Featured images: Erin Tuckey / Arctic Moon Photography
Marena Whittle, Robbi Ryan and Anneli Maley all came in to play winning NBL1 West roles on Saturday night while the Willetton Tigers handed the Joondalup Wolves a first loss and the Eastern Suns made it a double win weekend.
The women's Saturday night results saw the Joondalup Wolves defeat the Willetton Tigers 80-75, the Warwick Senators defeat the Cockburn Cougars 101-93, the Rockingham Flames down the Lakeside Lightning 84-77, the Goldfields Giants win 58-44 over the South West Slammers, and the Perth Redbacks beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 97-73.
Then in the men's match ups, the Geraldton Buccaneers beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 92-89 while the Tigers beat the Wolves 86-79, the Senators defeated the Cougars 104-80, the Lightning downed the Flames 101-87, the Giants beat the Slammers 85-74 and the Eastern Suns defeated the Redbacks 93-80.
RECAP NBL1 WEST | ROUND 8 FRIDAY
TRAIL BLAZING WINTER EMBRACING MEN'S COACHING CHALLENGE
GERALDTON MOVE EVERYTHING BLANCHETT HOPED AND MORE
EDWARDS PROUD OF LEAGUE'S GROWTH AS 200-GAME PLAYER
ROBERTS HAS FULL FAITH SUCCESS ON HORIZON FOR EAGLES
WOMEN
Kalamunda Eastern Suns (73) lost to Perth Redbacks (97)
The Perth Redbacks welcomed back Anneli Maley and made it back-to-back wins with the 97-73 road victory against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.
The Suns were back home at Ray Owen Sports Centre looking to snap an eight-game losing run including a defeat to Rockingham on Friday, but it wasn’t going to be easy up against a Redbacks team with Perth Lynx WNBL captain Maley back into the line-up.
Redbacks coach Tim Rendulic was also high on motivation coming up against his former team as was his star import Natalie Chou, and by quarter-time Perth had opened up a 30-22 advantage.
That lead for the Redbacks then continued to grow throughout the rest of the evening with their advantage getting out to 15 points in the second quarter, 18 in the third and 28 in the fourth.
Eventually Perth would claim the 24-point win to improve to 6-6 on the season with Shenae Hartree impressing with 18 points and nine rebounds on 5/6 shooting from the field and 8/8 at the free-throw line.
Anneli Maley made her return and had a significant impact in her 33 minutes with 16 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals with Natalie Chou adding 16 points and 10 boards.
Brooke Malone also had 14 points and eight rebounds, Mikayla Pirini 11 points, five boards, five assists and two steals, and Raya Thompson six points, three assists and two rebounds.
The Eastern Suns have now lost nine straight to be 1-10 on the season with Tiahna Sears delivering 22 points and four rebounds on 9/15 shooting.
Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant added 19 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, Ella Fotu 12 points, three boards, three assists and three steals, and Olivia Berry nine points and three assists.
KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 73 (Sears 22, McGhee-Pleasant 19, Fotu 12)
PERTH REDBACKS 97 (Hartree 18, Maley 16, Chou 16)
South West Slammers (44) lost to Goldfields Giants (58)
Two teams desperate for a win locked horns at Eaton Recreation Centre and it was the Goldfields Giants earning a second win of the season beating the South West Slammers 58-44.
The Slammers were back on their home floor still looking for a first victory since May 2022 and hosting a Giants team with just the one win on the board themselves in 2024 to date.
Goldfields came out on a mission and raced to a 14-point lead in the first quarter and were still on top 20-10 by the end of one.
The Giants would remain in control the rest of the evening still leading 35-24 at the half-time break before the advantage got out to 19 points in the third stanza, and 20 in the fourth.
Goldfields would end up winning by 14 points to record the second win of the season with captain Ash Sidebottom producing 14 points, five rebounds and two blocks in the 173rd game of her career.
Anne Zipser also had 13 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and two blocks while Lawrin Tipene contributed nine points and three boards, Jhazmin Joson seven points, eight boards, seven assists and three steals, and Alex Clinch Hoycard pulled down 10 rebounds.
The Slammers remain winless this season after 10 games with the losing streak now out to 42 with Yasmeen Smith top-scoring with nine points, four rebounds and two steals.
Courtney Bayliss also had eight points and nine rebounds, Zaya Black seven points, six boards and four assists, and Addison Edwards six points and six rebounds.
The Giants now back up on Sunday to complete the road double taking on the Mandurah Magic.
SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 44 (Smith 9, Bayliss 8, Black 7)
GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 58 (Sidebottom 14, Zipser 13, Tipene 9)
Lakeside Lightning (77) lost to Rockingham Flames (84)
With Robbi Ryan into the line-up, the Rockingham Flames kept their unbeaten season going but were pushed by the Lakeside Lightning in the 84-77 triumph.
Rockingham arrived at Lakeside Recreation Centre unbeaten after 10 games this season and not having been fully tested aside from a four-point win over the defending champion Cockburn Cougars.
The Flames did beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on Friday night and that was without not only new import point guard Robbi Ryan, but also Jess Jakens who was back to take on the Lightning while two-time MVP Alex Sharp remains sidelined.
Lakeside loomed as a significant threat coming into the game at 5-2 on the season and on its home floor, and that's exactly how it panned out.
The Flames did open up a six-point lead in the first quarter and with it getting out to 11 in the second period, but the Lightning stormed back and then went into half-time leading 38-36 thanks to a miracle banked in three-pointer from Caitie Jones.
Rockingham did quickly regain the lead in the second half and then the Flames were able to once again open up a second half advantage as big as 11 points before holding on for the seven-point victory.
The win improves Rockingham to a perfect 11-0 record on the season with Robbi Ryan making an immediate impact in her first appearance. Having previously played at the Joondalup Wolves and then in the WNBL at the Perth Lynx, Ryan arrives in Rockingham fresh off her season in Sweden.
She delivered 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals on 9/18 shooting from the field.
Georgia Pineau delivered another 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals for Rockingham, Emma Gandini 14 points, eight boards, two assists and two steals, and Shani Amos 12 points, two assists and two steals.
While it was a loss for Lakeside, there was a lot to be encouraged about with Caitie Jones finishing with 23 points and two assists.
Marnelle Garraud added 21 points and seven rebounds, Teige Morrell 21 points, 16 boards, three steals and two assists, and Tia Ucich dished out eight assists.
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 77 (Jones 23, Morrell 21, Garraud 21)
ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 84 (Ryan 20, Pineau 18, Gandini 14)
Cockburn Cougars (93) lost to Warwick Senators (101)
The Warwick Senators welcomed Marena Whittle for the first time and produced a strong second half performance to beat the defending champion Cockburn Cougars 101-93.
The Cougars came into the contest having won their past three games including last Saturday night on the road to the Senators and then on Friday away to the East Perth Eagles.
Cockburn had also won 20 straight home matches at Wally Hagan Stadium dating back to the last loss they suffered on their floor back on July 2, 2022, against the Joondalup Wolves.
The Senators had a week to plot their revenge from losing at home to Cockburn last week while also welcoming in Whittle fresh off her season with Estudiantes in Spain and helping the Australian 3x3 team qualify for the Paris Olympic Games.
The stage was set for a fascinating match up and the Cougars opened up on fire with a 12-point lead during the first quarter which got out to as many as 17 in the second before the Senators worked back into the contest.
By half-time, Warwick had cut the Cockburn lead to 53-50 thanks to scoring 14 consecutive points.
The Senators were then able to go up five in the third frame and then extend that lead out to as much as 10 in the final quarter before ending up winning by eight and handing Cockburn a first home loss in almost two years.
The victory improves Warwick to a 9-2 record on the season with Karly Murphy stepping up big in the absence of Nat Burton with 26 points, 14 rebounds and two steals on 11/16 shooting.
Marena Whittle made her NBL1 West debut appearance and had 22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals with Chloe Forster contributing 17 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
Stacey Barr also had 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Isabelle Miotti 13 points, five boards, three assists and two steals on her old home floor, and Kyana Weir 10 points and two rebounds.
Cockburn slips to an 8-3 record on the season with the defeat with Alex Ciabattoni top-scoring with 24 points to go with six assists, four rebounds and three steals while hitting 4/6 from three-point range.
Steph Gorman also contributed 21 points and seven assists, Jewel Williams 16 points, four rebounds and two assists, Daniel Raber 16 points, nine boards and five assists, and Jessie Edwards 12 points, 18 rebounds and two assists.
COCKBURN COUGARS 93 (Ciabattoni 24, Gorman 21, Raber 16, Williams 16)
WARWICK SENATORS 101 (Murphy 26, Whittle 22, Forster 17)
Joondalup Wolves (80) defeated Willetton Tigers (75)
The Joondalup Wolves had to battle hard to overcome the Willetton Tigers, but held them out for the 80-75 home win to snap a two-game losing slide.
The Wolfpack had won their opening five games of the season before losing their past two matches to the Rockingham Flames and Warwick Senators ahead of being back home at HBF Arena to host the grand finalists of the past three years, Willetton.
The Tigers came into the contest having beaten the Mandurah Magic in a one-point thriller the previous night but it was the Wolves who started the better on their home floor to open up a five-point first quarter lead.
That advantage for Joondalup grew to 10 points in the second quarter and they were still leading 34-29 by the half-time intermission.
The Wolfpack did continue to pull further away with the lead getting out to 14 points in the third stanza but the Tigers continued to fight and kept things interesting.
It was back to being a four-point ball game when Claire Jacobs scored for Willetton with just over two minutes to play, but the Wolves did enough from there to hold on for the five-point victory.
The win improves Joondalup to a 6-2 record on the season with Darien Huff finishing with 19 points, five steals, three assists and three rebounds.
Sarah Toeaina added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists with Sirena Tuitele contributing 15 points, 12 boards, two steals and two blocks, and new arrival Geraldynn Leaupepe seven points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Willetton slips to a 5-5 record with the defeat despite Claire Jacobs stepping up to deliver 29 points and four rebounds.
Melisa Brcaninovic also had 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists, Jillian Archer 13 points and 16 boards, and captain Desiree Kelley who came off the bench for four points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds.
JOONDALUP WOLVES 80 (Huff 19, Toeaina 18, Tuitele 15)
WILLETTON TIGERS 75 (C Jacobs 29, Brcaninovic 21, Archer 13)
MEN
Geraldton Buccaneers (92) defeated Perry Lakes Hawks (89)
Thrillers just seem to eventuate most outings at Active West Stadium and it was the case again with the Geraldton Buccaneers holding out the Perry Lakes Hawks to win 92-89.
The Buccs have been invincible at home over the past couple of years but their 19-game winning streak at Active West Stadium was broken the previous Saturday night at the hands of the East Perth Eagles.
The previous team to hand them a home loss had been Perry Lakes back in July 2022 and there has been quite the healthy rivalry between the two teams, but this 2024 Hawks team no longer has Ben Purser, Rob Cassir, Mitch Clarke, Andrew Ferguson or coach Matt Parsons.
So it's a decidedly new-look Perry Lakes group who arrived in Geraldton having won its past two matches against a Buccs team looking to avoid consecutive home defeats but still missing Grand Final MVP Johny Narkle and former league MVP Josh Braun.
The Buccaneers were also celebrating the 200th game of championship winning big man Ryan Blanchett who came into the starting group for the occasion, but it was Perry Lakes opening up the early seven-point lead.
Geraldton did respond to be up 27-26 at quarter-time before the home team pushed that lead out to 10 in the second term and 14 in the third.
The Buccs were still up by 12 at the start of the final period when Liam Hunt scored inside but Perry Lakes kept on coming and were back within four points thanks to a Jaylen Key jumper in the final minute.
Luke Phillips then kept the Hawks within an outside sniff with a three-pointer to cut the margin to two in the dying seconds, but the Buccs did enough for the three-point win.
The victory improves Geraldton to 8-1 as defending champions this season with new point guard Nik DeSantis showing how well he's settling in with 32 points and two assists on 11/16 shooting from the field and 4/6 from three-point range.
Joshua Keyes added 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots with Liam Hunt contributing 15 points, 11 boards and six assists, Aaron Ralph 13 points and six rebounds, and Mat Wundenberg eight points, nine boards, four assists and two steals.
Ryan Blanchett celebrated the 200th game of his career with four points, five rebounds and four assists.
Perry Lakes is now 5-6 following the defeat with Jaylen Key leading the charge with 23 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Luke Phillips also delivered 20 points and seven rebounds, Dequan Abrom 18 points, three boards and three assists, and Matt Leary 12 points, five rebounds and two assists.
GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 92 (DeSantis 32, Keyes 18, Hunt 15)
PERRY LAKES HAWKS 89 (Key 23, L Phillips 20, Abrom 18)
Kalamunda Eastern Suns (93) defeated Perth Redbacks (80)
The Kalamunda Eastern Suns completed a double-win weekend to now be building some momentum this season with the 93-80 victory against the Perth Redbacks.
Coming into Round 8 of the season and it had been tough going for the Eastern Suns with just the one win from the first 10 games, but that all started to change on Friday night with the win over the Flames in Rockingham.
The Suns then arrived back home at Ray Owen Sports Centre to host a Redbacks team having gone win-loss over the past eight games following starting the season with three consecutive defeats.
Both teams were missing a gun scorer too with the Eastern Suns again without Bryan Michaels while the Redbacks were once more without Joe Cook-Green to take on his former team.
Perth did start impressively to lead by seven points early but by quarter-time it was the Suns who managed to be leading 27-26.
Kalamunda then took charge in the second quarter by putting up 27 points to 15 to go into the half-time interval leading 54-41.
That lead for the Eastern Suns continued to grow in the second half and it got out to as much as 26 points in the final period before the home team went on to score the 13-point victory.
The win improves the Suns to a 3-9 record on the season with Marek Nelson top-scoring with 19 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and six steals.
Brendan Dinardo also delivered 18 points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds with Dyson Lowe contributing 13 points and three boards, Raphel Thomas-Edwards 14 points, three rebounds and two steals, and Rob Huntington 11 points and three boards.
The Redbacks slip to a 4-8 record following the defeat with Miles Gibson top-scoring with 30 points, five rebounds and two assists on 6/7 three-point shooting.
Matthew Teale also had 11 points and two steals, Ioannis Dimakopoulos 10 points, four assists and three rebounds, and Maros Colton nine points, three boards and two assists.
KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 93 (Nelson 19, Dinardo 18, Thomas-Edwards 14)
PERTH REDBACKS 80 (Gibson 30, Teale 11, Dimakopoulos 10)
South West Slammers (74) lost to Goldfields Giants (85)
The Goldfields Giants started their road double weekend in style with De'Sean Parsons and Randy Bell combining for 43 points in the 85-74 victory against the South West Slammers.
The Giants arrived at Eaton Recreation Centre with a 3-5 record but all five of those defeats have been games they've been there right with a chance to win so they were hoping to start building some momentum in 2024.
Up against them was a Slammers team fresh off scoring their second win of the season at the expense of the Perth Redbacks so it looked capable of being a fascinating contest.
The Giants had the better of the start getting out to a 12-point lead in the first quarter and still being up 26-18 by quarter-time.
The Slammers hit back, though, going on a 10-0 scoring run to grab the lead, but that didn’t last more than a minute and the Giants were still on top 46-42 at half-time.
Goldfields pushed back out to a 15-point lead in the third quarter and from there were able to hold out for the 11-point win even if it was an at times spiteful affair with tempers threatening to boil over.
The Giants improve to a 4-5 record on the season with the second victory under interim coach Sharni Winter with De'Sean Parsons top-scoring with 22 points, six rebounds, five steals, three assists and two blocks.
Randy Bell also had 21 points, eight rebounds and three steals, Kon Anguik 14 points, five boards, three assists and two steals, Damon Ballantyne 12 points, six rebounds and two assists, and captain Jerome Reid 10 points, two boards and two steals in his 199th game.
The Slammers are now 2-9 on the season following the defeat with Buay Tuach top-scoring with 18 points, four steals and three rebounds.
Mathiang Muo added 14 points and eight rebounds, Jack Flynn 11 points and three steals, and Alex Holcombe 10 points and six boards on 5/7 shooting.
The Giants now back up on Sunday to complete the road double taking on the Mandurah Magic.
SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 74 (Tuach 18, Muo 14, Flynn 11)
GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 85 (Parsons 22, Bell 21, Anguik 14)
Lakeside Lightning (101) defeated Rockingham Flames (87)
The Lakeside Lightning produced their best performance of the season even if it was a shorthanded Rockingham Flames they beat with the 101-87 victory.
The Lightning were back home at Lakeside Recreation Centre to host the Flames with two wins to their credit so far this season against the Eastern Suns and South West Slammers.
They were playing host to a Rockingham fresh off not only losing at home the previous night to the Suns, but having lost three of the past five games after starting the season winning five straight.
The Flames were still without Devondrick Walker along with Gorjok Gak with the Lightning able to take full advantage racing out to a 12-point lead, and still being up 27-18 by quarter-time.
Lakeside would remain in control of the contest the rest of the way too with the lead getting out to 18 points in the second quarter, and then 20 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 14-point triumph.
The victory improves the Lightning to a 3-6 record on the season with their import pair putting in standout performances.
Mike Adewunmi finished with 28 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists for the Lightning while shooting 11/18 from the field and 5/9 from beyond the three-point arc.
Marshawn Blackmon added 20 points, four assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks on 8/14 shooting with Josh Davey working valiantly for 14 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
Michael Garbellini also made four three-pointers on his way to 12 points with Dom Jackson contributing 10 points and six boards.
Rockingham slips to a 7-4 record with the defeat despite another 28 points and 12 rebounds on 11/17 shooting from Jono Janssen.
Ryan Godfrey added 16 points and four assists, Quintin Dove 14 points and six rebounds, Justin Beard 13 points and six boards, and Travis Durnin 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 101 (Adewunmi 28, Blackmon 20, Davey 14)
ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 87 (Janssen 28, Dove 14, Beard 13)
Cockburn Cougars (80) lost to Warwick Senators (104)
Todd Withers had a dominant performance to lead the Warwick Senators to the emphatic 104-80 road victory over the struggling Cockburn Cougars.
The two teams had also met the previous Saturday at Warwick Stadium with the Senators winning by 20 points and not having played since while the Cougars opened Round 8 with a 14-point road defeat to the East Perth Eagles.
It was mixed news on the personnel front too for Cockburn with 279-game point guard Seva Chan back into the line-up but Hunter Clarke out with an ankle injury and with Kyle Armour still unavailable.
With Warwick also fresh and Cockburn coming off the loss the night before, the Senators wasted no time taking charge of the contest racing out to a 32-12 advantage by the end of the first quarter.
The lead for the Senators grew to 27 points in the second period too and they would go into half-time leading 58-36.
Warwick went on with the job from there too with the lead growing to as much as 31 points in the second half before securing the 24-point victory to improve to a 7-5 record on the season.
Todd Withers had a night to remember for the Senators with the former Adelaide 36ers import producing 35 points, 11 rebounds and three assists with some spectacular finishes at the rim along with knocking down 5/8 from three-point range.
Michael Harris added 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals with Brody England contributing 17 points and two assists, and Kieran Berry 16 points.
Cockburn has now lost five straight matches to be sitting on a 3-8 record with 328-game captain Gavin Field top-scoring with 13 points and two steals while Seva Chan returned with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes.
Charlie Dimmock, Will Yarran and Noah Stewart all scored seven points as well for Cockburn but Josh Hunt and Rhys Vague only combined for 12 points on 4/17 shooting.
COCKBURN COUGARS 80 (Field 13, Chan 12, Stewart 7, Yarran 7, Dimmock 7)
WARWICK SENATORS 104 (Withers 35, Harris 21, England 17)
Joondalup Wolves (79) lost to Willetton Tigers (86)
The Willetton Tigers hit back from a disappointing loss the night before to hand the Joondalup Wolves a first defeat of 2024 with the 86-79 victory.
Willetton came into the round on a seven-game winning streak but then suffered an 18-point loss at home to the Mandurah Magic on Friday where they had front row seats to Joel Murray's 50-point show.
The Tigers had the chance to quickly move on from that when taking on the Wolves at HBF Arena on Saturday with Joondalup putting its undefeated record on the line.
After Joondalup led by five points early, Willetton would score 12 straight points and end up leading 24-17 by quarter-time away from home.
That lead for the Tigers continued to impressively grow and it got out to 19 points in the second quarter with the visitors leading 51-34 at the half-time break.
Willetton's lead then blew out to as high as 24 points in the fourth quarter before the Wolfpack threw everything into what would have been a miraculous fightback.
Ethan Elliott sparked the comeback for the Wolves and then when Caleb Davis hit a triple with 1:30 to play, the margin was back to single digits and a miracle was possible.
Marshall Nelson did make a steadying basket for the Tigers and then the Wolves ran out of time with Elliott hitting another three, but Willetton still had a seven-point lead and that's what they won by.
The Tigers now improve to a 9-2 record on the season with 293-game veteran Michael Vigor delivering 22 points, five rebounds and four assists while hitting 4/6 from three-point land.
Michael Dupree added 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds, Marshall Nelson 14 points, 10 assists and eight boards, Roosevelt Williams 14 points and four rebounds, and Deng Gak 12 points, eight boards and two steals.
It's the first loss of the season for the now 7-1 Joondalup who had Ethan Elliott finish with 21 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Caleb Davis added 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals, Jonathan Wade 16 points, four boards, four assists and two steals, CJ Turnage 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists, and Jordan Wellsteed seven points, six boards and two steals.
JOONDALUP WOLVES 79 (Elliott 21, Davis 16, Wade 16, Turnage 16)
WILLETTON TIGERS 86 (Vigor 22, Dupree 16, Nelson 14)
