NBL1 West Recap | Saturday Round 16

Emma Klasztorny and Jess Jakens both celebrated their 250-game NBL1 West milestones in style in wins for Joondalup Wolves and Willetton Tigers while the Wolfpack men produced a stunning comeback over the Lakeside Lightning in the last Saturday night of the regular season.

Saturday's women's NBL1 West results saw the Willetton Tigers defeat the Mandurah Magic 81-69 with the Perth Redbacks defeating the South West Slammers 93-76, the Joondalup Wolves beating the Lakeside Lightning 79-74, the Rockingham Flames downing the Goldfields Giants 92-62, and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns winning 92-57 against the East Perth Eagles.

The men's results had the Tigers beat the Magic 101-87, the Redbacks defeat the Slammers 101-78, the Wolfpack down the Lightning 85-83, the Flames win 105-74 against the Giants, the Eagles hammer the Eastern Suns 98-48, and the Geraldton Buccaneers defeat the Perry Lakes Hawks 99-89.

JAKENS AS SURPRISED AS ANYONE TO CELEBRATE 250 IN WILLETTON BLUE

QUITE THE JOURNEY FOR KLASZTORNY FROM 200 TO 250 GAMES

NBL1 WEST RECAP | FRIDAY ROUND 16

WOMEN

Tigers make it 10 straight to maintain top two spot

The Willetton Tigers won a 10th straight game to maintain their hold on a top two position and ended the top four hopes of the Mandurah Magic with Saturday's 81-69 home victory.

Both teams are the only ones to hand the Cockburn Cougars a loss this season so their best basketball is capable of being mighty impressive, but the Tigers weren’t about to let their winning streak slip on their home court.

While Mandurah made an encouraging start, Willetton soon took over to lead by five points at quarter-time. That lead for the Tigers grew to 13 points in the second quarter and 20 in the third before they won by 12.

The victory improves the Tigers to a 16-3 record with the 10 consecutive wins before finishing next week against the Slammers on Friday down south.

The Magic are now 11-8 and while guaranteed of a playoff spot, top four is now out of reach with one game to go to close the regular season on Friday against the Lakeside Lightning.

Willetton got the win to celebrate the 250-game milestone of forward Jess Jakens with the former Perth Redbacks captain playing another rock solid 24 minutes which doesn’t translate on the stat sheet with her finishing with two points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Tigers import big Melisa Brcaninovic produced a standout performance as well ending up with 29 points, three rebounds and two assists with 5/9 three-point shooting with former MVP Alex Sharp showing her all-round abilities with 19 points, 18 boards, six assists, three steals and two blocks.

Kiara Waite also had 16 points and four rebounds on 8/9 shooting with captain Desiree Kelley finishing with seven points, eight boards, four assists and four steals, and emerging star Amy Jacobs six points, nine rebounds and three steals.

It was the 549th game of the remarkable career of the league's games record holder Casey Mihovilovich and she did all she could to lift her team once more with 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals while shooting 3/6 from behind the three-point line.

Hannah Hank also had 18 points and five rebounds for Mandurah, Sarah Toeaina 10 points, eight boards and four assists, and Kat Tudor nine points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Redbacks win back-to-back games for first time in 2023

It was a more competitive showing from the South West Slammers but the Perth Redbacks still proved too strong winning 93-76 on Saturday night at Belmont Oasis.

The Slammers were coming off an 80-point hammering at home to the previous night to the league-leading Cockburn Cougars but they would have been hoping the team only one slot above them on the standings wouldn’t prove such a class above.

The Redbacks were coming off their second win of the season last week against East Perth and were attempting to win back-to-back games for the first time in 2023.

Perth did open up a double-digit lead by quarter-time and maintained that throughout the evening leading by as much as 23 points in the third quarter before winning by 17.

The win improves the Redbacks to a 3-16 record before finishing the season against the Giants again at home this coming Saturday. 

The Slammers remain winless this season and have lost 31 straight now but it was their smallest losing margin of the season.

The Redbacks made it back-to-back wins and there was a lot to like in the performance no matter the quality of the opponent with import big DaJah Daniel producing 25 points and eight rebounds on 9/16 shooting.

Shenae Hartree delivered 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on 7/10 shooting, Mikayla Pirini 12 points, eight assists and four rebounds, Bri Bailey eight points and five assists, and co-captain and Best Defensive Player nominee Raya Thompson eight points, five assists, four steals and two rebounds on 4/6 shooting.

Kate Williams top-scored for the Slammers with 17 points, four assists and three rebounds with Paris Duffield adding 16 points, Alexis Donovan 12 points, five rebounds and five steals, and playing-coach Alex Ciabattoni nine points and eight assists in almost 27 minutes as she gets ready for the upcoming WNBL season at the Perth Lynx.

Klasztorny seals Wolves win in milestone game

The Joondalup Wolves overcame an 11-point deficit during the night to deliver a strong finish to keep their top two hopes alive with the 79-74 home victory against the Lakeside Lightning.

The Wolves were back home and just needed to keep winning to remain any chance of sneaking into the top two but for the Lightning, their place in the top eight altogether was potentially on the line after losing their last two matches.

Lakeside was attempting to bounce back from a tough loss the night before at home to the Warwick Senators and started well to lead by as much as 11 points in the second quarter.

The Wolves had pulled the deficit back to one by half-time but precious little separated the two teams throughout the second half and some huge late threes from Caitie Jones kept the Lightning close.

Then when she scored going to the basket, Lakeside was back in front by a point with 1:30 remaining. However, the Lightning wouldn’t score again and ultimately it was Emma Klasztorny in her 250th game who sealed the five-point win for the Wolfpack.

The win improves Joondalup to a 16-3 record with one game to go against the Perry Lakes Hawks on Friday while Lakeside is now outside the top eight at 7-12 with the three straight losses.

To make the playoffs they must beat Mandurah on the road on Friday and hope Cockburn beats Kalamunda. 

The Wolfpack pulled off the big comeback victory with Teige Morrell again a dominant presence with 27 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals to strengthen her case to be the league's MVP in 2023.

Robbi Ryan added 21 points, five rebounds and three assists, Tia Ucich nine points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds, Nes'eya Parker-Williams six points, 13 boards, two assists and two blocks, and Emma Klasztorny nine points, four rebounds and two assists on 4/6 shooting her 250th game.

Kylee Smith ended up top-scoring for Lakeside with 18 points and six rebounds on 7/12 shooting from the field.

Captain Caitie Jones added 15 points, four assists and three rebounds, Laci Hawthorne 14 points, five boards and three assists, and Jade Gowland 12 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Flames secure fourth with Kalgoorlie win

The Rockingham Flames locked away a top four finish by scoring a fifth straight win this season beating the Goldfields Giants 92-62 in Kalgoorlie on Saturday night.

The Flames headed to Kalgoorlie on a four-game winning streak and a win would keep them two games clear in fourth spot with just one game of the season remaining.

The Giants did start well in their last home game of the season to lead by seven points at quarter-time, but the Flames took charge in the second quarter with 31 points to 16.

The Flames went on with the job from there to outscore the Giants 49 points to 27 in the second half to end up winning by 30 points to improve to a 14-5 record with five straight wins.

Goldfields slips to a 4-15 record before finishing the season away to the Perth Redbacks on Saturday.

It was an important win for Rockingham to go a long way to locking in that top four spot with Casey Samuels continuing her spectacular form with 24 points, five rebounds and two assists while draining 6/9 from three-point territory.

Mehryn Kraker added 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Flames, Teyla Evans 15 points and 10 boards, and Christina Boag 11 points, 11 rebounds and two steals.

Darcee Garbin again did all she could to try and ensure the Giants were competitive for their last home game of the season and she finished with 32 points, 13 rebounds and two assists while connecting on 4/8 from downtown.

Kiriana Hawaikirangi added 17 points and five assists for Goldfields, and Lawrin Tipene five points and eight rebounds.

Chou sparks Suns into eighth position

The Kalamunda Eastern Suns moved into eight position in the NBL1 West with one round and game remaining after beating the East Perth Eagles 92-57 on Saturday night.

It was the last home game of the season for the Eastern Suns and they were able to keep their impressive form going and move a significant step closer to a playoff appearance.

Kalamunda started well with 27 points to 14 in the opening quarter and the result was never in doubt from there with the Eastern Suns going on to lead by as much as 24 points in the second term, 38 in the third and 45 in the fourth.

The Suns ended up scoring the 35-point victory to improve to an 8-11 record to replace Lakeside in eighth spot. The Eastern Suns can guarantee that position by beating the league-leading Cockburn Cougars this Friday at Wally Hagan Stadium or need Lakeside to lose in Mandurah.

Natalie Chou continued her dazzling form for the Eastern Suns by putting up another 26 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals while shooting 10/15 from the floor, 2/5 from downtown and 4/4 at the free-throw line.

Sam Roscoe also produced 21 points, five assists and three rebounds, Makailah Dyer 15 points, six rebounds and six assists, Jaymee Firkins eight points and five boards, Georgia Denehey eight points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Eryn Fisher seven points, seven boards and three steals in her 100th game.

Tessa Morrison top-scored for East Perth with 14 points with Maddie Allen adding 11 points, five boards, four blocks and three assists, and Sam Lubcke eight points and six rebounds.

Natalie Chou with the overhead pass ?

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MEN

Buccs remain perfect at home with win over Hawks

Second spot went on the line with the Geraldton Buccaneers hosting the Perry Lakes Hawks on Saturday night and it proved a typically feisty and exciting affair between the championship contenders.

Geraldton was playing its last home game of the regular season and looking to remain undefeated at Active West Stadium with the chance to replace the Hawks in second place with a victory as well.

The Buccs started the game on fire with a 14-point lead the result in the opening term and they would lead the rest of the way.

The game-high margin was 16 points in the last quarter with the Buccaneers going on to win by 10 to improve to a 15-5 record before finishing the season away to the East Perth Eagles on Friday and Willetton Tigers on Saturday.

The Hawks are now third at 15-6 ahead of hosting the Joondalup Wolves on Friday night.

There was a lot to like in the all-round team performance from the Buccaneers as they welcomed back Liam Hunt fresh off his trip to the United States and then to Mexico for brother Jesse's wedding.

He might have been a bit scratchy in the first half having only got back home a couple of days ago, but he worked into the game with 11 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Johny Narkle also produced 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals, Shaun Stewart 15 points, five assists and four boards, and Fletcher Klasztorny 15 points, six rebounds and two assists.

There were plenty more contributors too with Zac Gattorna putting up 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, Aaron Ralph made another 4/7 from three-point land for 14 points while Malik Meunier had 10 points and two rebounds.

Daniel Alexander delivered 25 points, three rebounds and two assists for Perry Lakes including making 4/7 of his three-point attempts.

Mitch Clarke added 21 points and five rebounds, Andrew Ferguson 15 points and seven boards, Ben Purser 12 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Matt Leary nine points, five assists and four boards.

Tigers stay fourth with win over Magic

The Willetton Tigers maintained their hold on a top four position in the NBL1 West with the 101-87 home victory on Saturday night against the Mandurah Magic.

The Tigers just need to keep winning the rest of the way to maintain fourth position on the table and while the Magic made them earn it on Saturday at Willetton Basketball Stadium with Ray Turner outstanding, Willetton did prove too strong.

The Tigers ended up winning by 14 points to improve to a 14-6 record on the season in fourth place with games to finish against the South West Slammers and Geraldton Buccaneers in the last round.

The undermanned Magic continue to fight hard despite falling to 2-19 in last place before finishing the season this Friday night at home to the Lakeside Lightning.

Damien Scott top-scored once more for Willetton with 18 points to go with four rebounds, four assists and two steals on shooting 8/13 from the floor and 2/3 from beyond the arc.

Captain Andrew Black added 15 points with 4/7 three-point shooting while Gorjok Gak ended up with 16 points, 12 boards and three assists, Travis Fee 13 points and six rebounds, Darnell Hoskins Jr 12 points, four boards, three steals and two assists, and Michael Vigor nine points, six rebounds and five assists. 

Ray Turner turned back the clock against one of his former teams with the 2015 league MVP delivering 35 points, 18 rebounds, three assists and two blocks for Mandurah while shooting 13/24 from the floor, 2/3 from downtown and 7/10 at the free-throw line.

Dequan Abrom also delivered 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Magic, Kai Daniels eight points, five boards, three assists and three steals, and Chad Miegel seven points, six rebounds and two assists.

Redbacks overpower Slammers in last quarter

The Perth Redbacks proved too strong for the South West Slammers on Saturday night scoring the 101-78 victory at Belmont Oasis to maintain hopes of snatching fourth place still.

The Slammers were coming off a strong home win the previous night against the Cockburn Cougars but the Redbacks had too much on the line as they gear up for a playoff push.

Perth would lead by nine points at quarter-time and even though they opened up a double-figure lead in each of the next two quarters, the Slammers continued to fight hard and even spent time leading the game themselves.

However, Perth dominated the final quarter with 28 points to 15 to end up winning by 23 points to improve to a 13-8 record with a home game to the Goldfields Giants to go this Saturday.

The Slammers slip to a 4-17 record with their season to end at home to the Willetton Tigers on Friday.

Bryton Hobbs had another terrific night for the Redbacks delivering 25 points, four rebounds and four assists on the back of shooting 9/19 from the floor and 7/8 at the free-throw line.

David Okwera had his best game in Redbacks colours ahead of his first season at the Perth Wildcats by starting and putting up 18 points and six boards in over 31 minutes.

Tevin Jackson also had 17 points, six steals, three rebounds and three assists for the Redbacks, Maris Colton nine points and seven boards, and Jacob Formosa eight points and two steals with Brian Voelkel delivering two points, nine rebounds, four assists and six steals in 17 and-a-half minutes.

The two guns for the Slammers had impressive performances once more as well in a bid to make it a double win weekend. Buay Tuach delivered another 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two blocks, and Ben Stevens 25 points, 15 boards and two assists.

Dove fires Wolfpack to stunning comeback win

The Joondalup Wolves produced the most remarkable of comebacks to fire back from a 17-point fourth quarter deficit to beat the Lakeside Lightning 85-83 at HBF Arena on Saturday night.

With the Wolves needing a win to try and finish as high up inside the top eight as possible and with Lakeside wanting to win to confirm their spot in the playoffs, there was plenty on the line.

The Lightning arrived on a mission on the back of beating the Warwick Senators the previous night and they started well to open up a 10-point lead in the first quarter.

Lakeside would end up leading by double-digits for most of the rest of the game including by 17 still with eight minutes on the clock.

Quintin Dove is ice cold ?

3??3?? points, ? rebounds and a game-clinching bucket ?

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However, Joondalup wouldn’t be denied and the fightback began with a three-point play from Quintin Dove. CJ Turnage threw down a dunk soon after and it was the import pair who continued to fire the Wolves back into the contest. 

Eventually it was a three-point play from Dove that put the Wolfpack in front before Dove forced a turnover on the next possession. He ended up being fouled, made one and then with Ben Lee missing the chance at the winner for Lakeside, Joondalup completed the stunning turnaround to win.

The victory improves Joondalup to a 13-8 record with a game to finish away to the Perry Lakes Hawks while the Lightning are locked into the playoffs with a trip to Mandurah to finish.

Quintin Dove continued his spectacular form for the Wolves finishing with another 33 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals on 11/17 shooting from the field and 9/11 at the foul line.

CJ Turnage also delivered 27 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Wolfpack with Christian Jurlina stepping up as point guard in the absence of Bryan Michaels with 10 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

Rowan Mackenzie continued his breakout form for the Lightning since returning from college with another 25 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals while knocking down 5/13 from behind the three-point arc.

Kyle Armour stepped up for 17 points, four assists and three rebounds, Daniel Green 10 points and nine boards, and Dom Jackson nine points and three rebounds.

How did Quintin Dove do that? ?

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Flames secure regular season championship

The Rockingham Flames officially confirmed a regular season championship by beating the Goldfields Giants 105-74 in Kalgoorlie on Saturday night.

The Flames jumped on a plane to head to Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium on a nine-game winning streak in top position while the Giants were looking to thank their home fans for the season on a good note.

Goldfields did well to make a hot start to race out to an eight-point lead, but Rockingham had worked on top by quarter-time to lead by eight and then the defending NBL1 West and National Champions never looked back.

Rockingham would end up leading by 26 points in the second quarter, 29 in the third and 34 in the last on the way to the eventual 31-point triumph. 

The win guarantees the Flames a top spot finish with an 18-3 record with a game to play away to the Warwick Senators while the Giants are 7-14 before finishing on the road to the Perth Redbacks.

It was another impressive team performance from the Flames with Jeremy Combs delivering 18 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.

Travis Durnin, though, was top-scorer with 19 points and 12 rebounds with Devondrick Walker adding 15 points and five assists, Justin Beard 15 points with 5/8 three-point shooting and Ryan Godfrey went 4/8 from downtown for 15 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Hamish Cummings finished with 15 points and two rebounds for Goldfields while Michael Dupree contributed 13 points, three boards, three steals and two assists, Kon Anguik 13 points and five rebounds, and Jerome Reid 10 points, four boards and four assists.

Devondrick Walker beats the buzzer ?

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Eagles continue season best form to eliminate Suns

The East Perth Eagles continued their late season resurgence to make it three straight wins beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 98-48 and ending their finals hopes in the process.

Kalamunda was playing its last home game of the season at Ray Owen Sports Centre on the same evening they needed a win to stay in the playoff race and with Seb Salinas equalling the games record of Troy Clarke with his 512th appearance in the league.

However, it was a lacklustre showing from the Eastern Suns right from the outset with the Eagles continuing their best patch of form of the season.

East Perth led by 14 points already by quarter-time and there would be no let up the rest of the night with the Eagles going on to lead by as much 23 points in the second stanza, 32 in the third and 52 in the fourth.

East Perth would end up winning by 50 to make it three straight wins to improve to 7-14 while it's a cruel blow for Kalamunda to end their finals hopes at 8-13.

East Perth is one team who will be wishing the season wasn’t about to end because they are now starting to click and find their best run of form for 2023.

Sebit Reath was tremendous with 15 points and 22 rebounds with Jerami Grace contributing 18 points, four assists and three boards, Lukas Milner 20 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists, and Taylor Young 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists. 

The superstar Kalamunda back court had a rough night shooting a combined 6/30 from the field and 0/12 from beyond the arc with Joe Cook-Green finishing with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Albert Almanza two points and three boards.

In game 512 which sees him equal the league's all-time record, Seb Salinas had six points and four rebounds with two more three-pointers to add to his collection with Tom Atkinson contributing eight points, eight boards, four assists and two steals.

Taylor Young is dropping dimes ?

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