NBL1 West Recap | Friday Round 5

The Joondalup Wolves scored a pair of Friday night NBL1 West wins over the East Perth Eagles while the Willetton Tigers dominated the Perth Redbacks winning by a combined 70 points.

There were two women's NBL1 West matches on Friday night with the Joondalup Wolves defeating the Perth Redbacks 88-60 while the Willetton Tigers beat the Perth Redbacks 90-44.

The two corresponding men's match ups saw the Joondalup Wolves beat the East Perth Eagles 96-90 in overtime and the Willetton Tigers downed the Perth Redbacks 100-76.

WOMEN

Wolves stay undefeated with supreme win over Eagles

The Joondalup Wolves continued their emphatic start to the NBL1 West season to remain undefeated with a commanding 88-60 victory against the East Perth Eagles.

The Wolves arrived at Mike Barnett Sports Complex having won their opening five matches of the season and they were able to keep that momentum going with a dominant showing.

However, East Perth were able to stick with them for the first half with the Wolfpack only managing to lead 39-35 by half-time.

It was then all Joondalup in the second half as they outscored the Eagles 49 points to 25 to end up winning by 28 to improve to a perfect 6-0 record on the back of also winning the opening 16 matches of 2022.

Robbi Ryan was again terrific for the Wolfpack with 29 points and three rebounds on 11/16 shooting with Teige Morrell again a powerful force with 22 points, eight boards, five blocks, four assists and two steals.

Emma Klasztorny added 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals, Nes'eya Parker-Williams nine points and nine rebounds, and Tia Ucich eight points and three assists.

East Perth is now 2-3 following the loss with Tessa Morrison finishing the game with 12 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Madison Torresin added nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Taylor Roberts nine points and five boards in the 92nd game of her career, but first since 2019 on the same night her husband also made his return for the Eagles.

Tigers dominate to keep Redbacks winless

The Willetton Tigers heaped some more pain on the struggling Perth Redbacks with Perth Lynx WNBL pair Desiree Kelley and Alex Sharp brilliant in their team's 90-44 win.

The Tigers continued to build their momentum this NBL1 West season on the back of last year's Grand Final appearance and while Sami Whitcomb has now departed for the Seattle Storm, they welcomed in new import Melisa Brcaninovic to face the Redbacks.

Perth was still chasing its first win of the season but they were outclassed from the outset and even former Redbacks captain Jess Jakens provided the Tigers a spark getting the starting nod in her first game against the club she played 233 games with, and was heart and soul of.

Willetton piled on 28 points to 15 in the opening period and the Tigers continued to dominate from there including another 23 points to seven in the second term to go into half-time leading 51-22.

The Tigers kept their foot down to end up winning by 46 points to improve to 5-1 on the season while the Redbacks continue to struggle at 0-5.

On the back of her standout season in the WNBL at the Lynx, 2021 league and Grand Final MVP Alex Sharp was outstanding again for Willetton with 36 points, 12 rebounds and three assists on 4/6 three-point shooting.

Captain and 208-game veteran Desiree Kelley was also superb with 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals with new import Melisa Brcaninovic adding 16 points, four boards and four assists.

DaJah Daniel was the only Redbacks player to score in double-digits with 10 points and nine rebounds with Ashli Payne adding seven points and nine boards, Mikayla Pirini seven points and four rebounds, and Shenae Hartree six points and 11 boards.

MEN

Dove sparks Wolfpack to OT win over Eagles

Lee Roberts made an immediate impact in his first game of the season for the East Perth Eagles but his presence wasn’t quite enough as the Joondalup Wolves prevailed 96-90 in overtime.

Roberts is back in the NBL1 West for another season on the back of previous stints at the Warwick Senators, Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Perth Redbacks and even the Wolves, including winning a championship with the Redbacks in 2017.

He was on deck for Friday night's clash with Joondalup at Herb Graham Recreation Centre and what resulted was quite the eventful evening and the two teams couldn’t be separated in regulation.

East Perth did appear on track for a first win of the season when import guard Taylor Young hit a jumper with a minute and-a-half to go to make the lead six.

However, Wolves import Quintin Dove hit two three-pointers on the next two possessions and ultimately that sent the game into overtime.

It was in the extra five minutes when Joondalup took charge and outscored East Perth 14 points to eight to claim the six-point win to improve to 4-3 on the season with the Eagles 0-5 despite having quite the impressive roster on paper now.

Not only did Dove hit the two massive shots to send the game into overtime for the Wolfpack, but he ended the game with 33 points and nine rebounds on 14/24 shooting. His only three-pointers made were those two late in the fourth quarter.

Mathiang Muo added 23 points and seven rebounds against the club he helped win a championship in 2014 with CJ Turnage contributing 20 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks, and captain Jordan Wellsteed seven points, five assists and four boards.

Justin King had an impressive night again for East Perth with 24 points and nine rebounds with Jerami Grace adding 17 points and six assists, Lee Roberts 14 points, 14 rebounds and three assists, Taylor Young 14 points, four boards and three assists, and Naaman Hightower 10 points and five rebounds.

Hoskins scorches Redbacks in statement Tigers win

A spectacular performance from import guard Darnell Hoskins Jr led the Willetton Tigers to a statement 100-76 road victory over the Perth Redbacks.

Both teams have put together strong squads for the 2023 NBL1 West season to put themselves in the championship mix and it was the Tigers who left Belmont Oasis on Friday night having enhanced their prospects.

It was the Darnell Hoskins Jr show in the opening quarter as he scorched the Redbacks by scoring 20 points up to quarter-time. However, the Redbacks did well to keep pace in a high-scoring opening where scores were tied 30-30 after the first period.

The Tigers did threaten to blow the game open in the second quarter with South East Melbourne Phoenix signing Gorjok Gak taking charge down low. Willetton led by as much as 10 in the second quarter, but the Redbacks stayed in touch even with Bryton Hobbs sitting out much of the half.

Willetton narrowly led 50-45 going into half-time but it was then all the Tigers in the second half with Hoskins catching fire once again in the third quarter after going scoreless in the second.

With Mark Worthington feeling good too and Gak proving unstoppable, Willetton pulled away to outscore the Redbacks 50 to 31 in the second half to win by 24 and improve to 5-1 on the season with Perth now 3-3.

Hoskins ended the night with 35 points, six steals, four rebounds and three assists on 7/9 three-point shooting in his best performance for the season with Willetton.

Worthington also delivered his season best with 25 points, four rebounds and three assists while hitting 5/8 from deep with Gak adding 19 points and 13 boards.

Damien Scott also had 14 points, eight assists, five rebounds and four steals for Willetton, and Hunter Clarke three points, eight boards and six assists.

It was a tough night at home for the Redbacks with Joel Vaiangina top-scoring with 15 points and six rebounds while Maris Colton had 13 points and three boards, Louis Timms 12 points and four rebounds, Tevin Jackson 10 points and three boards, and Bryton Hobbs 10 points and four steals.