NBL1 West Recap | Saturday First Nations Round

Women's top spot in the NBL1 West is now up for grabs after a big Willetton Tigers win on Saturday night with the Joondalup Wolves staying in touch, Natalie Chou keeping the Kalamunda Eastern Suns alive as Quintin Dove continued to shine for the Wolfpack.

Saturday's women's results on Saturday in First Nations Round saw the Willetton Tigers beat the Beeliar Boodjar Cougars 98-73, the Warwick Senators defeat the South West Slammers 99-55, the Perth Redbacks down the East Perth Eagles 75-58, the Joondalup Wolves prevail 75-68 against the Mandurah Magic, and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns defeat the Goldfields Giants 90-76.

The men's results then saw the Geraldton Buccaneers beat the Lakeside Lightning 95-90 with the Tigers beating the Cougars 107-101, the Senators downing the Slammers 97-82, the Eagles winning 98-89 against the Redbacks, the Wolves defeating the Magic 114-90, and the Giants beating the Eastern Suns 100-70.

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Tigers beat Cougars to heat up top spot battle

The Willetton Tigers all but locked away a top two finish and breathed life into the race for the regular season championship with an emphatic 98-73 win against the Beeliar Boodjar Cougars on Saturday night.

It was the battle of the top two teams in the NBL1 West and the Cougars had the chance to lock away the regular season championship with a win, and they did get off to a good start with the on-fire Sarah Mortensen leading the way.

She already had 18 points on the board by early in the second quarter with Beeliar Boodjar leading 31-25 when she picked up a third foul, and the game took on a dramatic transformation once she went out.

Willetton outscored the Cougars 25 points to 12 the rest of the first half to be leading 50-43 by the interval.

The Tigers continued to dominate from there with the lead getting out to as much as 20 points in the third quarter, and then 25 in the fourth and Willetton kept playing to the buzzer with their starters even after Beeliar Boodjar cleared the bench.

As a result, the Tigers went on to score the 25-point win to heat up the race for top spot. The Cougars are still first at 15-2 with games to finish against the Giants, Slammers and Suns. The Tigers are 15-3 and finish against Mandurah and South West.

The major differences in the game were Willetton winning the rebound battle 50 to 40, forcing the Cougars into 18 turnovers, and then also getting to the foul line 28 times to just 10.

Melisa Brcaninovic was a powerful force for the Tigers finishing with 25 points, five rebounds and two blocks.

Captain Desiree Kelley added 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals, Alex Sharp 15 points, 12 boards and seven assists, Jess Jakens 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, Amy Jacobs 15 points, 10 boards and four assists, and Sophie Doran 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

It was just Beeliar Boodjar's second loss of the season with Sarah Mortensen still top-scoring with 24 points, nine rebounds and three assists but 18 of those points were in the game's first 11 minutes.

Steph Gorman also had 11 points and four rebounds, Jessie Edwards 10 points, five boards, three assists and three blocks, and Jewel Williams seven points, five assists and four rebounds. However, Gorman and Williams combined to shoot just 6/34 from the floor and 3/17 from downtown. 

Senators front court blow away Slammers

Momentum continues to build in the championship defence of the Warwick Senators with a fourth straight win on Saturday night after beating the South West Slammers 99-55.

It's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the Senators on the back of winning both the NBL1 West and NBL1 National Championships last season.

They are already guaranteed a spot at the National Finals at Joondalup next month and are finishing the regular season in their best patch of form now of 2023.

Warwick didn’t take long to stamp its authority on the contest at Eaton Recreation Centre against the winless Slammers opening up a 19-point lead during the first quarter.

The lead continued to grow throughout the rest of the night for the Senators with them on top by 27 points in the second term, 41 in the third and then 46 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 44-point win.

The victory improves Warwick to an 11-7 record on the season with four straight victories while the Slammers have lost all 17 matches in 2023, 29 straight dating back to last year and 70 of the last 71.

It was the size where the Senators dominated the contest with the front court of Karly Murphy, Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard and Nat Burton too much for the Slammers to handle.

Murphy finished with 24 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and two steals, Clinch Hoycard 24 points, 13 boards and two assists, and Burton 18 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Stacey Barr also had had nine points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals.

Alexis Donovan top-scored for the Slammers with 17 points and 10 rebounds with Kate Williams contributing 12 points and three boards, and Jasmine Barrett 10 points and three assists.

Redbacks snap losing run at expense of Eagles

The Perth Redbacks snapped an 11-game losing slide and won for the second time this season beating the East Perth Eagles 75-58 at Herb Graham Recreation Centre.

There was no shortage of feeling between the two sides with Sarah Allen, Taylor Roberts and Maddie Allen all former Redbacks players but lining up for East Perth looking for a second win over Perth for 2023.

However, the Redbacks could very well be seeing a chance to finish the season on a winning streak now and made a good start against the Eagles to lead by eight points at quarter-time.

East Perth did well to stay in the contest in the second quarter but the Redbacks then controlled the second half where they outscored the Eagles 40 points to 28 on the way to the eventual 17-point victory.

It's a first win for the Redbacks since April 29 against the Mandurah Magic as they improve to a 2-16 record ending an 11-game losing slide to now finish the season against the Slammers and Giants over the final two rounds.

East Perth has now lost seven in-a-row to slip to a 5-14 record.

Redbacks import DaJah Daniel produced another strong performance made up of 20 points and 10 rebounds on 8/12 shooting from the field and 4/4 from the foul line.

Brooke Malone also had 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals, Raya Thompson 13 points including 3/4 three-point shooting, Mikayla Pirini nine points and 10 assists, and Shenae Hartree nine points, nine rebounds and six steals.

Maddie Allen top-scored for East Perth with 12 points to go with 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Tessa Morrison added 11 points, five boards, four assists and two steals, Ella Averill nine points and three rebounds, Taylor Roberts nine points, four boards and three assists, and Sarah Allen nine points and five rebounds on 3/4 three-point shooting.

The sneaky inbounds pass with the And-1?? ?

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Wolves with statement win over Magic

The Joondalup Wolves kept themselves in touch of the top two teams in the NBL1 West completing the perfect weekend beating the Mandurah Magic 75-68 despite losing Robbi Ryan early in the second quarter.

The Wolfpack were fresh off a win at home the previous night against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns and then made the long trip south to play the Magic at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

It was a Mandurah team minus both Rachel Halleen and Carly Boag, but still the home team got the better of the start leading by as much as seven in the first quarter, and still by two at the end of it.

The Wolves then lost Robbi Ryan to start the second quarter and she wouldn’t return, so the task was ahead of the visitors but they did gradually work on top to lead 41-40 at half-time.

However, Mandurah took back the lead by two points at three quarter-time before it was all the Wolfpack in the final stanza with 22 points to 13 as they ran away with the eventual seven-point victory.

The win improves the Wolves to a 15-3 record to stay in touch with the top two teams with four games to go over the last two weeks. The Magic slip further from the top four at 11-7 having lost five of the past eight.

Teige Morrell had another standout performance for Joondalup with 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists with Emma Klasztorny outstanding against her former team with 18 points, 10 boards, three assists and two steals as she approaches game 250.

Nes'eya Parker-Williams is building her form too back from injury with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Sarah Toeaina top-scored for Mandurah with 19 points, four rebounds and four assists with Kat Tudor producing 18 points, six boards, four assists, two steals and two blocks.

The irrepressible Casey Mihovilovich provided another 13 points, nine assists, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks in the 548th game of her record setting career.

Chou shines as Suns stay alive in playoff race

The Kalamunda Eastern Suns kept their NBL1 West playoff hopes alive by beating the Goldfields Giants 90-76 at home on Saturday night.

Despite losing their past two matches including on Friday night to the Joondalup Wolves, the Suns ensured that they are a chance to force a way into the top eight over the final two weeks with a strong performance at home on Saturday.

The Giants arrived at Ray Owen Sports Centre coming off a win against the South West Slammers last Saturday and they did welcome back Darcee Garbin who was fresh off winning bronze with the Australian Opals at the FIBA Asia Cup.

Goldfields then started well too going on an 11-0 run in the first quarter to end up leading by five, and still being on top by two at quarter-time.

However, the Suns worked their way on top from there with 26 points to 20 in the second quarter before another 26 to 14 in the third stanza on the way to leading by the final margin of 14 points.

The victory improves Kalamunda to a 7-11 record on the season to stay alive in the top eight race with games to finish against the East Perth Eagles and Cockburn Cougars.

The Giants now slip to 4-13 ahead of a clash with the league-leading Cougars on Sunday.

Natalie Chou continues to emerge as one of the most lethal players in the NBL1 West and put up another 34 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four assists for Kalamunda on shooting 14/24 from the floor and 4/6 from beyond the three-point line.

Makailah Dyer added 19 points, five rebounds and four assists with 5/7 three-point shooting while Sam Roscoe delivered 14 points, seven boards, three assists and three blocks, and Georgia Denehey 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Darcee Garbin did what she could to keep the Giants in the contest finishing with 26 points, eight rebounds and two assists while Aimee Borchet added 15 points and nine boards, and Talisia Bourne 10 points, two rebounds and two assists.

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Buccs stay second with hard earned win over Lightning

The Geraldton Buccaneers scored the important win to consolidate second position in the NBL1 West but they had to overcome plenty on the road to the Lakeside Lightning.

With Geraldton trying to hold on to the second position they improved to with Perry Lakes losing to Rockingham the previous night and Lakeside trying to consolidate their hold on eighth position, there was plenty at stake for both teams at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

Neither team was at full strength either with the Lightning still missing Hayden Brown and the Buccs still without the travelling Liam Hunt, but that didn’t detract from an eventful contest.

It was quite the offensive explosion from both teams in the opening half with Geraldton leading 31-27 by quarter-time and then clinging to the 63-61 advantage at the main break.

Rowan Mackenzie was huge in keeping Lakeside in the contest with 23 points of his own but Geraldton went 10/19 from beyond the arc to cling to that two-point advantage.

The scoring significantly dried up in the second half but it didn’t make it any less of a fascinating contest. The Buccaneers did open up an 11-point lead in the third quarter and were still up nine in the fourth.

While the Buccs still held out the Lightning for the 95-90 victory, Lakeside had their chances late but Geraldton's experience shone through.

Geraldton ended up hitting 15/38 from beyond the arc for the game including the league's second most prolific three-point shooter Aaron Ralph landing 5/11 for 17 points and six rebounds.

Malik Meunier also knocked down 4/6 for 18 points and seven assists with Shaun Stewart also going 3/6 for 18 points, three boards and three assists.

Zac Gattorna put up another 14 points, six rebounds and four assists for Geraldton with Fletcher Klasztorny contributing 13 points, seven boards and four assists.

Rowan Mackenzie couldn’t quite keep up the pace of the first half but still top-scored for Lakeside with 27 points, 10 assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Josh Davey was huge with 18 points and 19 rebounds with Dom Jackson adding 11 points and four boards, and Kyle Armour 10 points and four assists.

What a pass by Malik Meunier! ?

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Tigers beat Cougars on dramatic evening

They might have been playing under a different name for First Nations Round, but it was a similar story for the increasingly shorthanded Beeliar Boodjar Cougars as they couldn’t capitalise on a winning position, this time against the Willetton Tigers.

The Cougars arrived at Willetton Basketball Stadium minus Keegan Phillips and Kieran Berry with Luke Phillips having already been ruled out for the rest of the season, but they had to win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

It was going to be a challenge even if it was a Tigers team still missing Mark Worthington and Hunter Clarke themselves with Willetton needing a win to consolidate their hold on fourth position.

It was a night for Beeliar Boodjar where import pair Courtney Alexander II and Taj Benning came out ready to put their team on their backs especially once they also lost Gavin Field eight minutes into the contest.

As a result the Cougars led by three points at quarter-time and then seven by half-time. The Cougars lead grew to as much as nine points in the third period and even early in the fourth, they were still on top by four.

However, Tom Gerovich responded with two three-pointers in the space of 40 seconds to level scores up before he scored again inside to give Willetton the lead.

The lead did continue to switch hands, though, with Benning and Michael Vigor trading three-pointers for their respective teams. Vigor nailed another to give the Tigers a lead with 5:30 remaining and then one more bomb from the 278-game veteran was threatening to help Willetton take control.

They couldn’t quite shake the Cougars, though, and five consecutive points from vice-captain Seva Chan had the visitors back in front with 3:30 on the clock.

It was then time for Darnell Hoskins Jr to put his stamp on the contest, hitting the next six points for Willetton including a four-point play, and ultimately that was the catalyst for the Tigers holding on for the six-point triumph.

Hoskins finished with 31 points and three assists with 15/15 from the free-throw line for Willetton with Vigor having his biggest performance of the season with 27 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists after Gorjok Gak got into early foul trouble and had a limited impact.

Damien Scott also had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Tom Gerovich 13 points, four boards and two assists.

Courtney Alexander II set a new season high for the Cougars with 34 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 15/27 from the floor and just 4/12 from the foul line.

Taj Benning also set a new benchmark with 30 points, five rebounds and three assists while Josh Hunt contributed 13 points, five boards, three assists and three steals, Seva Chan 10 points and six assists, and Nathan Pond six points and 10 rebounds.

COURTNEY ALEXANDER II HAS OUTRAGEOUS HOPS ?

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Senators keep rolling with win over Slammers

The Warwick Senators continued to build momentum ahead of the NBL1 West playoffs with a fourth straight win beating the South West Slammers 97-82 on Saturday night.

The Slammers were back home at Eaton Recreation Centre trying to snap a five-game losing slide up against a Senators team building their best patch of form of the season having won their past three matches.

It was a tight contest throughout the opening half with Warwick leading by just two points at quarter-time and even though the lead did get to as much as 12 during the second term, by half-time the Senators were only clinging to a 40-35 advantage.

However, the longer the game went and Warwick continued to pull away further and further on the way to leading by 14 points in the third quarter and 22 in the fourth to end up scoring the 15-point victory.

It's a fourth straight win for the Senators to improve them to a 12-8 record to still be a chance of chasing down the fourth placed Willetton Tigers. The Slammers have now lost six in-a-row at 3-16.

Caleb Davis knocked down another 5/10 three-pointers again for Warwick on his way to 19 points, three rebounds and two steals.

Captain Cody Ellis delivered another 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals with Ethan Elliott contributing 18 points, eight boards and four assists, and Connor Mincherton 11 points, two rebounds and two assists.

Buay Tuach did what he could to keep the Slammers in the contest by playing all 40 minutes and delivering 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Xavier Cotton also finished with 17 points and three boards, Ben Stevens nine points and 17 rebounds, and Jack Flynn eight points.

Eagles fire and deliver blow to Redbacks

The East Perth Eagles continue to be finding the form they always felt this team was capable of by dealing the Perth Redbacks' hopes of finishing in the top four a savage blow with the 98-89 victory.

The Eagles put together a strong looking squad on paper coming into the season and then losing 11 of the first 12 matches was obviously not what they are hoping for, but things are now starting to come together to close the season.

They played host to the Redbacks at Herb Graham Recreation Centre who escaped with a win over the Cockburn Cougars last Saturday night but had lost three straight prior to that.

Perth did need to keep winning to stay a chance to break into the top four and started well enough to lead by as much as nine points in the opening quarter.

However, East Perth responded and then began to take over in the second quarter to end up leading 42-41 by the half-time interval.

The Eagles then took charge throughout the second half to lead by as much as 12 points and to score the impressive nine-point win on their home floor against a playoff bound opponent.

It's a sixth win of the season for East Perth with four of those coming in the past five matches with the chemistry coming together with six players all scoring in double-digits.

Taylor Young top-scored with 17 points, five assists and four rebounds on hitting 3/6 from behind the three-point line with Justin King contributing 16 points, five boards and four assists.

New import Lukas Milner is fitting in nicely too with 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists with Nic Filpo adding 15 points and six assists, Lee Roberts 13 points and nine rebounds, and Sebit Reath 10 points, 12 boards and two assists.

It was a tough loss for the Redbacks as they slip to 11-8 ahead of taking on the second placed Geraldton Buccaneers on Sunday.

Bryton Hobbs produced 32 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals with Tevin Jackson producing 15 points and six boards, Joel Vaiangina 15 points, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks, and David Okwera 12 points.

Dove again shines in big Wolfpack win

The Joondalup Wolves delivered the perfect weekend with two wins inside 24 hours to consolidate their hold on a playoff position and even stay in the top four hunt after beating the Mandurah Magic 114-90.

The Wolves started First Nations Round beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on Friday night before making the journey south to take on the bottom placed Magic at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

Mandurah got off to a tremendous start as well to lead early on by nine points, but Joondalup soon reeled them in and by quarter-time were leading 29-21.

The Wolfpack continued with the momentum from there with 28 points to 21 in the second quarter to go into the long break in control leading 57-42.

Joondalup went on with the job from there to lead by as much as 26 points in the fourth stanza on the way to the eventual 24-point win to improve to a 12-8 record on the season with the double win weekend.

The Wolves were once again without starting duo Bryan Michaels and Mathiang Muo, but Quintin Dove was spectacular once more finishing with 30 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Fellow import CJ Turnage stepped up for 27 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals with Christian Jurlina contributing 14 points, eight boards and eight assists, Ioannis Dimakopoulos 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks, and Brody England 12 points and five boards.

Dequan Abrom top-scored once more for Mandurah with 21 points and six rebounds with Ray Turner delivering 20 points and nine boards, Josh Brabazon 15 points, two rebounds and two blocks, and Byron Pearson 12 points and five boards.

Dupree lifts Giants to big win over Suns

The playoffs might be out of reach but the Goldfields Giants delivered a confidence boosting performance to all but end the playoff dream of the Kalamunda Eastern Suns as well with Saturday's 100-70 victory.

The Giants arrived at Ray Owen Sports Centre after a win last week at home to the South West Slammers having lost their previous six matches as they took on a Suns team on their own three-game losing run including the previous night to the Joondalup Wolves.

Both teams were without a star import too with Lafonzo Smith out for a fourth straight game for the Giants and Albert Almanza coming down ill after Friday's loss to Joondalup for the home team.

Goldfields arrived on a mission, though, and with Michael Dupree unstoppable, the visitors opened up a seven-point lead by quarter-time and they then took charge in the second term.

The Giants outscored the Suns 25 points to five to lead 48-21 by the main break with Kalamunda getting the combined zero points from their star backcourt with Almanza not playing and Joe Cook-Green scoreless.

Goldfields' lead would blow out to 36 points in the third quarter and at no point did the Eastern Suns threaten the comeback with the Giants going on to win by 30 points and deliver a significant blow to Kalamunda's playoff dream.

Michael Dupree produced his performance of the season for the Giants ending up with 39 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals while shooting 15/27 from the field and 7/14 from three-point range.

Kon Anguik added 12 points, seven steals and six rebounds, Majier Garang nine points and eight boards, Michael Gardner nine points and three rebounds, and Damon Ballantyne seven points, nine boards, four assists and two steals.

In his 301st game, Reece Maxwell top-scored for Kalamunda with 15 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals with Joe Cook-Green putting up 14 points in the second half along with finishing with five rebounds and two assists.