Kaylee Smiler delivered her best NBL1 West showing as the Willetton Tigers geared up for the finals with Marshall Nelson securing their top three spot while it was a pair of Lakeside wins, and the Cockburn Cougars and Eastern Suns split their evening.
The women's NBL1 West matches on Friday night saw the Willetton Tigers beat the East Perth Eagles 75-61, the Lakeside Lightning down the South West Slammers 95-77, and the Cockburn Cougars hammer the Eastern Suns 131-78.
The men's match ups then saw the Tigers beat the Eagles 104-78, the Lightning defeat the Slammers 79-77, and the Eastern Suns down the Cougars 92-83.
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RECAP NBL1 WEST | FIRST NATIONS ROUND SATURDAY
WOMEN
East Perth Eagles (61) lost to Willetton Tigers (75)
Kaylee Smiler produced her best performance since joining the Willetton Tigers to help them to the 75-61 road victory against the East Perth Eagles.
The Tigers arrived at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre to take on the out of playoff contention Eagles having locked in their spot once again on the back of reaching the Grand Final the previous three NBL1 West seasons.
East Perth were hunting a first win against Willetton since 2021 as well and were on their home floor, but it was the Tigers who got the better of the start to be leading 24-16 at quarter-time.
After Willetton's lead got out to 10 points early in the second term, East Perth answered by scoring 10 straight points to draw back level, but by half-time it was the Tigers still clinging to a 38-35 advantage.
Willetton again pulled away throughout the second half with 21 points to 14 in the third quarter, and 16 to 12 in the fourth to end up securing the 14-point victory.
The win improves the Tigers to an 11-8 record on the season with New Zealander Kaylee Smiler continuing to find her feet following her college career at Brigham Young University. She finished with 18 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks on 3/4 three-point shooting.
Jillian Archer starred again for Willetton with 21 points, nine rebounds, five blocked shots and three assists with Melisa Brcaninovic adding 14 points, nine boards and three assists, and Claire Jacobs 12 points and four assists.
The Eagles have now lost four straight to slip to a 5-13 record with Mary Baskerville providing 22 points, 14 rebounds and two blocked shots.
Sarah Allen knocked down 4/7 from downtown for 14 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals with Sam Lubcke contributing six points and five rebounds against the team she won a championship with in 2021.
Mary Goulding also ended up with six points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals, and Taylor Roberts six points on 2/3 three-point shooting.
The Eagles back up with another big test on Saturday away to the Rockingham Flames with the Tigers having just one game to go next Friday away to the Mandurah Magic.
EAST PERTH EAGLES 61 (Baskerville 22, Allen 14, Goulding 6, Roberts 6, Lubcke 6)
WILLETTON TIGERS 75 (Archer 21, Smiler 18, Brcaninovic 14)
Kalamunda Eastern Suns (78) lost to Cockburn Cougars (131)
The defending champion Cockburn Cougars fell just short of setting a new season high but it didn’t take away from how impressive of a display they produced in the 131-78 win over the Eastern Suns.
The Cougars pride themselves on their defence, but their offensive firepower is mighty impressive too as the highest scoring team in the league and that was on full display on Friday night at Ray Owen Sports Centre.
The Cougars came into the match up in third position and still a chance of breaking into the top two while the Eastern Suns were playing their last home game of 2024 and trying to make it consecutive victories.
Cockburn arrived on a mission, though, with the added boost of having two former Suns juniors, Jessie Edwards and Jewel Williams, in their line-up and with Williams celebrating her 150th appearance in the league.
The Cougars did open up a double-figure lead early thanks to scoring 13 consecutive points but to Kalamunda's credit they hit back with 12 points straight of their own.
Cockburn ended up leading 28-24 by quarter-time before the defending champions dominated the second term with 35 points to 19 to end up leading by as much as 20, and 63-43 by half-time.
It was then a stunning third quarter outburst from the Cougars as they piled on 44 points to just 12 from the Eastern Suns to see that lead balloon out to 52 points on the back of 18 consecutive points.
Cockburn would end up leading by as much as 59 in the last quarter on the way to the eventual 53-point win and scoring 131 points to be just one short of the 132 they put up earlier in the season against the South West Slammers.
The Cougars improve to 15-4 on the season with the win with Israeli centre Daniel Raber dominating down low on the way to 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists on 15/21 shooting from the floor.
Fellow big, and former Sun, Jessie Edwards also had a big night offensively with 23 points on 10/12 shooting while Alex Ciabattoni put up a triple-double consisting of 13 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists.
Her Perth Lynx teammate Steph Gorman added 29 points with 7/13 three-point shooting while Jewel Williams celebrated her 150th game against her former team with 15 points, eight steals, four rebounds and four assists.
The Eastern Suns are now 6-13 following the defeat with Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant finishing with 22 points and five rebounds while Tiahna Sears contributed 21 points and four boards, Olivia Berry 11 points and seven assists, Ella Fotu nine points and five assists, and Ashleigh Cole nine points.
The Eastern Suns finish their season next Friday away to the Joondalup Wolves while the Cougars will be at home to the Perry Lakes Hawks.
KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 78 (McGhee-Pleasant 22, Sears 21, Berry 11)
COCKBURN COUGARS 131 (Raber 31, Gorman 29, Edwards 23)
South West Slammers (77) lost to Lakeside Lightning (95)
The South West Slammers produced a stronger competitive performance but the big three of the Lakeside Lightning dug deep for their team's eventual 95-77 road win.
The Lightning arrived at Eaton Recreation Centre having lost their past three matches and while locked into a playoff spot, they had slipped out of top four contention as a result.
They were taking on a Slammers team on a 50-game losing streak, but right from the outside it was a more competitive performance from the home team after the Lightning made a hot start with a 12-0 run in the opening period.
The Slammers even won the second quarter with 24 points to 23 to cut the Lakeside half-time lead to 52-43 before it was in the third quarter when the Lightning were able to put the result beyond doubt with 28 points to 13.
That saw the visitors lead by as much as 26 points but again the Slammers fought the game out valiantly with 21 points to 15 in the final period to cut the Lightning winning margin to 18.
Teige Morrell was a match up that the Slammers couldn’t quite handle and she put up 28 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals on 12/20 shooting.
Marnelle Garraud added 24 points and seven rebounds, and Caitie Jones 24 points, four assists and three boards.
It might have been a 51st straight defeat for South West, but there was plenty to be encouraged by and the leadership of Courtney Bayliss was crucial as she finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds and four steals with 5/14 three-point shooting.
Charlotte Mills added 19 points, seven rebounds and two assists, Zaya Black 16 points, four boards and four assists, and Addison Edwards seven points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
The Slammers finish their season next Friday at home to the Rockingham Flames with the Lightning backing up on Saturday at home to the Joondalup Wolves.
SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 77 (Bayliss 20, Mills 19, Black 16)
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 95 (Morrell 28, Jones 24, Garraud 24)
MEN
East Perth Eagles (78) lost to Willetton Tigers (104)
Marshall Nelson starred as the Willetton Tigers hit back emphatically to at least lock away a top three finish with the 104-78 road win against the East Perth Eagles.
It shaped as a pivotal contest in the context of the season for both teams with Willetton arriving at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre still sitting third but having lost four straight including by a combined 54 points to the Warwick Senators and Joondalup Wolves last weekend.
The Eagles were breathing down their necks sitting in fourth position having won five of the last six and 10 of the previous 13 matches to have guaranteed their first playoff appearance since the championship of 2014.
Willetton lost those two games last weekend without the services of 299-game championship winning centre Michael Vigor and gun import Michael Dupree.
While Vigor wasn’t back due to a calf injury on Friday night, Dupree was back with East Perth still without Sunday Dech as they have been now for the previous five matches as he prepares to represent South Sudan at the Paris Olympic Games.
The stage was set for a pivotal match up and it was Willetton who got on top early and would end up scoring 10 straight points in the first quarter to be leading by 14 points at quarter-time.
The Tigers remained in control to push that lead out to 19 points in the second frame before still being on top 51-33 by the half-time interval.
It just was an off night for the Eagles for whatever reason on their own home floor and they could never get back within striking distance of a Willetton team desperate to get things back on track and make a statement.
The Tigers went on with the job in the second half with the lead getting out to as much as 27 points in the final period before the visitors scored the 26-point road victory.
The win improves Willetton to a 15-6 record to now be guaranteed of third spot and to remain a chance of second with two-time championship winner Marshall Nelson starring with 28 points, 12 rebounds and six assists with 5/11 three-point shooting.
Aiden Fitzgerald produced a breakout performance too with 18 points and three assists on 3/4 long-range shooting with Michael Dupree contributing 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, and captain Andrew Black 14 points and four rebounds in his 283rd game.
The Eagles slip to a 12-8 record with the loss despite another strong showing from point guard captain Taylor Young with 24 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Lee Roberts also put up 20 points and eight rebounds with David Okwera contributing 12 points and five boards, Lukas Milner nine points and five rebounds, Sharif Watson five points, 10 boards and four assists, and Nick Filpo six points, five assists and three steals.
The Eagles back up with another big test on Saturday away to the Rockingham Flames with the Tigers having just one game to go next Friday away to the Mandurah Magic.
EAST PERTH EAGLES 78 (Young 24, Roberts 20, Okwera 12)
WILLETTON TIGERS 104 (Nelson 28, Fitzgerald 18, Dupree 15)
Kalamunda Eastern Suns (92) defeated Cockburn Cougars (83)
It was a night for some young stars to shine with Jack Exeter scoring 23 points to help the Kalamunda Eastern Suns to the 92-83 home win against the Cockburn Cougars.
Both teams are out of the playoff race coming into the penultimate round of the NBL1 West season but there's been encouraging signs from the Eastern Suns in the second half of the campaign despite having lost their past two matches.
Cockburn had a horror patch through the middle of the season but arrived at Ray Owen Sports Centre on Friday night having won their past two matches against the Rockingham Flames and Lakeside Lightning.
The Cougars were still without departed import Demetris Morant along with Rhys Vague, Josh Hunt, Seva Chan, Will Yarran and Hunter Clarke all out, and the Eastern Suns were able to open up a six-point lead by the end of the first quarter.
With 10th gamer Austin Crowe-St Jack having a breakout performance, the Cougars stayed in touch and then even worked in front in the second term before Kalamunda were clinging to the 48-45 lead at the main break.
The Eastern Suns then pulled away further to lead by as much as 14 points in the final quarter and then held firm down the stretch to hold on for the eventual nine-point victory.
The Suns improve to a 7-14 record with the victory with Jack Exeter delivering his best performance of the season with 23 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Marek Nelson did foul out but prior to that had 21 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and three steals while Raphell Thomas-Edwards put up 14 points, seven boards, three assists and two steals.
Brendan Dinardo knocked down 4/4 from three-point territory for 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals, and games record holder Seb Salinas hit 2/3 from deep for six points and two assists in his 531st appearance.
The Cougars are now 5-16 following the defeat despite a career-best performance from Austin Crowe-St Jack who had 16 points and two rebounds on 4/5 three-point shooting.
Kyle Armour also had 12 points, four assists and three rebounds with Gavin Field adding 12 points, four assists and three boards in the 338th and second last game of his remarkable career.
Riley Eves added 10 points and four rebounds, and the returning Nathan Pond 10 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.
The Eastern Suns finish their season next Friday away to the Joondalup Wolves which looms as an intriguing night with games record holder Seb Salinas along with long-time teammates Reece Maxwell and Rob Huntington back to their old home.
The Cougars will be at home to the Perry Lakes Hawks also next Friday to close the season.
KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 92 (Exeter 23, Nelson 21, Thomas-Edwards 15)
COCKBURN COUGARS 83 (Crowe-St Jack 16, Armour 12, Field 11)
South West Slammers (77) lost to Lakeside Lightning (79)
While it was a tight affair it was the visiting Lakeside Lightning on top most of the evening before holding on for the 79-77 road win against the South West Slammers.
Both teams might have been out of the playoff hunt, but arrived at Eaton Recreation Centre in contrasting form with the home team Slammers having won three straight while the Lightning had lost their previous five.
Lakeside did open up an 11-point lead in the first quarter and while the Lightning did maintain the lead for the majority of the evening, the Slammers were always within striking distance at the same time.
The Lightning were leading by three points at quarter-time, by six at three quarter-time and then holding out for the eventual two-point victory away from home.
Lakeside snaps its losing slide to improve to a 6-14 record as a result with Marshawn Blackmon delivering 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Dom Jackson added 18 points and five rebounds, Mike Adewunmi 11 points, nine assists, five boards and three steals, Josh Davey nine points and 14 rebounds, and Max Richards eight points on 2/2 three-point shooting.
The Slammers missed the chance at a fourth straight win to now be 6-15 with Buay Tuach doing what he could to give his team a chance with another 28 points, three rebounds and two steals.
Alex Holcombe added 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, Pharell Keats 15 points, eight boards, seven assists and two steals, and Devan Craig six points.
The Slammers finish their season next Friday at home to the Rockingham Flames with the Lightning backing up on Saturday at home to the Joondalup Wolves.
SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 77 (Tuach 28, Holcombe 17, Keats 15)
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 79 (Blackmon 21, Jackson 18, Adewunmi 11)
