NBL1 West Recap | Saturday Round 5

The Warwick Senators broke the hearts of the East Perth Eagles men again while the Cockburn Cougars broke through for a first win and the women joined the Joondalup Wolves as the last unbeaten NBL1 West teams after the Perth Redbacks upset the Mandurah Magic.

Saturday night's women's results saw the Perth Redbacks beat the Mandurah Magic 86-80 while the Warwick Senators defeated the East Perth Eagles 87-46, the Cockburn Cougars downed the Lakeside Lightning 83-56, Rockingham Flames beat the Goldfields Giants 74-68, and the Perry Lakes Hawks defeated the South West Slammers 102-47.

Then in the men's action, the Geraldton Buccaneers defeated the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 97-63 while the Redbacks beat the Magic 90-81, the Senators defeated the Eagles 91-88, the Cougars downed the Lightning 83-77, the Flames prevailed 105-75 against the Giants, and the Hawks won 110-65 against the Slammers.

WOMEN

Redbacks produce shock to hand Magic first loss

The Perth Redbacks have produced their best NBL1 West women's performance in a long time to hand the Mandurah Magic their first defeat of the season on Saturday night.

The Redbacks had lost their last nine matches dating back to last season and had struggled to be competitive so far in 2023 including a 46-point loss at the hands to the Willetton Tigers on Friday night at home.

Perth then hit the road to take on the undefeated Magic on Saturday and they put together not only their best performance this season, but likely their best performance of the past two.

The Redbacks started on fire with 27 points to 16 in the first quarter and then another 22 to 19 in the third to go into the half-time break leading 49-35.

From there, the Redbacks did enough to hold on for the 86-80 victory which is their first win since beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on July 22 last year. 

The Redbacks had won just one of their previous 16 matches ahead of taking on Mandurah, but it was emerging star Brooke Malone who was the standout with 23 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 5/9 from the floor, 3/4 from deep and 10/12 from the foul line.

DaJah Daniel added 12 points and five rebounds, Mikayla Pirini nine points, four assists and three boards, Rebecca Motroni nine points on 3/6 three-point shooting, and Ashli Payne eight points, seven rebounds and two assists.

It was a first loss of the season for the Magic despite the 27 points, eight rebounds and four assists from Sarah Toeaina.

The league's games record holder Casey Mihovilovich also had 20 points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds in game 535 while Sam Richards added 11 points and three rebounds, and Kat Tudor nine points and three assists.

Senators building momentum with win over Eagles

Defending NBL1 West and National Champions the Warwick Senators are now building some impressive momentum this season after an 87-46 home win over the East Perth Eagles.

Warwick lost its opening two matches of the season but got on the board last week against the Goldfields Giants and backed it up on Saturday night at Warwick Stadium.

The Senators started well against the Eagles with 23 points to seven in the first quarter and that set up the eventual 41-point win to steady them to a 2-2 start to the season with the Eagles now 2-4 after two losses this weekend to the Wolves and Senators.

Fresh off her season as a development player with the Perth Lynx, Chloe Forster continues to grow for the Senators and she produced another 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals with her WNBL teammate Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard adding 16 points, 14 boards, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

Nat Burton also had 11 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks while Stacey Barr added 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and 443-game veteran Nicole Jorre de St Jorre 10 points, five boards and two assists.

It was tough going for East Perth with Sarah Allen top-scoring with 14 points and two assists while Madison Torresin added nine points and 11 boards, and Maddie Allen nine points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Cockburn dominate again to remain undefeated

The Cockburn Cougars kept their undefeated start to the season going with a dominant 83-56 win at home over the Lakeside Lightning.

Cockburn couldn’t have been more impressive so far this season and coming into Saturday's game at Wally Hagan Stadium, had already won the opening three games against Willetton, Rockingham and Lakeside by an average of 32.7 points.

They were playing their first game in two weeks and while they didn’t quite live up to the average winning margin, it was a dominant showing including holding Lakeside to just six points in the second quarter.

The Cougars outscored the Lightning 39 points to 22 in the first half and 44 to 34 in the second on the way to the 27-point win to improve to 4-0 while Lakeside is now 2-6.

Danish import Sarah Mortensen was once again tremendous for Cockburn with 27 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and two assists while hitting 4/9 from three-point range.

Jewel Williams added 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, Steph Gorman 13 points and five boards, and Jessie Edwards 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Laci Hawthorne top-scored for Lakeside with 17 points and eight rebounds with Caitie Jones contributing 15 points, nine boards, three assists and two steals, Kylee Smith 12 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, and Jade Gowland 10 points and four boards.

Stephanie Gorman from outside! ?

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Flames pushed to the limit by brave Giants

The Rockingham Flames were made to earn it but got away with the 74-68 win at home to the Goldfields Giants to make it three wins in-a-row.

Rockingham was fresh off winning its first two games of the season after starting with three defeats, but Goldfields arrived at Mike Barnett Sports Complex ready to cause the upset.

That looked right on track to happen too until the Giants lost Olivia Berry to injury after she already had 15 points, three rebounds and three assists to her name in 17 minutes.

Then when Rachel Kehoe fouled out, the Giants just didn’t have enough down the stretch to go with the Flames but they still put up a mighty effort with Rockingham only sneaking away with the six-point victory.

Perth Lynx WNBL guard Tayah Burrows produced 21 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals for Rockingham with Opal Mader adding 16 points and four boards, Casey Samuels 11 points and four assists, and Marissa Pangalos 10 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Young gun Kiriana Hawaikirangi put up 19 points, three rebounds and two steals for the Giants while hitting 5/11 from three-point land with Regan Turnour-McCarty adding 10 points, seven boards and four assists, and Kehoe four points, 12 rebounds and two assists before fouling out.

Hawks inflict more pain on Slammers

The Perry Lakes Hawks dominated the South West Slammers at home on Saturday night to score the 102-47 win.

Perry Lakes was looking to bounce back from last week's loss also at Bendat Basketball Centre against the Mandurah Magic, and the task was ahead of the Slammers just to try and be competitive.

They came into the game having lost their four matches this season by an average of 52.8 points but beyond that, they have lost 16 straight matches since a breakthrough win last year over East Perth.

Even further back and the Slammers have won just one of their past 58 games coming into Saturday night and things didn’t get much better even though they put up a fight in the first quarter with 24 points.

The only problem was Perry Lakes also scored 33 and for the rest of the night, the Hawks dominated further to outscore South West 69 points to 23 including holding the Slammers to three points in the fourth quarter.

The Hawks won by 55 points in the finish to improve to 4-3 on the season with Emma Clarke returning and putting up 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Ash Isenbarger was also back and had 16 points, eight rebounds, five steals and two assists with Maddy Dennis contributing 13 points, Nici Gilday 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Mia Satie seven points, five steals, four boards and three assists.

Millie McCarthy and Charlotte Graziano also scored 10 points apiece.

Bree Chalk top-scored for the Slammers with 13 points with Alexis Donovan adding 11 points, four rebounds and three steals, and Grace Adams 10 points and three boards.

MEN 

Buccs dominate at home against Eastern Suns

The Geraldton Buccaneers are building into the 2023 season nicely with another strong home win on Saturday night, beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 97-63.

The Eastern Suns did arrive at Active West Stadium having won three of five matches this season, but they found the going tough after quarter-time against Geraldton.

The Buccs outscored the Suns 80 points to 45 after quarter-time on their home floor to end up winning by 34 on Saturday night to improve to 4-2 with Kalamunda now 3-3 under new coach Aaron Trahair who was up against the team he started his coaching life with.

Malik Meunier was once again mighty impressive for the Buccaneers as he continues to bang down the door for an NBL opportunity. He finished with 18 points, nine assists and five rebounds on 8/13 shooting.

Zac Gattorna added 17 points and six rebounds, Fletcher Klasztorny 11 points and five boards, Tomas Dobson 10 points and two rebounds, Johny Narkle 11 points and three boards, and Ryan Blanchett eight points, 12 rebounds and two assists.

It's consecutive losses for the first time this season for the Eastern Suns with Joe Cook-Green finishing with 15 points, eight rebounds and three steals.

Voelkel's triple-double helps Redbacks to bounce back

The Perth Redbacks bounced back from a disappointing effort on Friday night at home to hit the road and beat the Mandurah Magic 90-81 on Saturday.

The Redbacks lost at Belmont Oasis to the Willetton Tigers by 24 points on Friday night, but they hit back in the best possible way at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

The Magic came into the game still chasing a first win of the season but the Redbacks arrived on a mission and put up 32 points to 17 in the opening period.

Perth would go on to lead by as much as 16 points but Mandurah was able to make a game of it, and even hit the front briefly in the third quarter.

However, the Redbacks steadied to end up winning by nine to improve to 4-3 on the season with the Magic now 0-4.

Louis Timms put up 26 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks up against the coach at Mandurah, Mark Utley, he played for at the Eastern Suns.

Brian Voelkel produced his second triple-double of the season for the Redbacks with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists with Maris Colton adding 16 points, five boards and three assists, Tevin Jackson 11 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Jacob Formosa 10 points.

Dequan Abrom top-scored for Mandurah with 26 points and eight rebounds with Ray Turner contributing 23 points and 13 boards, and Isaac Abergut 23 points and four rebounds.

How did Louis Timms get that ??

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Senators break hearts of Eagles again

For the second time in 24 hours the East Perth Eagles threw everything at the first win of the season but just came up short with the Warwick Senators prevailing 91-88.

With Lee Roberts back in the line-up for East Perth joining a stacked roster featuring Justin King, Taylor Young, Jerami Grace and Naaman Hightower, the Eagles pushed the Joondalup Wolves before falling in overtime on Friday.

They then arrived Warwick Stadium looking to get that elusive first win after five straight losses, and put themselves in a strong position to do just that leading by seven points during the fourth quarter.

However, the Senators kept on coming and eventually it was Caleb Davis who knocked down the game winner. His three-point shot in the dying stages broke the deadlock to put the Senators up three.

That's where they stayed with an off balance three-point attempt at the death from Grace not falling for East Perth. Warwick improves to 3-2 with the win while East Perth is now 0-6 despite going so close in both games this weekend.

Davis not only hit the game winner for the Senators, but finished with 28 points, four rebounds and three assists while going 4/10 from beyond the arc.

Cody Ellis added 13 points, two rebounds and two assists, Jay Thwaites a season high 18 points, three boards and three assists on the back of nailing 6/9 from three-point land.

Back on his old home floor where he played the first 77 games of his career, Justin King had 24 points and eight rebounds for East Perth with Nic Filpo adding 13 points, Taylor Young 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Jerami Grace 12 points and two assists, and Naaman Hightower 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks.

CALEB DAVIS WITH THE DAGGER ?

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Cougars beat Lightning for first win of season

The Cockburn Cougars are on the board for the 2023 NBL1 West season after beating the Lakeside Lightning 83-77 at Wally Hagan Stadium.

The Cougars had lost their opening five matches of the season and needed to get on the board before things slipped too far away, but the Lightning also arrived looking to bounce back from Wednesday's loss to Rockingham.

Kyle Armour was back for Lakeside after missing that game and had averaged 31.5 points, 5.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds in his last two games, and the Lightning started well to lead 25-19 by quarter-time.

Cockburn turned things around in the second period with 27 points to 18 to head into half-time narrowly leading 46-43.

It continued to be a seesaw battle through the second half but the Cougars did enough in the fourth quarter to secure their first win of the season to the delight of their home fans.

Import guard Taj Benning finished the night with 14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks while fellow import Courtney Alexander II shook off a rough first half to end up with nine points, seven boards and two assists.

Gavin Field put up 14 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in his 301st game for Cockburn while Josh Hunt added 11 points and three assists, Luke Phillips 13 points, and Kieran Berry nine points, seven rebounds and two steals in the absence of Seva Chan.

Hayden Brown top-scored for Lakeside with 21 points and six rebounds while Kyle Armour contributed 20 points and five assists, Dom Jackson 15 points, and Josh Davey nine points and 10 boards.

Taj Benning has the moves ?

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Another dominant showing from unstoppable Flames

The defending champion Rockingham Flames continue to be an unstoppable force this NBL1 West season beating the Goldfields Giants 105-75.

Rockingham was back home at Mike Barnett Sports Complex just days after beating Lakeside by 32 points on Wednesday night, and having won their six matches this season by an average of 17.3 points while putting up 107.2 per game.

That meant it was a big job ahead of the Giants to come in and knock them off on their home floor, and it proved to be the case with the Flames starting off with 27 points to 13 in the opening quarter.

Rockingham would go on to lead by as much as 32 points through the night on the way to the eventual 30-point win to go to 7-0 on the season.

They now haven't lost since July 8 last year and since then they won 10 straight on the way to a first NBL1 West championship, before then winning the National Championship and now having won the opening seven this year.

Devondrick Walker put up 16 points for Rockingham with Jeremy Combs adding 15 points and five assists, Travis Durnin 14 points, Ryan Godfrey 13 points and five assists, Tom Jervis 12 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks, and Marshall Nelson 12 points, eight assists and five boards.

Lafonzo Smith top-scored for the now 2-3 Giants with 28 points and 12 rebounds with Michael Dupree contributing 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals, and Kon Anguik 12 points and three boards.

Thumping Hawks win over Slammers

The Perry Lakes Hawks continued their strong start to the NBL1 West season with an emphatic 110-65 win at home to the South West Slammers.

The Hawks were back at Bendat Basketball Centre having lost just once so far this season in a tight contest with Willetton, and they proved too strong for the travelling Slammers on Saturday night.

Perry Lakes blew the game wide open with 37 points to eight in the second quarter and from there went on to cruise to the 45-point victory to improve to 6-1 with South West now 1-5.

Matt Leary top-scored for the Hawks with 22 points, four steals and three rebounds while hitting 4/10 from downtown with Mitch Clarke contributing 19 points and eight assists.

Daniel Alexander put up 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, Jack Isenbarger 13 points and three assists, Ben Purser nine points, five boards and four assists, Cooper Hamilton eight points, and Bailey Cole eight points, three rebounds and two steals.

Buay Tuach top-scored for the Slammers with 19 points, four rebounds and three assists with Ben Stevens adding 11 points and 16 boards, and Manyiel Wugol seven points, three rebounds and two assists.