Eagles Recap | Round 14 Women/Men

Image credit: Mark Filpo (@codexdesignstudio)

Sasha Goodlett, Abby Cubillo and Lee Roberts all delivered standout performances on Saturday night in Kalgoorlie but unfortunately the East Perth Eagles returned home winless against the Goldfields Giants.

The trip to Kalgoorlie for the Eagles started with the women's clash at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium and it was a double overtime thriller that saw the Giants end up prevailing 116-112 despite Goodlett finishing with 41 points and 15 rebounds, and a triple-double from Cubillo with 21 points, 12 boards and 10 assists.

That led into the men's clash where despite captain Roberts delivering 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Eagles it was the Giants winning 115-79.

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WOMEN

The Eagles were without key pair Madi Torresin and Emma Clarke but fought valiantly for 50 minutes in Kalgoorlie on Saturday night but in the end it was the Giants winning 116-112 in a double overtime classic.

It was always going to be an intriguing match up at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium with the Giants attempting to snap a nine-game losing streak as they hosted an Eagles team trying to move back into the top four, but who were without Torresin and Clarke.

As a result of that, the five starters for East Perth had to take on a huge workload and the game going to double overtime certainly didn’t help their cause, and they were playing catch up for a lot of the night including in both overtime periods.

The Eagles were narrowly leading 25-23 by quarter-time but then the Giants worked on top in the second term with 21 points to 14 to go into half-time on top 44-39.

East Perth did manage to open up a six-point lead in the third term after scoring seven straight points, but by three quarter-time the scores were locked away at 63-63.

The lead continued to exchange hands through the fourth quarter and ultimately it was Erin Antosh for the Giants and Sasha Goodlett trading free throws late in the piece that sent the game to overtime when Nici Gilday's attempted winner didn’t quite drop.

In the first extra five minutes, it was virtually bucket for bucket and Antosh scored on an offensive rebound before the Eagles forced the turnover which Awatea Leach scored from to send the game to a second overtime period.

Goldfields then started that on fire with three balls to Kiriana Hawaikirangi and Gilday to open up a five-point lead which became seven when Gilday also made two at the charity stripe.

East Perth did get back within three points from there but no closer and in the Giants scored the stunning double overtime win to snap their nine-game losing streak.

It will be a tough loss for East Perth to look back on as they missed a chance to move back into the top four and having now lost five of the past seven to hold a 9-7 record.

The absence of Emma Clarke and Madi Torresin was felt especially given it meant Abby Cubillo had to play all 50 minutes, Awatea Leach over 49 and Sasha Goodlett, Taylor Roberts and Tessa Morrison all well over 40.

Goodlett finished with 41 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three steals while Cubillo had a triple-double made up of 21 points, 12 boards and 10 assists.

Leach added 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals with Morrison adding 16 points, five boards, three assists and two steals.

Taylor Roberts also put up nine points, five rebounds and two assists for the Eagles, and Ari van Vilet six points and seven rebounds.

MEN

It always shaped as a crucial men's match up in Kalgoorlie with the Giants trying to hold on to their playoff spot and the Eagles to break into the top eight, but in the end Goldfields struck some impressive form for the 115-79 win.

It loomed as a season-defining game for both teams at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium with the Giants back home in Kalgoorlie still clinging to a top eight spot despite losing six of their past seven matches.

East Perth arrived having played back-to-back double-headers for two home wins and two road defeats, and the Eagles did regain both Jonah Antonio and Matthew Lang for the trip to Kalgoorlie.

Right from the outset the Giants were a team ready to get back to some impressive form and opened up a 26-16 lead by quarter-time on the back of shooting 11/18 from the field opposed to the 6/19 from East Perth.

Goldfields extended their lead to 16 points in the second quarter and went into the half-time break on top 51-39 thanks to shooting 20/34 to the 16/39 from East Perth.

It was more of the same throughout the second half with the Giants continuing to dominate with their lead getting out to 21 points in the third quarter, and 37 in the fourth before they scored the 36-point victory.

The Eagles' hopes of playing finals for a second straight year took a hit with the defeat with them now 7-10 on the season.

Captain Lee Roberts finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists with Max Rice providing 15 points and three assists on 5/12 there-point shooting.

Jonah Antonio also had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Lieb Yat 10 points, eight boards and two blocked shots, and Matthew Lang six points, three rebounds and three assists on return after missing the past three games.

Ioannis Dimakopoulos also had five points and three rebounds, Nick Filpo four points and seven assists, and Marley Newell three points on knocking down a three-pointer.