NBL1 West Recap | Women's Friday Round 14

The Warwick Senators consolidated second position by winning a 10th straight NBL1 West match on Friday night at the expense of the Willetton Tigers in one of five fascinating match ups.

Round 14 in the NBL1 West began on Friday night with the wins for the Warwick Senators, Lakeside Lightning, Joondalup Wolves, Perry Lakes Hawks and Mandurah Magic.

The Lakeside Lightning put the clamps on the Cockburn Cougars for most of the night at Lakeside Recreation Centre. But the Cougars caught fire late including four fourth quarter three-point bombs from Haylee De Sousa and a couple more from Jewel Williams to set up a thrilling finish.

However, the Lightning held firm for the 74-71 victory to leave both teams on identical 8-6 records.

Ruth Hamblin delivered 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for Lakeside in a powerful performance. De Sousa finished with 21 points with seven threes for Cockburn.

The undefeated league-leading Joondalup Wolves improved to 16-0 on the season beating the Perth Redbacks 94-44 at Belmont Oasis.

Robbi Ryan produced another 24 points for the Wolfpack to go with five rebounds, five assists and five steals. Makailah Dyer top-scored for the Redbacks with nine points.

The Perry Lakes Hawks then delivered a tremendous performance away from home to snap their six-game losing slide by beating the Rockingham Flames 77-69.

Emma Clarke inspired Perry Lakes with 27 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Mehryn Kraker had 28 points for Rockingham with Patty Brossmann returning for 15 points and 14 rebounds.

The Mandurah Magic kept their winning form going to remain in a top four spot with the 81-56 win on the road on Friday night to the South West Slammers.

Sarah Toeaina finished with 30 points for Mandurah with Hannah Little adding 17 points, six rebounds and five steals. Tylinn Carter put up 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Slammers.

The Warwick Senators then made quite a statement of their intentions this season with a 10th straight victory and handing successive losses to the Willetton Tigers by winning 76-67.

Stacey Barr took on her former team and delivered 27 points for the Senators with Nicole Jorre de St Jorre adding 14 points, Leonie Fiebich 13 points and Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard 13.

Desiree Kelley finished with 20 points and eight rebounds for Willetton with Alex Sharp contributing 16 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

Round 14 in the NBL1 West continues on Saturday evening with the East Perth Eagles hosting the Willetton Tigers while the Warwick Senators take on the Lakeside Lightning and the Cockburn Cougars host the Rockingham Flames.

The Goldfields Giants will also play host to the Kalamunda Eastern Suns. 

NBL1 WEST – 2022 WOMEN'S SEASON
ROUND 14 – FRIDAY NIGHT

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 74 defeated COCKBURN COUGARS 71

The Lakeside Lightning opened up a big lead and then had to withstand a stunning Cockburn Cougars fightback for the eventual three-point Friday night victory.

The Lightning were at home at Lakeside Recreation Centre against the Cougars on Friday night to open Round 14 in the NBL1 West and it was a crucial game for both teams as the jostling for playoff positions heats up.

Cockburn might have blown Lakeside away only three weeks ago on the back of nailing 22 three-pointers, but it was a different story on Friday night with the Lightning starting on fire with 21 points to 13 in the opening quarter.

The Lightning then asserted their dominance further opening up a 14-point lead with the Cougars producing their worst first half showing of the season so far to only score 26 points.

That saw Lakeside go into half-time on top 40-26 and it was more of the same in the third quarter with another 18 points to 13 from the home team including a 9-0 run which saw their lead grow out to 23 points.

The Lightning still led by 20 points early in the fourth term but the Cougars just have too much firepower to go down without throwing everything at a comeback even if nothing had worked for them up to that point.

It was Haylee De Sousa who sparked the spectacular fightback. In the space of six minutes, the 171-game guard delivered five massive three-pointers in what could very well have been the hottest patch in her career.

By the time she drained her fifth, Cockburn had got within seven points with just under two minutes to play before Kat Tudor and Jewel Williams joined the three-point party and all of a sudden it was a one-point ball game.

Former Cougar Ruby Benn hit two free-throws for Lakeside after they intentionally fouled her to stop the clock and give themselves a chance to tie scores up.

Instead, Cockburn scored inside thanks to Jessie Edwards which kept the Lightning up one and the Cougars fouled again.

It was another former Cockburn guard Taryn Priestly who hit two free-throws and a half-court prayer from Williams at the buzzer rimmed out and Lakeside held on for the nail-biting 74-71 victory.

As a result, both teams now sit on 8-6 records this season with Cockburn to host the Rockingham Flames on Saturday with the Lightning away to the Warwick Senators.

Ruth Hamblin was quite a presence inside all night for Lakeside finishing with 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots with Ash Isenbarger adding 12 points, nine board and two blocks.

Ruby Benn enjoyed the outing against her former team with 12 points and three assists with Sara Dickey adding 11 points, three boards and three assists, Opal Mader eight points, and Jade Gowland eight points.

On the back of those five fourth quarter threes and going 7/10 for the night from the land of plenty, Haylee De Sousa finished with 21 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals for Cockburn.

Alina Hartmann added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Cougars, Jessie Edwards 12 points, six boards, three steals and two assists, and Jewel Williams 10 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

 

PERTH REDBACKS 44 lost to JOONDALUP WOLVES 94

The Joondalup Wolves might have shaken off a scare last week but they asserted their dominance again on Friday night to beat the Perth Redbacks by 50 points.

The Wolfpack put their undefeated record on the line against the Redbacks at Belmont Oasis on Friday on the back of their remarkable escape last week against the Rockingham Flames.

The Redbacks might have started well to lead 5-2 early on after Bri Bailey scored the first five points for her team in her third game back after starting the season in Queensland playing with the Rockhampton Cyclones.

However, that would be as good as it got on the night for the Redbacks with the Wolves soon taking over in emphatic fashion. The Wolves scored 20 straight points during the opening quarter from there to end up leading 32-9 by quarter-time.

Another run of 16 points during the second quarter saw the Wolfpack pull further away and to lead by as much as 36 points before being on top 54-20 by half-time.

The Wolves continued to expand on their lead throughout the second half to go up 43 during the third quarter before leading by 53 in the fourth and ending up winning 94-44.

The victory improves the Wolfpack to a perfect 16-0 record on the season while the Redbacks continue to struggle in 2022 at 3-12 after a top four finish 12 months ago.

The Wolves finished the night with 50 rebounds to 34 including 17 at the offensive end to eight which helped them to take 23 more field goals for the game. Joondalup also forced Perth into 26 turnovers for the game.

Robbi Ryan continued her brilliant form for Joondalup with 24 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals while Teige Morrell had 16 points and 10 boards, and Nes'eya Parker-Williams 15 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks against her old team.

Tia Ucich added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, Chelsea Belcher 10 points, and Laniesha Paddon nine points and four rebounds.

Makailah Dyer finished with nine points and three rebounds for the Redbacks with Jess Jakens adding eight points, Josephine Odude six and Erin Cleland six.

 

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 69 lost to PERRY LAKES HAWKS 77

The Perry Lakes Hawks snapped their losing run and continued that of the Rockingham Flames with the eight-point road victory on Friday night.

Perry Lakes arrived at Mike Barnett Sports Complex on Friday night having lost their past six matches to have put their playoff hopes for 2022 in serious jeopardy while Rockingham had also lost its past two including a heartstopper to the Joondalup Wolves last Friday night.

That meant there was plenty on the line when the two teams locked horns on Friday night with the coaches just happening to have been the last two coaches at the Kalamunda Eastern Suns as well, Tom Knowles and Craig Mansfield.

A 7-0 run helped Perry Lakes to a 21-18 lead by quarter-time but Rockingham got rolling during the third quarter with 27 points to 20 to end up leading 45-41 by the half-time break. 

It was the Hawks who turned the tide again in the third quarter by scoring nine straight points and ending up outscoring the Flames 20 points to nine to grab the 61-54 advantage after three.

Rockingham turned things around once more and by the time Taylor Ortlepp and Mehryn Kraker dropped three-pointers, the home team was up by one with five minutes remaining.

Perry Lakes responded with a three from Ellie Newman and from there the Hawks completed the job to score 13 of the game's last 15 points to claim the crucial 77-69 win.

As a result, the Hawks stop their six-game losing streak to steady to a 6-10 record on the season while the Flames have now lost three straight at 8-7.

Emma Clarke produced a huge performance in the win for Perry Lakes with 27 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks on 11/20 shooting with 4/8 from three-point land.

Sara Loomis added 17 points and nine rebounds, Ellie Newman 15 points and three boards, and Millie McCarthy 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Mehryn Kraker delivered 28 points, five rebounds and four assists for Rockingham with Taylor Ortlepp contributing 15 points, six boards, four assists and three steals, and Patty Brossmann 15 points and 14 rebounds.

 

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 56 lost to MANDURAH MAGIC 81

The Mandurah Magic didn’t have it all their own way but ended up beating the South West Slammers on the road by 25 points on Friday night.

Mandurah made the trip to Eaton Recreation Centre to open Round 14 in the NBL1 West to take on the bottom placed Slammers, but the Magic were made to earn it by the home team who were without Alex Ciabattoni.

The Magic did go on a 7-0 run to lead by eight points at quarter-time but the Slammers fought valiantly throughout the second quarter and outscored Mandurah 21 points to 20 to cut their deficit to seven at half-time.

Mandurah were able to pull away, though, in the third quarter going on a 9-0 scoring run to lead by 16. Another streak of 12 points in the fourth term saw them end up securing the 81-56 victory.

As a result of the 25-point win, the Magic improve to an 11-4 record on the season to maintain their hold on a top four spot while the Slammers have now lost eight straight at 1-15.

The Magic were missing 523-game legend Casey Mihovilovich, but Sarah Toeaina delivered 30 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals on 12/18 shooting with Hannah Little enjoying her elevation to starting with 17 points, six boards and five steals.

Carly Boag produced 11 points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks while Sarah Allen added 10 points and two rebounds, and 207-game veteran Gabby Turner eight points, three boards, three assists and two steals.

Tylinn Carter finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals for South West with Tiahna Sears contributing nine points and five rebounds, Charlotte Mills seven points, and Grace Adams seven points.

 

WILLETTON TIGERS 67 lost to WARWICK SENATORS 76

Second spot in the NBL1 West Women's competition went on the line on Friday night at Willetton Basketball Stadium between the Willetton Tigers and Warwick Senators.

Willetton were back at home but were fresh off their second loss of the season last week at the hands of the Mandurah Magic. While they did bounce back on Sunday against the Perth Redbacks they had conceded second spot to the Senators who had won nine in-a-row coming into Friday's clash.

The Tigers started on a mission and a couple of three-point bombs from championship winning captain Desiree Kelley helped them to a 9-0 run and a five-point lead by the end of the first quarter.

Warwick turned the tide, though, in the second quarter and it was 431-game point guard Nicole Jorre de St Jorre and former Tiger Stacey Barr leading their charge to take a 36-34 lead into half-time.

The Senators then blew the game wide open in the third quarter by scoring 16 consecutive points to leave the reigning champions shell shocked. That helped Warwick open up a double-digit lead before being up 58-53 still at three quarter-time.

Warwick was able to open up another 14-point lead in the final period and then turned that into the statement 76-67 victory.

The win is a 10th straight for the Senators to keep them in second position at 13-2 while the Tigers slip to 12-3 having lost two of their past three matches after an 11-game winning streak.

Stacey Barr continued to put herself in contention to win a second MVP award with another 27 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists for the Senators while Nicole Jorre de St Jorre added 14 points, seven boards, four assists and two steals.

Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard added 13 points, 13 rebounds and four assists with Leonie Fiebich contributing 13 points, seven assists, five steals and four rebounds, and Nat Burton six points, eight boards and four assists.

Desiree Kelley top-scored for Willetton with 20 points and eight rebounds with Alex Sharp adding 16 points, 13 boards and five assists, Sam Lubcke 11 points and six rebounds, and Tayla Hepburn eight points and seven rebounds against her old team.