Eagles Recap | Round 15 Women/Men

Image credit: Mark Filpo (@codexdesignstudio)

It wasn’t the Friday night at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre that the East Perth Eagles were hoping for to commemorate First Nations Round with a pair of losses to the Lakeside Lightning.

The Eagles were back home on Peter Campbell Basketball Arena on Friday night but it was the Lightning that left with two victories with the women winning first up 87-79 before the Lakeside men backed that up with the 108-80 win.

East Perth will now remain at home this coming Saturday night to play host to the Kalamunda Eastern Suns with the women's clash beginning at 5pm and the men's to follow at 7pm.

ARI MAKING MOST OF EAGLES OPPORTUNITIES

ANTONIO FOCUSES ON STRONG FINISH FOR EAGLES

WOMEN

The East Perth Eagles were playing catch up the entire game and did produce a 31-point fourth quarter but it wasn’t quite enough at home to the Lakeside Lightning on Friday night.

The Eagles were back home at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre after a double overtime loss in Kalgoorlie last week to the Goldfields Giants but still clinging to sixth position and still a chance to break into the top four with a win.

The two teams had met just two weeks ago with East Perth winning by 16 points at Lakeside Recreation Centre, but the Eagles were without Emma Clarke and with Madi Torresin playing but still battling an on-going back complaint.

Lakeside were already leading 22-18 by the end of the first quarter thanks to knocking down 6/11 from three-point territory with import back court pair Kennedi Williams and Oceane Kounkou striking form after struggling for much of the season up to this point.

The Lightning would lead the rest of the way including by seven points at half-time and then 14 by three quarter-time.

That lead for Lakeside got out to as much as 16 points in the fourth term too and even with East Perth scoring eight points in-a-row, the Eagles could never get back closer than five points.

Lakeside did enough to secure the eventual eight-point victory which keeps their season alive.

East Perth do still look safe enough for a playoff spot but slip to a 9-8 record having now lost six of the last eight matches with just three games left against the Eastern Suns, Perry Lakes Hawks and Joondalup Wolves.

Awatea Leach scored a season-best 22 points to go with three rebounds for East Perth on shooting 4/7 from three-point territory.

Sasha Goodlett provided another 21 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists, Taylor Roberts 15 points, four boards, three assists and two steals on 5/7 shooting from downtown, and Abby Cubillo 15 points and eight assists.

Madi Torreson battled hard despite her physical troubles to have six points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals while Ari van Vliet got out there for five minutes in her 50th NBL1 appearance with the Eagles.

MEN

The East Perth Eagles had a good chance to move closer to a finals position in the NBL1 West men's competition but it wasn’t quite to be with the Lakeside Lightning instead staying alive themselves with the 108-80 victory.

The Eagles were back home at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre where they had won their past four matches and looking to rebound from a disappointing 36-point loss in Kalgoorlie to the Goldfields Giants last week.

Meanwhile, Lakeside arrived having come back from losing by 20 points in Geraldton to the Buccaneers last Saturday night so both teams were coming off road trips last weekend.

The Lightning had welcomed back Rowan Mackenzie last week after he tore his hamstring back on the opening night of the season and he ended up making the world of difference to Lakeside as the night unfolded.

Both teams struggled with their shooting in the first quarter with the Lightning going 5/20 and the Eagles 7/20, but Lakeside were leading 19-15 by quarter-time with the 8/9 free-throw shooting to 1/1.

Lakeside then lit it up in the second quarter with 32 points to 22 on the back of knocking down 6/11 from three-point range and on the back of that the visitors were in control leading 51-37 at the half-time break.

It was more of the same in the third term from the Lightning with another 31 points to 18 on the way to building a 29-point advantage while making another 5/9 from three-point range opposed to the 1/5 from East Perth.

The Lakeside lead got out to as much as 34 points and even a Matthew Lang and Max Rice flurry for East Perth midway through the fourth quarter couldn’t make much of a dent with the Lightning cruising to the 28-point victory.

Lakeside finished the night shooting 55 per cent from the field while going 16/31 from behind the three-point line up against an East Perth team who struggled with 38 per cent field goal shooting and just 9/29 from beyond the arc.

The loss could be a cruel blow the diminishing finals hopes of the Eagles who are now 7-11 and having lost their past three matches.

Matthew Lang top-scored for East Perth with 20 points, four rebounds and three assists with 4/5 three-point shooting while fellow import Max Rice had 19 points, three boards, three assists and three steals with 3/8 shooting from downtown.

Ioannis Dimakopoulos added 14 points and four rebounds, captain Lee Roberts 12 points, four boards and four assists, Nick Filpo five points and three rebounds, Lieb Yat four points, four boards and two steals, and Jonah Antonio three points, five rebounds and five assists.