Pence preparing for Battle of Joondalup

Cover Image: Jeff Smith 

Jesse Pence has had to bide his time in Australian basketball before taking charge of his own team, but the Joondalup Wolves’ women’s side is thriving in their first season under his direction – but there’s a battle looming this weekend.

The Wolves have started the season on fire, only dropping their first game of the season to Rockingham last week -- led by former Wolves coach Marcus Wong and featuring former captain Shani Amos, gun centre Ellyce Ironmonger and emerging star Nes'eya Parker-Williams.

Their record of 5-1 has seen them establish themselves as an early team to beat in 2024, but their local rivals, Warwick, have done the same.

The Wolves and Senators will clash in a battle for bragging rights through the northern suburbs of Perth on Friday night. Both side's only loss has come at the hands of unbeaten Rockingham, and each needs a win to keep pace with the Flames.

Pence has experience of this derby through his experiences as an assistant coach with Joondalup’s men’s team, and he told Fast Break Radio he can’t pick a winner ahead of Friday’s clash.

“I’m going to take overtime, I don’t know who wins here,” Pence said.

"As much as you can try to limit some of their better scorers, they’ve got a lot of depth and we’ve got to prepare for the possibility of Marena Whittle being there for her first game as well.

“We’ll be stretched thin trying to guard everyone at the same time, but we’ve got to guard each other. It’ll be a tough game, and we’re in that stretch of our season where it’s tough game, tough game, tough game, but it’s what you’ve got to do.

“It’s why the league is so tough, because there’s quality opposition week to week.

“I’ve always been impressed over the last two seasons about how spirited [the rivalry] is, but also well-mannered. I don’t think the fanbases go at each other so that’s always great to see in the sporting environment.”

Pence’s journey to the higher reaches of West Australian basketball has been anything but ordinary. From Oregan, to Nevada, to Adelaide and now Perth, he’s crossed oceans to try to take his coaching career as high as possible.

He’s become a mainstay of the Joondalup basketball scene over the past two years, both with the Wolves’ men’s program and through the WABL’s (West Australian Basketball League) player and coach development programs.

He says while it was a difficult call to leave his home country behind, he felt it was a move he had to make in order to reach his own ambitions.

“I grew up in a small town in America – Klamath Falls, Oregon – only maybe about 20,000 people,” he said.

“I think for me the most emblematic coaching I could see was those high school teachers who coached local high school teams. I went down that path then after doing that for five or six years, I loved teaching and coaching in Reno, Nevada, but I didn’t like my opportunities to move forward and really progress as a coach.

“I didn’t like my opportunities to develop much where I was at. It was tough to leave my family and all that, but I talk to them as frequently as I can.

“I head coached the D-League men for the last couple of seasons, I helped out for Adelaide in 2020 and 2021, and my previous experience coaching in America while I was a math teacher as well, so I’ve been coaching for about 15 years always just hoping for the opportunity, and I was always hoping to cash in on one.

“It’s a great honour and privilege to be at such a well-esteemed club. It’s obviously one I’m familiar with working in our WBAL space and our domestic space as well, and I’m happy to take the reins of such a quality team.”

Pence’s Joondalup side will clash with local rivals Warwick at HBF Arena at 6:30pm AWST on Friday, May 10 streaming live via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.