West Recap | Round 15 Saturday

Image credit: Jack Foley | @jackfoleyphotography

Geraldton Buccaneers and Warwick Senators won on Saturday to set up battle over NBL1 West second place on Sunday while Eastern Suns women upset shorthanded Senators, and Rowan Mackenzie led Lakeside to a second win of the round.

WEST RECAP | ROUND 15 FRIDAY

WARDEN RETURNS HAVING ALREADY LIVED DREAM

THOMPSON RIGHTFULLY PROUD TO REACH 150

WEST RECAP | ROUND 15 THURSDAY

WOMEN

Kalamunda Eastern Suns (86) defeated Warwick Senators (66)

The Warwick Senators went from having the ultimate juggling act of so many quality guards to fit in to having precious few and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns took full advantage with the 86-66 home win over their second ranked opponents.

The Senators were still sitting in second place upon arrival at Ray Owen Sports Centre having still won a seventh straight match last Saturday night despite losing Robbi Ryan and Chloe Forster to injury.

That duo was missing to take on the Suns on Saturday night along with two-time MVP Stacey Barr so that five guard rotation of that trio along with Emma Gandini and Kyana Weir was suddenly down to just two.

The Eastern Suns then had no shortage motivation to take down Warwick either given coach Marcus Bardill was a championship winning assistant with the Senators while gun forward Karly Murphy started her time in the NBL also with Warwick.

Kalamunda ended up starting well with 25 points to 20 in the first quarter as they hunted a second win for the season with the Suns then extending that advantage to 46-38 by the half-time break.

The Eastern Suns then maintained control of the contest through the second half with 23 points to 18 in the third frame, 17 to 10 in the fourth and then they ended up securing their second win of 2025 by 20 points.

The win improves the Suns to a 2-14 record to move out of bottom spot with three rounds of the season to go with Karly Murphy finishing with 23 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and two assists against her former team.

Import forward Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant also produced her best showing of the season with 24 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks with 5/13 shooting from behind the three-point arc.

Emma Strelein also provided 10 points, six assists and four rebounds, Yume Knoll nine points, three boards, three assists and two steals, and Aisha Forrest eight points and two rebounds.

The Senators saw their seven-game winning streak ended as they slip to 13-3 on the season and now are vulnerable in that second place with three weeks remaining.

Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and two assists for Warwick fresh off signing at the Geelong Venom for the upcoming WNBL season.

Emma Gandini finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals, Kyana Weir 13 points and four assists, and Isabelle Miotti eight points, four rebounds and two steals.

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 86 (McGhee-Pleasant 24, Murphy 23, Strelein 10)

WARWICK SENATORS 66 (Clinch Hoycard 22, Weir 13, Gandini 13)

Rockingham Flames (95) defeated Goldfields Giants (72)

The Rockingham Flames kept their top four hopes alive with the defending champions scoring the 95-72 home win against the Goldfields Giants.

The Flames were back on their home floor at Mike Barnett Sports Complex coming off a win against the Eastern Suns and that kept them solid in the top four and still a shot at sneaking into a top four position.

The Giants also arrived to start their road double coming off a stirring double overtime win at home last week over the East Perth Eagles where superstar import guard Nici Gilday delivered 46 points.

Rockingham started on fire back on their home floor with 31 points to 17 in the first quarter on the back of shooting 12/19 from the field to 7/23 from the Giants with the Flames making 4/8 from downtown to 0/3.

The Flames kept that roll going into the second term with another 27 points to 15 to open up a 27-point lead, and to be in control with the 58-32 advantage by the half-time break.

The lead for Rockingham got out to as much as 32 points in the second half and they ended up securing the 23-point victory to improve to a 9-7 record to stay solid in the top eight and remain a chance of snatching fourth spot with four games to play.

Marena Whittle finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds and two assists for the Flames with 11/21 shooting from the field and 4/8 from downtown.

Alex Sharp also finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Alex Ciabattoni 13 points and five assists, Sydney Erikstrup 11 points and three assists, and 288-game veteran Jess Jakens nine points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots.

The Giants couldn’t quite make a winning start to their road trip with them now 3-13 on the season ahead of taking on the Joondalup Wolves on Sunday before returning to Kalgoorlie.

Nici Gilday continued her standout form for Goldfields with another 25 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds on 11/16 shooting from the field.

Erin Antosh added 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists, and Kiriana Hawaikirangi 10 points, four boards, three steals and two assists.

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 95 (Whittle 26, Ciabattoni 13, Sharp 13)

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 72 (Gilday 25, Antosh 12, Hawaikirangi 10)

Lakeside Lightning (76) lost to Perry Lakes Hawks (81)

The reigning MVP Teige Morrell did all she could but she didn’t quite have enough help with the Perry Lakes Hawks overcome two key absences to score the 81-76 victory that should guarantee them a playoff appearance.

Lakeside did keep their playoff hopes alive on Friday night with a win on the road to the East Perth Eagles while back on Thursday Perry Lakes suffered a loss to the Cockburn Cougars.

That saw the Lightning improve their record to 6-10 while the Hawks' fell to 7-8 coming into a crucial Saturday night match up at Lakeside Recreation Centre between the two.

Perry Lakes continue to be playing without the injured Jayda Clark and with Alex Fowler playing with the Australian Opals at the FIBA Asia Cup in China with them losing to the Cougars on Thursday night by 12 points.

At the same time, Lakeside scored the eight-point win against East Perth with both results closing the race for eighth position before it was the Lightning who got off to the flying start.

With reigning MVP Teige Morrell leading the charge, the Lightning opened up a 29-14 lead by the end of the first quarter and then the advantage for Lakeside got out to 18 points in the second term.

Perry Lakes did dig deep leading into half-time to cut the Lightning lead to 37-28 at the main break and then the Hawks managed to work their way back into the contest further throughout the second half.

Lakeside were still leading by four points at three quarter-time but then Perry Lakes produced 26 points to 17 in the fourth quarter to overrun the Lightning and score what could be a pivotal five-point victory.

Megan McKay finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals in the win for the Hawks with Amy Jacobs contributing 15 points, three boards and two assists, and Grace Stone 12 points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals.

Jordi Perry also had eight points and two rebounds, Eryn Fisher eight points and three boards, and Mia Satie five points, eight assists, four rebounds and three steals.

The win steadies the Hawks in eighth position with an 8-8 record while the Lightning remain ninth at 6-11.

Reigning MVP Teige Morrell was outstanding playing all but 1:33 of the game for Lakeside and finishing with 36 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three steals on 13/20 field goal shooting along with 8/9 from the foul line.

Lakeside's hopes weren’t helped with a first half leg injury suffered by Kennedi Williams while Oceane Kounkou finished with 10 points and two assists, Sam Lubcke 10 points, four rebounds and two assists, Sarah Allen eight points, four boards and two assists, and Molly Wilson seven points and eight rebounds.

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 76 (Morrell 36, Lubcke 10, Kounkou 10)

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 81 (McKay 21, Jacobs 15, Dennis 12, Stone 12)

Willetton Tigers (101) defeated South West Slammers (89)

The Willetton Tigers were missing their two best players but dug deep for the important 101-89 home win against the South West Slammers to consolidate their hold on fourth position.

The Tigers were still sitting in fourth position coming into Round 15 of the season but had lost their previous two matches and were going to be without both Zitina Aokuso and Ajulu Thatha on Saturday night as they hosted the Slammers at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

Willetton did need the win to stay in fourth place but the chance was there for the Slammers to take a big scalp and score their third win of the season.

The Tigers managed to open up a nine-point lead in the first quarter and were still leading 28-23 by quarter-time before still being on top 54-47 by the half-time interval.

That lead for Willetton got out to as much as 17 points in the third quarter and 18 in the fourth before securing the eventual 12-point win.

It's an important win in the context of the season for the Tigers as they improve to an 11-6 record to remain in fourth position with games to finish against the Rockingham Flames, Cockburn Cougars and then the Slammers once more.

Despite the loss, the Slammers did give it a good crack despite slipping to a 2-15 record as a result with Mykea Gray shining with 31 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals with 11/18 shooting from the field, 5/9 from three-point territory and 4/6 at the foul line.

Cayla King added 23 points, four assists and three rebounds, Bree Chalk 10 points and two boards, and Kate Fielding nine points, seven assists and three rebounds.

WILLETTON TIGERS 101 (Counsel 26, Hayward 25, Averill 25)

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 89 (Gray 31, King 23, Chalk 10)

MEN

Mandurah Magic (75) lost to Geraldton Buccaneers (115)

No Julian Pesava and Jahcoree Ealy was always going to make it tough for the Mandurah Magic and the Geraldton Buccaneers put them to the sword for the 115-75 win to set up a mouth watering Sunday match up with the Warwick Senators.

Coming into this weekend and the Magic had done a terrific job to beat the Goldfields Giants, South West Slammers and the Perth Redbacks after Pesava's career-best season ended early with a devastating knee injury.

They then still beat the Redbacks on Friday night despite losing import point guard Ealy in the fourth quarter to a lower injury, but it was going to be a tall order up against the Buccaneers on Saturday night.

The Buccs arrived at Active West Stadium on a five-game winning streak by an average of 28 points and had the chance to head home to Geraldton on Sunday night in second spot with two more victories.

The first challenge was against the defending champions at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre and the Buccaneers came out firing opening up a 29-18 lead already by quarter-time.

Geraldton then delivered a blistering second quarter with 37 points to 14 on shooting 14/20 from the field and 6/11 from downtown with the Magic only going at 3/15 from the floor.

That saw the Buccs go into half-time leading 66-32 and from there they went on with the job to lead by 50 points in the third term, and 52 in the last on the way to the eventual 40-point victory.

The win is a sixth in-a-row for Geraldton with them averaging 113.5 points over that stretch with second spot now on the line when they take on the Senators at Warwick Stadium on Sunday.

Verle Williams was explosive for the Buccs in the big win finishing with 22 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals on shooting a perfect 8/8 from the field.

Akeem Springs added 20 points, two rebounds and two assists, Nik DeSantis 20 points, six assists and five boards, Liam Hunt 14 points, four rebounds and two steals, and captain Aaron Ralph 12 points with four more three-pointers.

Johny Narkle also had another 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and Joshua Keyes 10 points, 10 boards and four assists.

The Magic are still clinging to eighth position with a 10-9 record and have a short turnaround to take on the Rockingham Flames on Tuesday night in yet another big challenge without two of their brightest stars.

Jermaine Malie stepped into the starting point guard role in the absence of Ealy and produced 23 points with 4/8 three-point shooting while Lachlan Bertram continued his career-best season with 23 points, three assists and three steals.

Sammie Freeman ended up with 17 points, four rebounds and two steals, Hamish Warden five points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Cooper Lowe five points, five boards and two steals.

MANDURAH MAGIC 75 (Bertram 23, Malie 23, Freeman 17)

GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 115 (Williams 22, DeSantis 20, Springs 20)

Kalamunda Eastern Suns (100) lost to Warwick Senators (110)

Elijah Pepper, Todd Withers and Mitch Clarke combined for 79 points as the Warwick Senators saw off the challenge of the Kalamunda Eastern Suns to win 110-100 to set up their Sunday match up over second spot with the Geraldton Buccaneers.

The Suns were back home at Ray Owen Sports Centre having beaten both the Rockingham Flames and Joondalup Wolves in thrillers last weekend to show what they are capable of since the arrival of Randy Bell.

It was another big challenge when hosting the second placed Senators on Saturday night and Warwick started well with a couple of early threes to Cody Ellis, but by quarter-time the Suns had worked their way on top 28-26 while making a focus of going inside.

Of their 21 shot attempts, 18 were inside the arc and Kalamunda went 13/18 from two in the opening 10 minutes but Warwick worked on top in the second term with 28 points to 20 to be leading 54-48 by half-time.

The Senators then kept building on that advantage from there with the lead getting out to 14 points in the third frame, and 16 in the fourth on the way to the 10-point victory.

The win improves the Senators to a 14-3 record to be in second spot ahead of the clash on Sunday at home to the Buccaneers where the winner will close Round 15 in second place.

MVP fancy Elijah Pepper fired once more for Warwick with 38 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals on 13/14 shooting at the foul line.

Todd Withers added 22 points, nine rebounds and three assists on 4/5 three-point shooting with Mitch Clarke contributing 19 points and 10 assists, and George Pearl eight points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Kalamunda still showed good signs even with Randy Bell struggling with his shot and with coach Aaron Trahair not on the sidelines through illness with Conrad Francis taking over once again for the game.

Travis Fee produced 25 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists with Marshal Nelson adding 23 points, six boards and there assists, Terrico White 16 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Bell 12 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds despite 5/18 shooting.

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 100 (Fee 25, Nelson 23, White 16)

WARWICK SENATORS 110 (Pepper 38, Withers 22, Clarke 19)

Rockingham Flames (82) defeated Goldfields Giants (79)

It had all the feelings of an early playoff game and it went down to the wire with the Rockingham Flames overcoming the absence of Emmett Naar to hold out the Goldfields Giants for the 82-79 win.

Rockingham still sat in top spot coming into the clash at Mike Barnett Sports Complex but they did need to bounce back from a loss to the Eastern Suns to stay there with the Warwick Senators and Geraldton Buccaneers breathing down their necks.

The Giants also returned to winning form last Saturday night with a big win at home to the East Perth Eagles to remain in a playoff position.

The Flames were missing point guard Emmett Naar for the match up and Goldfields made a flying start to their road double with racing out to an 8-2 lead.

The Giants would lead by as much as 12 points in the first term and the Flames only shot 1/10 from deep with the visitors leading 27-17 by the end of one.

Goldfields pushed that advantage out to 15 points in the second quarter too but Rockingham worked back into the contest and by half-time had cut the Giants lead to 45-38.

Isaac White shoot off a rough first half too and started to get rolling in the third quarter and he helped Rockingham to grab the lead, and then open up an eight-point advantage themselves in the fourth term.

The Giants hit back, though, and hit the front early in the fourth term and drew back level with two minutes to play after eight straight points to set up a big finish.

Tevin Jackson returned Rockingham to the lead with a three ball but White then missed three free throws, and Laquinton Ross missed a couple to keep Goldfields in touch.

The Giants couldn’t take advantage, though, and the Flames held on for the three-point win to retain top position with a 15-3 record ahead of hosting the Mandurah Magic on Tuesday night.

Isaac White finished with 25 points, nine assists and five rebounds after a slow first half while Laquinton Ross added 16 points, 12 boards, three assists and two blocks, and Ryan Godfrey 10 points and six assists in game No. 345.

Goldfields slip to a 9-9 record ahead of taking on the Joondalup Wolves to complete their road double on Sunday afternoon.

Josh Duach finished with another 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals with De'Sean Parsons adding 21 points, 18 boards, five assists and four steals, Shaun Stewart 17 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals, and Michael Jok 13 points and four assists.

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 82 (White 25, Ross 16, Godfrey 10)

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 79 (Duach 21, Parsons 21, Stewart 17)

Lakeside Lightning (110) defeated Perry Lakes Hawks (91)

The unlikely run to the playoffs of the Lakeside Lightning remains a possibility with two wins in the space of 24 after the 110-91 home win against the Perry Lakes Hawks.

Both teams were in action already in Round 15 and had mixed fortunes with the Lightning keeping their season alive beating the East Perth Eagles by 28 points while the Hawks missed a chance get closer to eighth spot with the two-point loss on Thursday to the Cockburn Cougars.

With the Mandurah Magic in eighth place and now being cursed by injury and the Eastern Suns and Goldfields Giants both losing on Saturday night, the chance presented for the winner out of Perry Lakes and Lakeside to get that small step closer to a playoff spot.

It was quite the enterprising opening from both teams as they combined for 68 points in the first quarter with the scores tied at 34-34 by quarter-time with Lakeside shooting 13/24 with six threes and the Hawks going 15/23 with four triples.

Lakeside kept that pace going with another 33 points in the second term with seven more three-pointers and that saw them open up a 67-58 half-time lead in quite the free-flowing contest.

The Lightning were then able to go on a 15-0 run in the second half to open up a 26-point lead on the way to scoring the 19-point victory to make it a perfect weekend to breathe life back into their season.

Lakeside are now 7-12 with their wins over East Perth and Perry Lakes in the space of 24 hours to be knocking on the door of the top eight with Kalamunda, Goldfields and Mandurah within reach of them.

It's no coincidence that the Lightning are playing better with the return from a hamstring tear of Rowan Mackenzie and he delivered 31 points, eight assists, four rebounds and two steals with 5/6 three-point shooting.

Corey Shervill added 25 points, six rebounds and three assists on 7/14 three-point shooting, AJ Wilson 17 points, two boards and two blocks, and Isaiah Lewis 16 points, five assists and four rebounds with shooting 4/8 from behind the arc.

Perry Lakes are going to find it tough now to stay in the playoff hunt even with a slightly better record at 7-11 just because they’ve now won seven straight matches.

 Luke Phillips battled hard once more for Perry Lakes with 22 points, six rebounds and six assists, Matt Leary 21 points and six boards, Jaden Stanley-Williams 18 points, four assists and three rebounds, Cooper Hamilton eight points and five rebounds, and Seva Chan six points and seven assists.

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 110 (Mackenzie 31, Shervill 25, Wilson 17)

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 91 (Phillips 22, Leary 21, Stanley-Williams 18)

Willetton Tigers (107) defeated South West Slammers (82)

Tana Kopa once again showed that he might be the X-factor for the Willetton Tigers in 2025 knocking down another four triples in the 107-82 win over the South West Slammers.

The Tigers were back home at Willetton Basketball Stadium in fourth position and looking to bounce back from a 29-point loss on the road to Warwick Senators as they hosted the bottom placed Slammers.

Willetton did need to keep winning to not only maintain their hold on that fourth spot, but to stay a chance of potentially finishing higher, and by quarter-time the Tigers were leading 23-18 having gone on a 19-0 scoring run.

Willetton then pulled away further with the 29 points to 16 in the second term and ended up leading by as much as 22 points on the way to being up 52-34 at half-time.

The Tigers went on with the job from there to lead by as much as 19 points in the third frame and then 25 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 25-point victory.

Willetton ended up shooting 53 per cent from the field for the game to 46 from the slammers while collecting 48 rebounds to 30 including 19 at the offensive end to eight.

Tom Gerovich top-scored for Willetton with 23 points and 11 rebounds but it's Tana Kopa on return from college who is giving them that extra shooter and he knocked down 4/8 from three-point range for 22 points to go with four boards, two assists and two steals.

Taeshon Cherry added 19 points and four assists, Roosevelt Williams Jr 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Tyreese Davis 11 points, six assists, five boards and three steals.

The Slammers slip to 1-17 on the season now with the loss despite another standout performance from import centre Jamal Poplar with 31 points, nine rebounds and two assists.

Nathan Walsh added 13 points, Manny Wugol 10 points and three rebounds, and Devan Craig 10 points, four boards and three assists.

WILLETTON TIGERS 107 (Gerovich 23, Kopa 22, Chery 19)

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 82 (Poplar 31, Walsh 13, Wugol 10, Craig 10)