West Recap | Round 1 Friday

Image credit: @ChyonKondylasPhotography

Anneli Maley delivered an unbelievable triple-double for Perth Redbacks, Sami Whitcomb and Ally Wilson starred in Perry Lakes Hawks and Mandurah Magic wins while Emmett Naar and Isaac White sent a warning to NBL1 West with Rockingham Flames.

HOW WOMEN'S NBL1 WEST IS SHAPING UP

HOW MEN'S NBL1 WEST IS SHAPING UP

LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE REIGNITES MANNY'S DRIVE

WOMEN

Perth Redbacks (113) defeated Joondalup Wolves (89)

Anneli Maley delivered one of the more dominant performances ever seen on an NBL1 West court with 29 points, 30 rebounds and 10 assists with her triple-double leading the Perth Redbacks to the season-opening win over the Joondalup Wolves.

Even with new import Patty Brossmann yet to arrive, the two big guns from the Redbacks Maley and Natalie Chou were up and going for the season-opener against the Wolfpack at Belmont Oasis.

In the end the dynamic pair combined for 62 points, 34 rebounds, 16 assists and five steals as the Redbacks made quite the statement on their home floor against a Wolves team without Maddie Sutton, Chelsea Belcher and Jorjah Smith.

Both teams were on fire to start the season in the first quarter combining for 66 points with the Redbacks leading 36-30 by quarter-time.

It was Perth better equipped to keep that sort of pace going and the home team delivered another 26 points to 17 to head into the half-time break in control at 62-47.

It was another 30 points to 17 in the third period for the Redbacks as their lead grew to as much as 33 points and they settled on the 24-point victory for the statement first up win against a team that fell in the elimination final last year as they did.

Coming off her WNBL season at the Perth Lynx and more recently winning 3x3 Asia Cup gold with the Australian Gangurrus, Anneli Maley had a phenomenal performance made up of 29 points, 30 rebounds and 10 assists on 14/21 shooting in almost 33 minutes.

Natalie Chou even managed to outscore her with 33 points to go with six assists, five steals and four rebounds including hitting 7/14 from three-point land.

Alaska Rhebok also had a career-high 14 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals while captain Raya Thompson contributed eight points and six rebounds fresh off celebrating her 27th birthday.

New Joondalup signing Stefanie Berbarabe finished with 23 points, six steals and four assists with Ella Thornton-Elliott adding 14 points on 4/7 three-point shooting, Laniesha Paddon 14 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Jhazmin Joson 10 points and three boards.

PERTH REDBACKS 113 (Chou 33, Maley 29, Rhebok 14)

JOONDALUP WOLVES 89 (Berberabe 23, Thornton-Elliott 14, Paddon 14)

East Perth Eagles (87) defeated Rockingham Flames (70)

The East Perth Eagles focused on having a strong inside presence and standout playmaking point guard for 2025 and Sasha Goodlett and Abby Cubillo both starred in their season-opening 87-70 home win over the Rockingham Flames.

Tim Symons has taken over as coach of the Eagles and had a clear vision of the way he wanted his team to play, and a big part of that was having a point guard like Cubillo and a centre like Goodlett.

Friday night's performance at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre against the defending champions shows that he could have it spot on with the 17-point win even coming with another key signing Tiahna Sears not hitting the floor.

Rockingham's championship defence didn’t quite start how they hoped with a new coach after Lukas Carey replaced Marcus Wong in the off-season, and with Georgia Pineau, Rosie Deegan and Marena Whittle all not available.

It was a strong defensive performance by East Perth from the outset to hold Rockingham to 11 first quarter points and then the scoring picked up on both ends in the second frame.

The two teams combined to score 60 points with the Eagles putting up 34 to the 26 from Rockingham and East Perth headed into half-time on top 52-37.

The Eagles remained in control throughout the second half leading by as much as 22 points before securing the 17-point victory in a statement performance against the defending champs.

Sasha Goodlett comes down under for the first time with the 2012 WNBA champion having a strong international career behind her, and showing she is going to be a powerful force with 23 points, 10 rebounds and two steals.

Abby Cubillo comes to the NBL1 West for the first time too and the two-time WNBL champion delivered 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Awatea Leach produced a breakout performance with 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists while captain Tessa Morrison produced nine points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, Madison Torresin nine points and five boards, and 128-game veteran Taylor Roberts nine points, seven rebounds and three assists.

While Alex Ciabattoni delivered 19 points and six rebounds for Rockingham, it was Emily Steven producing the best performance of her 30-game career as she took advantage of her increased opportunity with the players not yet available.

Steven ended up hitting 4/11 from behind the three-point line for 16 points, two rebounds and two assists even while only playing 15:25 because of foul trouble and eventually fouling out.

Championship winning captain and Grand Final MVP Alex Sharp had 14 points and 23 rebounds for Rockingham with the returning Paris Duffield providing 11 points and two boards.

EAST PERTH EAGLES 87 (Goodlett 23, Leach 15, Cubillo 13)

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 70 (Ciabattoni 19, Steven 16, Sharp 14)

Mandurah Magic (104) defeated Willetton Tigers (52)

Having seen their men's team break through for a championship in 2024, the Mandurah Magic women signalled their intentions to open the new season beating the Willetton Tigers 104-52 at home.

While the Magic women's team has reached five grand finals and yet to break through, their men won the title last year on their first attempt and now they are looming as a real threat based on their impressive start to 2025 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

It's quite an impressive team the Magic have at their disposal too under championship winning coach Vlad Alava with the veterans Casey Mihovilovich, Rachel Halleen, Emma Klasztorny and Kelly Bailey back once more.

Then there is the inclusion of Ally Wilson fresh off her best ever WNBL season with the Perth Lynx along with the additions of McKenna Dale, Grace Berg, Jade Gowland and the yet to arrive Claire Jacobs.

That talent was on show against a Willetton team missing Zitina Aokuso, Jess Mantle and Emily Counsel.

The Magic made a statement right from the outset scoring 20 consecutive points in the first quarter on the way to a 33-11 lead by quarter-time.

They were still leading by 23 points at half-time, by 25 at three quarter-time and then it was a remarkable 27 straight points they scored in the final frame with the lead blowing out to 54, and 52 by the final buzzer.

It was a dominant all-round performance with Mandurah outrebounding Willetton 52-32 including 19 to five at the offensive end which helped them attempt 26 extra field goals, and shoot 42 per cent opposed to 34 from the Tigers, and going 17/41 from downtown to 8/19.

McKenna Dale had an impressive first up performance with 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals with Grace Berg contributing 16 points and five boards, and Ally Wilson 13 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists.

Rachel Halleen also had 12 points on 5/7 shooting with 2/2 from behind the arc, Tiana Palmer 11 points on 3/7 three-point shooting, Sydney Meares nine points, Jade Gowland eight points, four rebounds and three steals, and the legend herself Casey Mihovilovich eight points and seven assists.

It was a tough season-opener for the Tigers with Ajulu Thatha top-scoring with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists with Eva Langton providing 12 points and two boards, and Ella Averill 11 points and three rebounds.

MANDURAH MAGIC 104 (Dale 20, Berg 16, Wilson 13)

WILLETTON TIGERS 52 (Thatha 13, Langton 12, Averill 11)

Perry Lakes Hawks (75) defeated Lakeside Lightning (50)

With WNBL MVP Sami Whitcomb leading the charge with impressive support from Alex Fowler, the Perry Lakes Hawks made quite the season-opening statement beating the Lakeside Lightning 75-50.

The Hawks were at home at Bendat Basketball Centre to the Lightning to open the season with their team boosted with the presence of Whitcomb, fresh off her championship winning MVP season in the WNBL at the Bendigo Spirit before she joins the Phoenix Mercury for the WNBA season.

Even though she will soon be gone, the Hawks have Grace Stone still to join the group too and they started strongly on Friday night with 22 points to 13 in the opening quarter.

Perry Lakes continued to control the contest with another 23 points to 12 in the second frame and then the lead for the Hawks grew to as much as 27 in the final term before they scored the opening night 25-point victory.

Perry Lakes come into 2025 having reached the preliminary final last year and there's every sign of them being a contender again with Whitcomb finishing the night with 20 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

Fowler is fresh off her WNBL season that finished in the grand final for Townsville against Whitcomb's Bendigo, and put up 17 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists in her first NBL1 West appearance.

Ellie Newman also had 14 points on 6/21 shooting and Maddy Dennis 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.

It wasn’t the start to the season Lakeside was hoping for with reigning MVP Teige Morrell having 17 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and two assists, but no other player scoring in double-figures with Sarah Allen scoring nine points, and Sam Lubcke collecting 11 rebounds.

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 75 (Whitcomb 20, Fowler 17, Newman 14)

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 50 (Morrell 17, Allen 9, Lubcke 6)

MEN

Perth Redbacks (85) defeated Joondalup Wolves (83)

The Perth Redbacks didn’t hit the front until the final minute having trailed the Joondalup Wolves by 12 points in the last quarter, but Joe Cook-Green took charge to lead the home side to the 85-83 victory.

The Redbacks had a year where everything that could go wrong, did go wrong in 2024 to end up finishing in last place but they have retooled for 2025 and were ready to make a statement against perennial finalists, Joondalup, at Belmont Oasis.

It would turn out to be a season-opening thriller with the Redbacks opening up an early double-figure lead but that advantage was back to just 27-26 by quarter-time.

The Wolves then worked their way on top with CJ Turnage having a night out as they built a 48-42 lead by half-time with that advantage getting out to 11 in the third quarter and 12 in the fourth.

Joondalup were still 12 points up with eight minutes to go and clinging to an eight-point edge with four minutes on the clock, but the Redbacks weren’t going to be denied.

Joe Cook-Green scored five quick points and eventually when he nailed another triple with just under 30 seconds remaining, the Redbacks had come all the way back to take the lead.

They would hold on for the two-point win from there as well after Turnage missed two free throws at the death for the Wolfpack that could have tied things despite him having 34 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Cook-Green starred for Perth in the win with eight points in the last four minutes on his way to 24 for the game with 4/8 three-point shooting and four assists, three rebounds and three steals.

Lochlan Cummings added 23 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals on his return to the league against one of his former clubs, Callan McDonald 14 points and 10 boards, and Michael Riley eight points and five rebounds.

Ethan Elliott also provided 22 points and 10 rebounds for Joondalup with Caleb Davis adding 13 points, four boards, two assists and two steals.

PERTH REDBACKS 85 (Cook-Green 24, Cummings 23, McDonald 14)

JOONDALUP WOLVES 83 (Turnage 34, Elliott 22, Davis 13)

East Perth Eagles (94) lost to Rockingham Flames (115)

The Rockingham Flames decided to look to the NBL for their two gun signings for 2025 and Emmett Naar and Isaac White more than delivered first up combining for 53 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists in the 115-94 win over the East Perth Eagles.

It was a rematch of last year's elimination final which also took place at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre where the Flames won a 17th straight match against the Eagles dating back a decade.

East Perth came into the Friday night match up on their home floor with great excitement around their new squad that was fully available, but the Flames were on song from the outset with White and Naar on fire on the back of their NBL seasons at the Brisbane Bullets.

Before teaming up with the Bullets in NBL25, Naar and White were instrumental in the Mackay Meteors winning the NBL1 North championship last season, and are looking to repeat the dose this season at Rockingham.

The Flames turned up the heat from the outset with 33 points to 22 in the first quarter before another 28 to 23 in the second frame to head into half-time leading 61-45.

East Perth just couldn’t keep pace with a Rockingham team who put up another 31 points in the third quarter to end up leading by as much as 31 points before winning by 21 to make it 18 in-a-row against the Eagles.

It was a mighty impressive offensive display from the Flames who shot at 53.9 per cent from the field and made 14/33 from behind the arc with White and Naar at the forefront of it all.

White finished with 27 points, seven assists and five rebounds with 3/5 three-point shooting while his partner-in-crime Naar delivered 26 points, eight boards, six assists and three steals on 12/15 shooting all coming inside the arc.

Emmanuel Dech also contributed 13 points and four rebounds, Callum Beard 16 points and three boards, Ryan Godfrey 11 points and two assists, and Justin Beard 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Tevin Jackson seven points, eight boards and seven assists while still awaiting the arrival import big Jervon Pressley.

It wasn’t the opening to the season the Eagles were hoping for with new import Max Rice top-scoring with 19 points, four rebounds and four assists with 5/10 shooting from downtown.

Taylor Young added 18 points, six steals, four assists and three rebounds, Chier Maker 16 points and six boards, Nic Filpo 13 points and five rebounds, Sharif Watson 13 points and seven boards, and Matthew Lang 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

EAST PERTH EAGLES 94 (Rice 19, Young 18, Maker 16)

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 115 (White 27, Naar 26, Beard 16)

Mandurah Magic (81) lost to Willetton Tigers (95)

Considering the mass player turnover from both teams, Friday night's grand final rematch might not have had quite the same zing to it but the Willetton Tigers still looked impressive winning 95-81 on the road to the Mandurah Magic.

The Magic and Tigers played out a grand final for the ages last year at RAC Arena with Mandurah ending up making history winning the club's first ever championship.

That was celebrated at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre on Friday night with the unfurling of the championship banner pre-game in an emotional occasion, but once the game started both the Mandurah and Willetton teams looked decidedly different.

To start with there's no Joel Murray, Michael Durr or Jarrod Molnar for the Magic, and the Tigers are also without Marshall Nelson, Michael Dupree and Deng Gak.

How the new faces performed from both teams was always going to be fascinating and it was new Willetton import Taeshon Cherry who stole the show early shooting the ball well and playing with great energy to lift the Tigers on top.

On the back of that, Willetton led 32-20 by quarter-time and were still leading 57-45 by the half-time break, and went on with the job from there retaining that double-digit lead for the eventual 14-point victory.

Cherry finished his NBL1 debut with 24 points and seven rebounds including 4/5 three-point shooting while fellow import Tyreese Davis provided 16 points, four boards and two steals while shooting 4/6 from behind the three-point line.

Tom Gerovich is coming off his first NBL season as a development player at the Perth Wildcats and had 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists with Roosevelt Williams Jr contributing 11 points and four assists, and 351-game veteran Damien Scott 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Championship winner Julian Pesava started the new season off impressively for Mandurah with 25 points, four rebounds and two assists with Lachlan Bertram adding 16 points, five assists and three boards.

New import pair Jahcoree Ealy (13 points, three rebounds, three assists, three blocks) and Sammie Freeman (16 points, 14 rebounds, two assists) had encouraging performances.

MANDURAH MAGIC 81 (Pesava 25, Bertram 16, Freeman 16)

WILLETTON TIGERS 95 (Cherry 24, Gerovich 16, Davis 16)

Perry Lakes Hawks (88) defeated Lakeside Lightning (87)

The Lakeside Lightning dug deep to come from behind to force overtime on a huge Corey Shervill shot despite losing Rowan Mackenzie, but the Perry Lakes Hawks did enough to complete the 88-87 victory.

The two teams got the season underway on Friday night at Bendat Basketball Centre with each of them ironing out some cobwebs combining for just 28 points in the first quarter with Perry Lakes leading 17-11 by quarter-time.

The Lightning then suffered a cruel blow early in the second quarter with one of their two returning local stars, Mackenzie, going down with what appeared to be a nasty hamstring injury.

The Hawks were able to build on their lead with another 25 points to 18 to go into the half-time interval leading 42-29.

The lead for Perry Lakes was still double-figures for a lot of the second half, but the Lightning kept on trying to mount a charge and eventually it paid off for the visitors.

Even with the Hawks still leading by 12 with just over three minutes to go, Lakeside started its charge inside with front court pair AJ Wilson and Josh Davey scoring.

Tim Hollick then completed a three-point play, Davey scored on a putback before Wilson made a strong play inside to score the bucket and then also make it an and-one for it to be a one-point ball game with just over 1:30 to play.

The big plays continued with Corey Shervill fouled shooting a three and making them all at the line to tie scores up before new Perry Lakes import Jaden Stanley-Williams scored a tough bucket inside but couldn’t make the extra.

Keegan Phillips stretched the Hawks lead to three making one free-throw with the Lightning having one more shot and it was Shervill who knocked down the buzzer-beating three on an inbounds play with 0.8 seconds to go.

It was shot for shot once again in overtime but it was after Michael Garbellini hit a three to put Lakeside in front with 2:30 to go that Hawks captain AJ Nobensi made a three up the other end in what proved the last score of the contest.

Perry Lakes held on from there for the one-point win with new import Stanley-Williams finishing with 18 points, three rebounds and two steals.

Keegan Phillips provided 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, Davin Miller 11 points, eight boards and two blocks, and Luke Phillips 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Corey Shervill played his first game with Lakeside since 2021 and delivered 23 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

New import big AJ Wilson showed he's going to be a powerful force inside this season with 19 points and four rebounds on 8/13 shooting with Tim Hollick contributing 11 points, four assists and three boards, and Josh Davey 10 points and 13 rebounds including six at the offensive end.

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 88 (Stanley-Williams 18, K Phillips 12, Miller 11)

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 87 (Shervill 23, Wilson 19, Hollick 11)