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Jaylen Key hit a miracle half court banked in winner for the Perry Lakes Hawks over the Lakeside Lightning to open NBL1 West Heritage Round while Natalie Chou had a triple-double for the Perth Redbacks and Sunday Dech responded in kind for the East Perth Eagles.
The women's results on Friday night saw the Cockburn Cougars beat the Willetton Tigers 91-73, the Perth Redbacks defeat the East Perth Eagles 108-65, the Perry Lakes Hawks down the Lakeside Lightning 81-77, and the Warwick Senators win 116-84 against the Eastern Suns.
Then in the men's fixtures, the Tigers beat the Cougars 124-109, the Eagles downed the Redbacks 90-78, the Hawks defeated the Lightning 84-81 and the Eastern Suns won 97-92 against the Senators.
HERITAGE ROUND – THE FISHER FAMILY
HERITAGE ROUND – THE JACKSON FAMILY
WOLFPACK CAPTAIN REACHES 250 IN HERITAGE ROUND
RECAP NBL1 WEST | ROUND 9 SUNDAY
NBL1 WEST MID-SEASON SNAPSHOT – MEN
NBL1 WEST MID-SEASON SNAPSHOT – WOMEN
WOMEN
Cockburn Cougars (91) defeated Willetton Tigers (73)
The defending champion Cockburn Cougars held serve in their Grand Final rematch with the Willetton Tigers with the 91-73 win at Wally Hagan Stadium.
The first time the two teams met this season after Cockburn won last year's Grand Final was earlier this month at Willetton Basketball Stadium with the Tigers winning by 23 points on what was a horror shooting night for the Cougars.
Cockburn was back on its home court on Friday night where they had their 20-game winning streak ended two weeks ago at the hands of the Warwick Senators.
The Cougars weren’t about to make it consecutive home defeats and they opened up a 10-point lead in the first quarter and were able to continue building on that.
Cockburn would lead by as much as 12 points in the second quarter, 17 in the third and 18 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 18-point victory.
The result means that both Cockburn and Willetton have scored a win each over the other since last year's Grand Final with the Cougars improving to 10-3 on the season with the victory.
The Cougars had their front court challenges with an ankle injury to Maria Blazejewski, Jessie Edwards unavailable and Daniel Raber in foul trouble, but their back court more than made up for it.
Alex Ciabattoni led the way with 25 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks on 8/13 shooting from the field and 7/7 at the foul line.
Jewel Williams also delivered 22 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals with Steph Gorman contributing 16 points, five boards, five assists and two steals while Regan Turnour-McCarty had to play big and had 11 points and seven rebounds.
Willetton is now 5-7 following the defeat with Claire Jacobs top-scoring with 21 points and seven rebounds off the bench in less than 20 minutes.
Melisa Brcaninovic added 14 points and nine rebounds, Jillian Archer 12 points and seven boards, and Kaylee Smiler nine points and five rebounds.
The Cougars are next in action next Saturday night on the road to the Joondalup Wolves with the Tigers while the Tigers don't play again until being away to the Goldfields Giants on Saturday June 15.
COCKBURN COUGARS 91 (Ciabattoni 25, Williams 22, Gorman 16)
WILLETTON TIGERS 73 (C Jacobs 21, Brcaninovic 14, Archer 12)
East Perth Eagles (65) lost to Perth Redbacks (108)
Natalie Chou had a remarkable triple-double that included 14 steals with Anneli Maley only narrowly missing one herself with 30 points as the Perth Redbacks hammered the East Perth Eagles 108-65.
The two teams met for the second time this season with the first clash having plenty of similarities with the Redbacks winning at Belmont Oasis 92-74 with Maley fresh into the Perth line-up and Mary Goulding missing for the Eagles.
Goulding was again out on Friday night at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre for East Perth while the duo of Maley and Chou showed just what they are capable of if they have enough time together this season.
The Redbacks came into the contest on a three-game winning streak but the Eagles were also coming off a stirring come from behind victory last Friday night on the road to the Joondalup Wolves.
Perth made a flying start away from home with 32 points to 18 in the first quarter and never looked back with the lead growing to 30 points in the second period, 33 in the third and 47 in the fourth.
The Redbacks would end up winning by 43 points to make it four wins in-a-row to improve to 8-6 on the season with Chou ending up with a stunning triple-double made up of 20 points, 14 steals, 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots.
Maley had a huge say in the final result too with 30 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists and two steals with Brooke Malone also putting up 26 points, five steals and four boards, and Shenae Hartree 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
It was a tough night for East Perth who slip to a 2-8 record having had 38 turnovers for the game which meant they attempted 35 fewer field goals than the Redbacks.
Laci Hawthorne finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds despite the result on the back of shooting 8/15 from the floor, 3/4 from three-point range and 3/4 at the free-throw line.
Mary Baskerville also had 14 points and five rebounds while Tessa Morrison contributed 10 points, six boards and six assists.
East Perth will now back up on Sunday night as part of the WA Day long weekend to play in Kalgoorlie against the Goldfields Giants. The Redbacks also hit the road to face the Geraldton Buccaneers on Sunday.
EAST PERTH EAGLES 65 (Hawthorne 22, Baskerville 14, Morrison 10)
PERTH REDBACKS 108 (Maley 30, Malone 26, Chou 20)
Lakeside Lightning (77) lost to Perry Lakes Hawks (81)
The Perry Lakes Hawks were able to steady to score eight of the last 10 points to record the 81-77 road victory against the Lakeside Lightning.
With coach Craig Mansfield and star Ash Isenbarger returning to the floor of the club they won a championship with, Friday night's encounter at Lakeside Recreation Centre was always going to have plenty of intrigue.
Throw in the fact that it was the fourth placed Lightning hosting the fifth ranked Hawks and the significance of the match up rose, and it would turn out a tremendous contest.
Perry Lakes came out on fire to open up an early 15-point advantage but Lakeside worked back into the contest with 10 consecutive points to cut the lead of the Hawks back to four by quarter-time.
Perry Lakes were still leading 45-41 by half-time with the Hawks again pushing out to a 13-point lead in the third quarter, but Lakeside were able to fire back and even hit the front late in the piece.
The Lightning grabbed the lead thanks to a three-pointer from Jade Gowland with four minutes to play, but it was all Perry Lakes from that point.
The Hawks were able to hold Lakeside to two points in those last four minutes while scoring eight themselves to score the four-point victory and improve to 8-4 on the season as a result.
Maddy Dennis finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in the win for Perry Lakes with Millie McCarthy adding 14 points, five assists, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Ash Isenbarger also had 14 points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks on her homecoming with Grace Stone ending up with 11 points, five boards, three steals and three blocks, Mia Satie 11 points, six assists and four rebounds, and Sam Ashby 10 points, three boards and three assists.
The Lightning are now 6-4 following the defeat with Marnelle Garraud finishing with 26 points, four rebounds and three steals while Caitie Jones contributed 21 points, seven boards, four assists and two steals.
Teige Morrell added 15 points, 20 rebounds and seven assists with Jade Gowland contributing 10 points and five boards.
The Lightning remain at home to host the Perth Redbacks next Friday night with Perry Lakes back home next Saturday to the Goldfields Giants.
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 77 (Garraud 26, Jones 21, Morrell 15)
PERRY LAKES HAWKS 81 (Dennis 18, McCarthy 14, Isenbarger 14)
Warwick Senators (116) defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns (84)
The Warwick Senators continue to loom large this season after another commanding performance to beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 116-84.
As part of Heritage Round, not only did the Senators wear uniforms adorned with their original Stirling name, but they returned to Mirrabooka's Herb Graham Recreation Centre for the occasion.
It had been an original home of the Senators even if for the past five years it had been the East Perth Eagles calling it home, but it was a call back on Friday night to celebrate Heritage Round and the Senators women enjoyed the occasion.
The Suns might have been coming off their second win of the season against the South West Slammers, taking on the Senators was another matter with Warwick ending up leading 28-21 by quarter-time.
That lead grew to 17 in the second period for the Senators and they would go into the half-time break leading 55-41.
The advantage for Warwick blew out to 28 points in the third quarter and 32 in the fourth which would be the final margin as the Senators improved to an 11-2 record on the season.
Two-time MVP Stacey Barr was outstanding once more for Warwick with 26 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals on shooting 8/16 from the floor and 4/11 from deep.
Karly Murphy continued her brilliant form too in the absence of Nat Burton with 25 points and nine rebounds on 11/15 shooting with Marena Whittle contributing 17 points, six boards, five steals and four assists, and Chloe Forster 14 points, six assists and three steals.
The Eastern Suns fall to 2-11 on the season with the defeat despite a big night from Tiahna Sears with 29 points and 14 rebounds on 12/22 shooting from the field.
Olivia Berry also had 22 points, six rebounds and two assists, and Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant 10 points, five boards, four steals and two assists.
The Eastern Suns are next in action next Saturday night away to the South West Slammers with the Senators to face the Mandurah Magic in two weeks' time on the road. With the Senators on the road to the Geraldton Buccaneers next Saturday.
WARWICK SENATORS 116 (Barr 26, Murphy 25, Whittle 17)
KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 84 (Sears 29, Berry 22, McGhee-Pleasant 10)
MEN
Cockburn Cougars (109) lost to Willetton Tigers (124)
A shorthanded Cockburn Cougars attempted a shootout to give themselves a chance but the Willetton Tigers had too much firepower for that as they went on to score the 124-109 victory.
While Cockburn did regain 303-game point guard Kyle Armour, they were without Josh Hunt, Hunter Clarke and Demetris Morant meaning coach Mark Clayden had to get creative up against the Tigers at Wally Hagan Stadium.
Willetton arrived with a 10-2 record on the season and it would prove to be quite the high-scoring shootout from the start with the two teams combining for 63 points in the first quarter.
The Tigers were leading 32-31 by the end of one and then would end up leading 59-53 by half-time.
Cockburn was able to stick with Willetton through the first three quarters and even managed to hit the front again in the third period before trailing by just four by three quarter-time.
Willetton turned the tide, though, and would go on a 15-0 scoring run to blow the game open and to end up outscoring the Cougars 38 points to 27 in the final period to end up winning by 15 points.
It was a game where the two teams combined to score 233 points with the Tigers shooting 61.5 per cent from the floor and making 15/30 from three-point range with the Cougars going at 52.6 per cent overall and hitting 14/34 from downtown.
Marshall Nelson delivered 32 points, five assists and three rebounds for Willetton with 6/10 three-point shooting with Michael Dupree contributing 23 points, five assists and three boards.
Deng Gak also put up 22 points and seven rebounds with Michael Vigor contributing 14 points and four boards, Damien Scott 12 points, five assists and four rebounds, and Roosevelt Williams 11 points and five boards.
The Cougars are now 3-11 and on an eight-game losing streak with Seva Chan putting up 23 points and three assists while it was a career-best night for Nathan Pond with 22 points and seven rebounds.
Rhys Vague narrowly missed the triple-double with 21 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists with Gavin Field adding 16 points, four boards and two assists in what will be the final game against Willetton in his career.
The Cougars are next in action next Saturday night on the road to the Joondalup Wolves with the Tigers while the Tigers are at home to the South West Slammers next Friday.
COCKBURN COUGARS 109 (Chan 23, Pond 22, Vague 21)
WILLETTON TIGERS 124 (Nelson 32, Dupree 23, Gak 22)
East Perth Eagles (90) defeated Perth Redbacks (78)
The impressive momentum of the East Perth Eagles continues to build with the hard fought 90-78 victory against the Perth Redbacks with Sunday Dech delivering a triple-double.
The Eagles were back home on Peter Campbell Basketball Arena attempting to bounce back from losing on the same floor five days earlier to the Geraldton Buccaneers.
Prior to that and East Perth had been in some mighty impressive form winning four in-a-row including ending the 19-game home winning streak of the Buccs.
They were hosting a Redbacks team needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive having lost their past three matches, but that was without Joe Cook-Green and the gun Kiwi guard was back for the Friday night Heritage Round match up.
East Perth managed to open up a double-figure lead in the opening quarter and never really looked back, ending up leading 28-20 by quarter-time.
The Eagles would still be leading 48-42 by half-time but then 26 points to 17 in the third quarter saw the home team's advantage grow to 16 points, and then 17 in the final period before settling at the 12-point margin by the final buzzer.
East Perth has now won five of its past six games to improve to 7-5 on the season with Sunday Dech delivering a mighty impressive triple-double consisting of 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
He had plenty of help too with Taylor Young finishing with 18 points, four rebounds and four assists, Sebit Reath 16 points and 11 boards, Jerami Grace 10 points, two assists and two steals, David Okwera 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists, and Lee Roberts 10 points and nine boards.
The Redbacks have now lost four in-a-row at 4-10 on the season despite Joe Cook-Green returning with 26 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Ioannis Dimakopoulos also had 14 points and nine rebounds, Jacob Formosa 10 points and two assists, and Miles Gibson 10 points, five rebounds and two assists.
East Perth will now back up on Sunday night as part of the WA Day long weekend to play in Kalgoorlie against the Goldfields Giants. The Redbacks also hit the road to face the Geraldton Buccaneers on Sunday.
EAST PERTH EAGLES 90 (Dech 20, Young 18, Reath 16)
PERTH REDBACKS 78 (Cook-Green 26, Dimakopoulos 14, Gibson 10, Formosa 10)
Lakeside Lightning (81) lost to Perry Lakes Hawks (84)
There are stunning finishes to game and then there is a remarkable banked in halfcourt prayer which is exactly what Jaylen Key delivered for the Perry Lakes Hawks to beat the Lakeside Lightning 84-81.
With the game at Lakeside Recreation Centre looking destined to go to overtime with the scores deadlocked and only one second left and it was Perry Lakes with the side ball.
What happened had to be seen to be believed with Joel Vaiangina finding Key who took a step before releasing his half court prayer that banked in as the buzzer siren and time expired.
The game was done and the Hawks won by three points in remarkable fashion and it was more heartbreak for the Lightning who had lost a double overtime classic just six nights earlier in Kalgoorlie against the Goldfields Giants.
It had been a tremendous contest all evening with no more than 10 points ever separating the two teams and that was a lead for Perry Lakes during the second quarter.
However, it was tight at every break with the Hawks leading by just three points at quarter-time before it was just a one-point margin at half-time and then Perry Lakes led by just two at three quarter-time.
It was always destined for a thrilling finish and in the final minute with the Lightning up by a point, Dequan Abrom hit a three-pointer to restore Perry Lakes to the lead but then Mike Adewunmi responded to bring Lakeside back level.
Then with nine seconds to go, Perry Lakes had possession but almost turned it over when Max Richards knocked the ball from Abrom. However, the ball came off Richards last and with a second left, Perry Lakes had one last chance and Key made the miracle shot.
Key finished the night with 21 points, nine boards and three assists with that shot at the death his only three-point attempt of the contest.
Abrom also came up big for 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists with Luke Phillips contributing 14 points and five boards, and Matt Leary 12 points.
The Lightning are now 3-8 on the season after yet another nail-biting loss with Marshawn Blackmon coming up huge with 36 points and 11 rebounds on 15/24 shooting from the floor.
Mike Adewunmi added 16 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Max Richards 11 points, eight boards, six assists and three steals.
The Lightning remain at home to host the Perth Redbacks next Friday night with Perry Lakes back home next Saturday to the Goldfields Giants.
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 81 (Blackmon 36, Adewunmi 16, Richards 11)
PERRY LAKES HAWKS 84 (Abrom 28, Key 21, L Phillips 14)
Warwick Senators (92) lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns (97)
The Kalamunda Eastern Suns might have come into Heritage Round at the foot of the standings but they showed they are much better than that with the 97-92 victory over the Warwick Senators.
While the Suns did beat the Senators back on April 19 for their first win of the season, backing up to do it again was always going to be a challenge even though the game was virtually on neutral territory.
To celebrate Heritage Round, the Senators returned to a former home base at Mirrabooka's Herb Graham Recreation Centre, but given that has been the home of the East Perth Eagles for the past five years, it didn’t have the same home court feel as Warwick Stadium.
What had a bigger impact on the eventual result was the game plan that Suns coach Aaron Trahair again had his team implement against the Senators with a focus on applying the pressure on Warwick's gun scorer and Perth Wildcats guard Michael Harris.
Harris might have still had strong numbers by the end of the night with 35 points on 11/17 shooting including going 6/9 from deep, the Suns hounded him at every opportunity to try and force the ball out of his hands.
That worked both in terms of limiting him to the 17 shot attempts but also into having four turnovers for the game.
Up the other end the Suns were finding plenty of avenues to score as well as they opened up a 15-point lead during the first half and being on top still 50-41 at half-time.
Warwick did fire back in the third quarter to tie scores up on several occasions, but they could never quite work in front and eventually Kalamunda pulled away for good to lead by 11 points in the final period and to end up scoring the five-point victory.
Marek Nelson ended up having a huge night in the win for the Eastern Suns with 37 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals on 13/19 shooting from the field, 5/8 from three-point land and 6/8 at the foul line.
He received plenty of support too with Raphell Thomas-Edwards contributing 19 points, four rebounds, three blocks and two assists, Reece Maxwell 13 points and five boards, Seb Salinas 10 points and four rebounds, and Rob Huntington 10 points and two assists.
The Senators are now 7-7 on the season following the loss with Todd Withers also finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, Cody Ellis 16 points, four boards and three assists, and George Pearl 12 points, six rebounds and three assists.
The Eastern Suns are next in action next Saturday night away to the South West Slammers with the Senators on the road to the Geraldton Buccaneers next Saturday.
WARWICK SENATORS 92 (Harris 35, Withers 22, Ellis 16)
KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 97 (Nelson 37, Thomas-Edwards 19, Maxwell 13)
