Round 16 Eagles Wrap – Women/Men

It wasn’t the Round 16 of the NBL1 West season the East Perth Eagles were hoping for with a pair of wins for both women's and men's teams on Friday against the Willetton Tigers and then the Rockingham Flames on Saturday.

The weekend's double-header got underway on Friday night at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre and it got underway with the Tigers women beating the Eagles 75-61 before Willetton's men also defeated East Perth 104-78.

It was then down south on Saturday to Mike Barnett Sports Complex with Rockingham's league-leading women defeating East Perth 122-55 before the Flames men also defeated the Eagles 112-86.

That all leads into the last night of the regular season this Saturday which will see the Eagles play host to the Goldfields Giants on Peter Campbell Basketball Arena.

WOMEN

The East Perth Eagles women found the going tough against two tough opponents with the losses in Round 16 of the NBL1 West season against the Willetton Tigers and Rockingham Flames.

It was always going to be a challenge for the Eagles taking on a Willetton team at home on Friday who have made the last three Grand Finals and then a Rockingham team on the road on Saturday sitting on top of the standings.

Things got underway on Friday night at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre with the Eagles hunting a sixth win of the season in the penultimate round of the 2024 season.

Willetton had managed to open up a 24-16 lead over East Perth by quarter-time but the Eagles did hit back with 19 points to 14 in the second period to make it a close contest at half-time with the Tigers only leading 38-35.

Willetton were able to pull away through the second half with 21 points to 14 in the third quarter and 16 to 12 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 75-61 victory.

Mary Baskerville finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks on the evening for the Eagles with Sarah Allen contributing 14 points, four assists, three boards and two steals with 4/7 shooting from three-point territory.

Sam Lubcke added six points and five rebounds against the team she won a championship with back in 2021 while Taylor Roberts had six points on 2/3 shooting from downtown with Mary Goulding adding six points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals.

Laci Hawthorne also had five points, four rebounds and two assists, and Tessa Morrison two points, six boards, three assists and two steals.

 The Eagles women then headed down to Mike Barnett Sports Complex on Saturday to take on the league-leading Flames who also needed to win to maintain their hold on first place.

Rockingham made a hot start with 37 points to 16 in the first quarter and it was tough going for the Eagles the rest of the evening against a team gearing up for a championship push.

The lead for the Flames kept growing to 35 points in the second frame, 53 in the third and 68 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 122-55 victory.

Baskerville ended up with 18 points and seven rebounds on 7/11 shooting from the field for East Perth with Hawthorne contributing 10 points and six boards, and Morrison seven points, six assists and three steals.

Alyssa Bowen also had seven points while Roberts ended up with five points and three rebounds, Aleka Kabugua three points and two boards, Bri Bailey three points, Hannah Swarbrick three rebounds, Goulding two boards and Allen five assists.

MEN

The East Perth Eagles men missed the chance to go back into fourth position on the NBL1 West table with the losses in Round 16 to the Willetton Tigers and Rockingham Flames, but the chance could potentially be there with a win on Saturday against the Goldfields Giants.

East Perth has already locked away a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2014 while a top four finish to earn that finals double chance is still the goal ahead of Saturday's match up at home to a Giants team currently fourth.

Friday night at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre was a big one for both teams with East Perth looking to move back into fourth spot and Willetton trying to hit back from four consecutive losses to maintain a spot in the top four.

Willetton was able to get the better of the start to end up leading 28-14 by the end of the first quarter before then continuing to build on that lead the rest of the evening on the way to the eventual 104-78 victory away from home.

Taylor Young battled hard against the tide for the Eagles to finish with another 24 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals on 10/17 shooting from the floor.

Lee Roberts also put up 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists with Lukas Milner contributing nine points and five boards, David Okwera 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks, and Nick Filpo six points, five assists and three steals.

Sharif Watson ended up as well with five points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals with Elijah Pawson contributing two points and Sebit Reath was struggling physically for just three rebounds in 13 minutes.

On the back of that, Reath wasn’t able to suit up to play against Rockingham on Saturday at Mike Barnett Sports Complex to join Sunday Dech out of the East Perth line-up who is getting ready to play with South Sudan at the Paris Olympic Games.

With both the Flames and Eagles locked into a playoff spot and potentially to play one another to open the finals, it was a chance to make a statement and it was a tight contest to start with Rockingham only leading 25-24 by quarter-time.

The Flames then took charge completing a run of scoring 17 straight points in the second term on the way opening up a 20-point lead, and being up 55-39 by half-time.

The lead for Rockingham got out to as much as 27 points in the second half on the way to the eventual 112-86 victory.

Young finished with another 26 points, eight assists and three rebounds for East Perth on 9/18 shooting from the floor, 3/6 from three-point range and 5/5 at the free-throw line.

Roberts added 17 points and six rebounds, Okwera 12 points, 11 boards, three steals and two assists, Watson 11 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Pawson nine points, three assists, two boards and two steals.

Milner also ended up with seven points, five rebounds and three blocks, and Filpo three points, two assists and a rebound.