NBL1 West Recap | Friday Round 3

The combination of Sami Whitcomb and Alex Sharp put on quite the show in a big Friday night NBL1 West win for Willetton Tigers while former Joondalup Wolves pair Seb Salinas and Reece Maxwell were part of Kalamunda Eastern Suns knocking off their old team.

The women's Friday night NBL1 West action saw the Willetton Tigers beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 88-67 while the Joondalup Wolves defeated the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 77-67, and the Cockburn Cougars kept rolling 99-63 over the Lakeside Lightning.

The three men's matches were then all thrilling affairs with Willetton beating Perry Lakes 94-87, Kalamunda defeating Joondalup 92-88, and Lakeside keeping Cockburn winless with the 99-91 victory.

WOMEN

Whitcomb-Sharp combination leads Tigers to big win

The one-two punch of Perth Lynx WNBL stars Sami Whitcomb and Alex Sharp delivered the Willetton Tigers a thumping 88-67 win over the Perry Lakes Hawks on Friday night.

The Tigers won't have the Lynx captain Whitcomb for long this NBL1 West season before she joins the Seattle Storm for the WNBA season, but they do look an unstoppable force with her in the line-up especially alongside 2021 league MVP Sharp.

They proved too much for the Hawks on Friday night with Whitcomb just brilliant on her way to 35 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals while shooting 12/19 from the floor, 2/5 from three-point territory and 9/13 from the free-throw line.

Sharp was terrific also with 27 points, 14 rebounds and three assists while former Perth Redbacks captain Jess Jakens is settling in nicely. She had nine rebounds in her second game with Willetton after playing 233 with Perth.

Maddy Dennis ended up with 19 points and seven rebounds for Perry Lakes with Emma Clarke contributing 17 points, six boards and four assists, and Mia Satie seven points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

All class tonight from @SamBam32 ??

3??5?? Points
8?? Rebounds
6?? Assists
3?? Steals
? 88-67 W for her Willetton Tigers

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Wolves beat Suns in battle of undefeated teams

It was the battle of undefeated teams at Ray Owen Sports Centre and it was the Joondalup Wolves who prevailed 77-67 against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

Both the Eastern Suns and Wolfpack had won their opening two matches of the NBL1 West season setting up a tantalising Friday night match up, and in the end it was the fast start from the Wolves that was the difference.

Joondalup led 22-14 by quarter-time and while Kalamunda battled hard from there, the Wolves were able to maintain the edge to win by 10.

Perth Lynx WNBL guard Robbi Ryan had a big say in the result for the Wolfpack with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Teige Morrell put up another 20 points and 13 boards. Nes'eya Parker-Williams also had 16 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Natalie Chou produced another impressive showing for Kalamunda with 24 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals while the Wolves forced Makailah Dyer into a tough night with eight points, four rebounds and two steals on 3/12 shooting.

Makailah Dyer was having NONE of that ?

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Cougars dominant with Danish import delivering 34 points

The Cockburn Cougars maintained their dominant start to the 2023 season beating the Lakeside Lightning 99-63.

The Cougars had won their opening two matches at home of the season against Willetton and Rockingham, and backed that up at Lakeside Recreation Centre on Friday night with the 36-point victory.

It was a commanding performance from Cockburn with Danish import Sarah Mortensen brilliant with 34 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals even if she did shoot 1/10 from beyond the arc.

Perth Lynx WNBL centre Jessie Edwards was a dominant force too with 26 points, seven rebounds and three blocks with another new face for 2023, Steph Gorman superb at both ends of the floor with 23 points, 10 boards, five assists and five steals while hitting 4/9 from long-range.

The Lightning found the going tough in the absence of inspirational captain Caitie Jones with Laci Hawthorne top-scoring with 14 points, six rebounds and three assists with Jade Gowland contributing 12 points and four boards, and Kylee Smith 12 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.

MEN

Gak, Hoskins lead Tigers to win over Hawks

Willetton and Perry Lakes put on an exciting spectacle at Willetton Basketball Stadium but in the end the Tigers built a handy early lead and were able to just hold out the Hawks for the 94-87 win.

Both teams entered the contest in impressive early season form with Perry Lakes having won each of its first three games while Willetton had strung a couple of wins together too since an opening night loss to Rockingham.

The Tigers did come into the game without veteran front court pair Michael Vigor and Mark Worthington, but welcomed back Gorjok Gak while that was somewhat offset with Perry Lakes still without Andrew Ferguson until his season in Japan finishes.

However, with new South East Melbourne Phoenix signing Gak off to a strong start and then Tigers import Darnell Hoskins Jr catching fire in the first half, Willetton went into half-time on top 53-44.

Willetton's lead did grow to as much as 14 points in the third quarter too but Perry Lakes made a charge and it was just a three-point ball game after a Daniel Alexander and-one play with seven minutes to play.

But the Tigers did enough to hold them out in a tight finish with Gak delivering 25 points and 14 rebounds, and Hoskins 25 points and two assists while making 5/10 of his three-point shots.

Teenager star Josh Ibukunoluwa added 17 points and 10 boards enjoying his increased minutes in the absence of Vigor and Worthington as did Tom Gerovich who had 13 points and four rebounds.

It was a first loss of the season for Perry Lakes with Daniel Alexander finishing with 28 points and 13 rebounds. Matt Leary added 14 points, Ben Purser 12 points and five assists, and Mitch Clarke 10 points, four assists and four steals.

Eastern Suns make statement with win over Wolves

Seb Salinas and Reece Maxwell were part of quite the successful era at the Joondalup Wolves, but they enjoyed getting one back over their old team with the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on Friday night.

After getting their first win under new coach Aaron Trahair last Thursday night against the Perth Redbacks, the Eastern Suns claimed another scalp on Friday at home to the Wolves taking out the narrow 92-88 victory.

Salinas is approaching his 500th game in the league with 295 of his career 494 games having been played with the Wolfpack, but he and fellow 285-game veteran Maxwell would have enjoyed the signs of Kalamunda's improvement by beating Joondalup.

Joe Cook-Green continues to impress for the Eastern Suns with another 24 points and 10 assists while Colin Howells made his first appearance and produced 19 points. Albert Almanza also had 18 points and Akau Deng 10 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

The Wolves are now 1-2 in a tough start to the season with Quintin Dove top-scoring with 25 points and five rebounds. Mathiang Muo added 16 points and seven boards, CJ Turnage 13 points, four assists and three rebounds, and Bryan Michaels 11 points and three assists.

Lightning beat Cougars in battle of winless teams

Two winless teams locked horns at Lakeside Recreation Centre and it was the Lakeside Lightning getting their first win by beating the Cockburn Cougars 99-91.

It was a first win under new coach Mike Malat for the Lightning and continues a challenging start to the season for the Cougars on the back of a top four finish last year, and then coming back with a similar squad in 2023 aside from swapping over their two imports.

The Cougars were on track for their first win of the season leading 73-71 at three quarter-time, but it was all the Lightning in the fourth quarter with 28 points to 18 to claim the eight-point victory.

Hayden Brown got ?!

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Lightning imports Hayden Brown (28 points, four rebounds) and Daniel Green (27 points, 13 boards) were outstanding in the win with Dom Jackson contributing 19 points, and 274-game veteran Kyle Armour 10 points and five assists.

The Cougars are now 0-3 to start the season despite getting 25 points from new import guard Taj Benning. Fellow off-season recruit Kieran Berry also had 15 points with Gavin Field contributing 15 points and seven rebounds, and Josh Hunt 14 points and four boards.

Gavin Field added some "RAZZLE DAZZLE" to this dime ?

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— NBL1 (@NBL1) April 14, 2023