Perth trying to win consecutive games for the first time in 2024 after beating the Eastern Suns last Saturday.
The Senators made a fast start to open up an 11-point lead by quarter-time with Warwick keeping the momentum going in the second term with the advantage growing to 26 points.
Warwick held a lead around that 20-point mark for the majority of the second half too and ended up winning by 16 points to improve to 6-1 on the season.
Chloe Forster continues to go from strength to strength on the back of her first WNBL season on the full roster with the Perth Lynx. Up against her Lynx captain, she delivered 28 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals with 6/10 three-point shooting.
Two-time MVP Stacey Barr produced 20 points, eight assists, five rebounds and four steals with Nat Burton contributing 14 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, Isabelle Miotti 13 points, three boards and three assists, and Karly Murphy 12 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
Natalie Chou is now starting to settle at the Redbacks and put up 22 points and five rebounds with Anneli Maley contributing 20 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple-double, and Mikayla Pirini 10 points and three assists.
The Redbacks back up to host the Goldfields Giants on Sunday at 11am local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.
WARWICK SENATORS 93 (Forster 28, Barr 20, Burton 14)
PERTH REDBACKS 77 (Chou 22, Maley 20, Pirini 10)
South West Slammers (45) lost to Joondalup Wolves (106)
The Joondalup Wolves inflicted some more pain on the youthful South West Slammers with the 106-45 road victory on Saturday night.
It always had the potential to get ugly at Eaton Recreation Centre with the undefeated Wolfpack taking on a Slammers team now having lost 37 straight games including the previous night to the Lakeside Lightning by 73 points.
Joondalup arrived with a 4-0 record and already in the opening quarter the Wolves had opened up a double-figure advantage.
The lead for the Wolfpack grew to as much as 26 points in the second quarter, to 48 in the third and 61 in the fourth which would be the final winning margin.
The Wolves improve to 5-0 on the season as a result of the win while the Slammers are now 0-6 but having lost 38 straight matches now with that nearing the two-year mark and beyond that they have lost 79 of the past 80 games.
Darien Huff put up 26 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists in the win for Joondalup with Sarah Toeaina adding 25 points, five steals, four boards and three assists on 9/13 shooting from the floor.
Julia Chandler also contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds, Sirena Tuitele 12 points, seven boards, five assists and three steals, Ella Thornton-Elliott six points and eight assists, and Laniesha Paddon five points and 10 rebounds.
Slammers import Yasmeen Smith finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals with Addison Edwards contributing six points and two rebounds, and out-of-retirement 213-game Courtney Bayliss six points, four boards and two steals.
The Slammers now take on the reigning champion Cockburn Cougars at Wally Hagan Stadium on Friday while the Wolves face the also unbeaten Rockingham Flames on the road next Saturday.
SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 45 (Smith 12, Bayliss 6, Edwards 6)
JOONDALUP WOLVES 106 (Huff 26, Toeaina 25, Chandler 16)
Willetton Tigers (77) defeated East Perth Eagles (68)
The Willetton Tigers have now strung consecutive wins together after beating the East Perth Eagles 77-68 at home on Saturday night.
Willetton got back to winning on Anzac Day beating the Eastern Suns by 33 points ahead of hosting the winless Eagles at Willetton Basketball Stadium.
East Perth was attempting to win its first game since May 26 last year with coaches Simon Parker and Craig Allen both more than familiar with one another too just to add to the occasion.
Scores were all level at 22-22 by quarter-time but the Eagles were warming to the task and during the second quarter completed a 13-0 scoring run to take an eight-point lead with the confidence building that the elusive drought breaking win might be within reach.
Willetton had other ideas, though, and managed to work back on top and to take a narrow 45-43 advantage into half-time.
The Tigers then gradually pulled away through the second half including holding East Perth to just eight points in the third term as Willetton's lead got out to as much as 13 and they would win by nine to improve to 3-3 on the season.
It was a career-best performance from Kiara Waite in her 43rd appearance as she delivered 21 points and 10 rebounds having had just 10 points and 17 boards in total over the season coming into the game.
Melisa Brcaninovic produced another 15 points, four assists and three rebounds for the Tigers with Claire Jacobs contributing 14 points, four boards and three assists, Amy Jacobs nine points, five rebounds and three steals, and Desiree Kelley six points, nine boards, five assists and four steals.
There were encouraging signs for the Eagles despite suffering a 14th straight loss with Laci Hawthorne finishing with 15 points, 20 rebounds and three assists.
Mary Baskerville also had 16 points and six rebounds, Mary Goulding 13 points, seven boards, five assists and three steals, and Taylor Roberts nine points, two rebounds and two blocked shots.
East Perth is back home to host the Mandurah Magic next Saturday while Willetton will be hosting the Cockburn Cougars in a Grand Final rematch from last year.
WILLETTON TIGERS 77 (Waite 21, Brcaninovic 15, C Jacobs 14)
EAST PERTH EAGLES 68 (Baskerville 16, Hawthorne 15, Goulding 13)
Rockingham Flames (79) defeated Cockburn Cougars (75)
It was the battle of undefeated teams and it was the Rockingham Flames that built a handy lead and held out the Cockburn Cougars for the 79-75 victory.
The Flames and Cougars locked horns on Saturday night at Mike Barnett Sports Complex with the two teams putting their undefeated records on the line.
Adding to the intrigue was the fact neither team was at full strength either with Rockingham without two-time MVP Alex Sharp while Sami Whitcomb has now left for the WNBA and her replacement is yet to arrive.
While Cockburn did unveil Israeli import centre Daniel Rabert, the defending champions were still without two other key members of their front court, Jessie Edwards and Maria Blazejewski.
The Cougars did start well away from home to lead by five points and be on top most of the first quarter, but Rockingham scored 10 straight points in response and took a 20-15 lead into quarter-time.
The advantage for the Flames got out to as much as 15 points in the second quarter and they would go into the locker room for half-time on top 47-32.
The Cougars were always going to hit back and despite falling 18 points down in the third period, the reigning champs did respond desperate not to lose a first game since July 8 last year.
When Jewel Williams scored going to the bucket early in the fourth quarter it was back to a five-point ball game and Cockburn had all the momentum, and soon after Steph Gorman dropped a three-pointer to bring the margin to four.
Georgia Pineau answered with the next four points for Rockingham, but still Cockburn stayed in touch and were back within four thanks to a three from 17-year-old Amelia Corasaniti with 1:30 to go.
Jess Jakens responded to show how valuable she is in her first season in Rockingham especially with Sharp not playing on the night, and her steadying bucket showed her 259 games worth of experience.
The Flames would go on to win by four and improve to 7-0 on the season with the Cougars now 4-1.
It was a chance for Rockingham to showcase its depth with Jakens top-scoring with 21 points and seven rebounds on 10/14 shooting while fellow 277-game veteran Shani Amos won the Anzac Round Medal for her eight points and six assists.
Nes'eya Parker-Williams added 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, Georgia Pineau 15 points and eight boards, and Emma Gandini 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Cockburn would be excited by the way Israeli centre Daniel Rabert performed in her NBL1 debut with 20 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks on 10/15 shooting while playing all 40 minutes.
Alex Ciabattoni added 15 points, four rebounds and four assists for Cockburn against the team she won a championship with while Steph Gorman had 14 points, three boards and three steals, and Jewel Williams 12 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.
The Cougars are back home to host the South West Slammers on Friday while the Flames are at home to the Joondalup Wolves on Saturday.
ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 79 (Jakens 21, Parker-Williams 17, Pineau 15)
COCKBURN COUGARS 75 (Raber 20, Ciabattoni 15, Gorman 14)
MEN
Geraldton Buccaneers (96) defeated Goldfields Giants (94)
Geraldton and Goldfields games generally provide plenty of drama and excitement, and there was that and more on Saturday night with Aaron Ralph the hero for the eventual 96-94 Buccaneers overtime victory.
The two regional powers locked horns at Active West Stadium on Saturday night with the defending champion Buccs putting their unbeaten record on the line against the 2-2 Giants.
Not only that, but Geraldton also put its home winning streak of 16 dating back to July 2022 on the line too and it would turn out to be quite the eventful evening.
The Buccaneers did start well to lead by 12 points in the first quarter and still be up around the double-figure mark for a lot of the first three quarters, but the Giants weren’t going away.
Eventually it was a Randy Bell three-point bomb that gave Goldfields a first lead with 2:30 to play in regulation. Bell scored again soon after to keep the Giants up three before who else, but Aaron Ralph landed a three of his own to put Geraldton back up in the dying stages.
Kon Anguik responded in kind to put Goldfields up 88-87 and then out of a timeout, De'Sean Parsons forced the turnover on Ralph and broke away for the dunk to put the Giants up three.
The Buccs needed a miracle coming out of one last timeout and Ralph provided just that. As he chases down the league's all-time three-point record, he hit one of the more incredible long bombs of his career to send the game to overtime.
Ralph did get a good look but it bounced off the front of the rim before then bouncing back off the top of the backboard and going back in the net for the three to count and the game to go to overtime.
Then in the extra period, it was yet another three-point bomb from Ralph that gave Geraldton the 95-93 lead and they would win 96-94.
On the back of captaining Geraldton to last year's championship, the 439-game veteran Ralph produced 30 points, five rebounds and two assists on 8/17 three-point shooting for the Buccs.
Liam Hunt added 15 points and 13 rebounds, Joshua Keyes 14 points, 12 boards and five assists, and Nik DeSantis 13 points and 10 assists.
Randy Bell finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Giants with De'Sean Parsons contributing 23 points, 11 boards and six assists, Kon Anguik 21 points, five rebounds and three steals, and captain Jerome Reid 11 points on 3/4 three-point shooting.
The Giants have to somehow regroup and now take on the Perth Redbacks at Belmont Oasis on Sunday at 1pm.
GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 96 (Ralph 30, Hunt 15, Keyes 14)
GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 94 (Parsons 23, Bell 23, Anguik 21)
Perry Lakes Hawks (94) defeated Lakeside Lightning (87)
The Perry Lakes Hawks shook off a tough couple of losses to get back to winning with Dequan Abrom starring in the 94-87 victory at home to the Lakeside Lightning.
The Lightning arrived at Bendat Basketball Centre buoyed by their first win of the season the previous night at home to the South West Slammers while the Hawks were trying to hit back.
Perry Lakes had lost its past two games to East Perth and Mandurah by a combined 43 points and it was a tight first half battle between the two teams.
The Hawks did lead by two at quarter-time but the Lightning outscored them 28 points to 19 in the second period to go into the break leading 49-42.
Lakeside then pushed that advantage out to 13 points in the third quarter and the Lightning looked on track for back-to-back wins, but Perry Lakes had other ideas.
The Hawks would go on a 19-0 scoring run either side of three quarter-time to turn the game on its head, and from there end up winning by seven to improve to a 3-4 record.
Dequan Abrom produced a match-winning performance for the Hawks made up of 34 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals with 6/12 three-point shooting.
Luke Phillips added 14 points, four boards and three assists, Matt Leary 12 points, Kyiah O'Donohue eight points, two assists and two steals, and Jaylen Key eight points, four rebounds and three assists.
Marshawn Blackmon top-scored for Lakeside with 22 points with Dom Jackson contributing 18 points and five rebounds, Mike Adewunmi 14 points, five boards and five assists, and Josh Davey 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Perry Lakes remains at home on Friday night against the Warwick Senators while Lakeside will also be hosting the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.
PERRY LAKES HAWKS 94 (Abrom 34, L Phillips 14, Leary 12)
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 87 (Blackmon 22, Jackson 18, Adewunmi 14)
Warwick Senators (124) defeated Perth Redbacks (78)
The Warwick Senators snapped a three-game losing slide in emphatic fashion with the 124-78 hammering at home of the Perth Redbacks.
The Senators came into the contest having lost their past three matches after starting the season winning three in-a-row while the Redbacks had won two its past three after losing the first three of 2024.
That set up a fascinating Saturday night match up at Warwick Stadium but the Redbacks ended up being without captain Tevin Jackson, Joe Cook-Green, Cousteau Kyle, Carl Aylett and Jacob Formosa, and the high powered Senators quite simply blew them away.
Warwick put up 35 points in the first quarter to set the tone for the evening and already had opened up a double-digit lead.
That advantage blew out to 25 points in the second term after a 13-0 scoring run with the Senators on top 63-44 at half-time.
Warwick also outscored the Redbacks 61 points to 34 in the second half to end up winning by 46 points to improve to a 4-3 record as a result with Perth now 2-5.
Perth Wildcats guard Michael Harris delivered 26 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Senators on 6/10 three-point shooting with former Adelaide 36ers import Todd Withers putting up 20 points and four boards on 7/12 shooting.
Kieran Berry added 16 points, three assists and three steals, George Pearl 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists, Brody England 15 points and three assists, Kye Chamberlain 10 points, and Cody Ellis nine points, seven rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals.
Tyler Shand also finished with six points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
It was a rough night for the Redbacks with just seven players hitting the court with Miles Gibson producing 27 points and nine rebounds, Denzel Jackson 14 points, and Ioannis Dimakopoulos 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Even worse news for the Redbacks is they have to back up to play host to the Goldfields Giants on Sunday at 1pm.
WARWICK SENATORS 124 (Harris 26, Withers 20, Pearl 16, Berry 16)
PERTH REDBACKS 78 (Gibson 27, D Jackson 14, Dimakopoulos 10)
South West Slammers (63) lost to Joondalup Wolves (83)
The Joondalup Wolves didn’t have it all their own way but worked hard to overcome the South West Slammers 83-63 and keep their undefeated start to the season rolling.
The Slammers were back home at Eaton Recreation Centre looking for a second win of the season and to bounce back from another competitive showing the night before on the road in a nine-point defeat to the Lakeside Lightning.
Joondalup arrived having won its first four games of the season while still awaiting the arrival of import Jeremy Combs, and it was a hard fought battle for a lot of the evening down south.
No more than nine points separated the two teams through the first half with the Wolfpack leading by two at quarter-time and then eight at the half.
Eventually the Wolves were able to break the game open in the second half and build a 19-point lead in the third frame, and 23 in the fourth before winning by 20 and improving to 5-0 on the season as a result.
CJ Turnage put up another 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in the win for Joondalup with Christian Jurlina contributing 18 points, nine boards, two assists and two steals on 3/4 three-point shooting.
Caleb Davis added 12 points and seven rebounds with Ethan Elliott contributing 10 points, five assists, four steals and four rebounds, and 244-game captain Jordan Wellsteed nine points, four rebounds and two steals.
Buay Tuach once again did all he could to give the Slammers a chance with 25 points and seven rebounds with Alex Holcombe contributing 12 points, nine boards, two steals and two blocks, and Manyiel Wugol eight points.
The Slammers continue to hunt that second win on the road to the Cockburn Cougars on Friday while the Wolves have a preliminary final rematch with the Rockingham Flames on Saturday.
SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 63 (Tuach 25, Holcombe 12, Wugol 8)
JOONDALUP WOLVES 83 (Turnage 18, Jurlina 18, Davis 12)
Willetton Tigers (87) defeated East Perth Eagles (85)
David Okwera almost helped the East Perth Eagles pull off the upset but in the end the Willetton Tigers kept its winning form going with the 87-85 victory.
The Tigers were back at Willetton Basketball Stadium on Saturday night on a four-game winning streak including having beaten the Eastern Suns by 26 points back on Anzac Day.
The Eagles arrived also on the back of beating the Perry Lakes Hawks by 27 points last Saturday night and both teams were without some key pieces.
Willetton didn’t have the services of dynamic guard Marshall Nelson due to a groin injury while East Perth was without Sebit Reath with a finger complaint while fellow front court pair Lee Roberts and Lukas Milner are yet to arrive in 2024.
The two teams still put on an entertaining evening of basketball that went down to the very last possession.
The Tigers did complete a 12-0 scoring run in the second quarter to open up an 11-point lead with the home team going into half-time leading 47-40.
However, East Perth grabbed the momentum in the third quarter to open up a lead as big as five themselves heading into the fourth term.
A Michael Dupree three-pointer gave Willetton the perfect start to the fourth term before Roosevelt Williams tied scores up and Damien Scott put the Tigers in front.
Five quick Josh Ibukunoluwa points gave Willetton a five-point edge shortly after but the Eagles were back in front thanks to a three-point play from David Okwera with 1:45 on the clock.
Okwera was playing like a man possessed and had a huge block on Roosevelt Williams up the other end, but the ball got back to Williams who hit a huge three for the Tigers to put his team back up two.
In the end, Willetton was still leading by two when East Perth had one last chance to either go for the win or to send it to overtime.
They had the play to for Sunday Dech to lob it to Okwera going to the rim as well. It almost worked against the Perth Redbacks a couple of weeks ago too, but the Tigers defenders read it well and were able to intercept it.
As a result Willetton held on to win by two and improve to 6-1 on the season with five consecutive wins.
Michael Dupree finished with 20 points, four steals and three assists for Willetton with Roosevelt Williams delivering 15 points, four boards and four assists, and Josh Ibukunoluwa 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
Michael Vigor also had 12 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, and Damien Scott 12 points and six boards.
It was another heartbreaker for the Eagles with David Okwera finishing with 24 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Sunday Dech added 18 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals, Nic Filpo 13 points and six rebounds, Taylor Young 12 points, six boards, four assists, two steals and two blocks, and Sharif Watson 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.
East Perth is back home to host the Mandurah Magic next Saturday while Willetton will be hosting the Cockburn Cougars.
WILLETTON TIGERS 87 (Dupree 20, Williams 15, Ibukunoluwa 12, Scott 12, Vigor 12)
EAST PERTH EAGLES 85 (Okwera 24, Dech 18, Young 12)
Rockingham Flames (83) defeated Cockburn Cougars (75)
Gorjok Gak ultimately proved the difference as the Rockingham Flames hit back from their first loss of the season for the hard fought 83-75 home win against the Cockburn Cougars.
Rockingham suffered its first loss of the season last Friday night at the hands of the Willetton Tigers and were looking to hit back against a Cockburn team out to bounce back from a loss in Mandurah as well last Friday evening.
For a lot of the evening the Cougars did a good job to frustrate and nullify a lot of what the Flames were trying to do, and to avoid turning the game into a track meet.
Getting Quintin Dove in foul trouble most of the game helped the Cougars' cause as well but in the end the size, power and athleticism of Gorjok Gak proved the major difference along with some second half brilliance from two-time MVP Devondrick Walker.
The Cougars did well to bounce back from an early eight-point deficit to be leading 20-19 at quarter-time and to still be holding the 43-42 edge at half-time.
It remained a close contest until Rockingham opened up the first double-figure lead with an 11-0 run either side of three quarter-time, and from there they were able to make enough of the key plays late for the eventual eight-point win.
The victory improves Rockingham to a 6-1 record on the season with Cockburn now 2-3 in coach Mark Clayden's first season at the helm.
Gorjok Gak finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three assists on 9/13 shooting in what was a match-winning performance for the Flames.
Devondrick Walker also had 19 points and seven assists with Justin Beard contributing 15 points and 10 rebounds, Ryan Godfrey 12 points and six assists, and new recruit Jono Janssen eight points and eight rebounds.
There was a lot to like in the fighting performance from the Cougars with Josh Hunt continuing his career-best form with another 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Rhys Vague added 15 points, six assists and five rebounds, Gavin Field 11 points and seven rebounds, and Riley Bensemann 10 points and two steals with 3/6 three-point shooting.
The Cougars are back home to host the South West Slammers on Friday while the Flames are at home to the Joondalup Wolves on Saturday.
ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 83 (Gak 20, Walker 19, Beard 15)
COCKBURN COUGARS 75 (Hunt 20, Vague 15, Field 11)
