West Recap | Round 2 Friday

Image credit: @ChyonKondylasPhotography

It was a Friday night of big NBL1 West performances with Claire and Amy Jacobs starring for Mandurah Magic and Perry Lakes Hawks respectively, Karly Murphy's 40/25 effort didn’t help much, and Isaac White had 34/12/7 for Rockingham Flames.

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WEST RECAP | ROUND 1 SUNDAY

WOMEN

Lakeside Lightning (73) lost to Mandurah Magic (78)

The Mandurah Magic might have been without their superstar point guard but did gain Claire Jacobs and she celebrated her return to Lakeside with 23 points and five threes in the 78-73 win over the Lightning.

The Magic made quite the statement at home last week with the 52-point win against the Willetton Tigers, but that was with Ally Wilson starring fresh off her best ever WNBL season at the Perth Lynx.

She wasn’t there on Friday night at the Lakeside Recreation Centre having been part of the Australian Opals camp in Melbourne all week, but the Magic did pick up the services of another one of their gun recruits, Jacobs.

She had a standout season at Willetton last year on the back of her college career and was back to where it all began at Lakeside on Friday night albeit in opposition colours.

Lakeside were hunting a first win of the season too after a pair of Round 1 losses to the Perry Lakes Hawks and Warwick Senators, and the Lightning did start well at home with 24 points to 17 in the opening frame.

Mandurah hit back in the second quarter with 29 points to 21 to go into half-time leading 46-45, and then managing to open up a 10-point advantage in the fourth quarter after Jacobs made a three-pointer and Tiahna Palmer scored at the rim.

The Lightning did hit back with the next five points and even got back within three with just under a minute to play when Sarah Allen made a triple.

However, reigning MVP Teige Morrell went down hurt on the next possession and from there Mandurah were able to close out the five-point win to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Even without Ally Wilson and Rachel Halleen, and with games record holder Casey Mihovilovich playing under 12 minutes and not scoring despite having six assists, the Magic still had enough weaponry to score the win.

Claire Jacobs was on debut with the Magic and starred with 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists on 5/12 three-point shooting while McKenna Dale delivered 24 points, eight boards, three assists and two steals.

Grace Berg added 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals with Tiana Palmer contributing seven points, four boards and two assists.

The Lightning are now 0-3 on the season following the defeat with MVP Teige Morrell again leading the way before getting hurt late with 21 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Oceane Kounkou provided 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals on 4/14 three-point shooting with Sarah Allen contributing 11 points and three assists but import guard Kennedi Williams again struggled with four points, three rebounds and three assists on just three shot attempts.

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 73 (Morrell 21, Kounkou 16, Allen 11)

MANDURAH MAGIC 78 (Dale 24, Jacobs 23, Berg 13)

Rockingham Flames (63) lost to Cockburn Cougars (96)

It might have been a grand final rematch but it was the Cockburn Cougars much closer to full strength and they took full advantage for the 96-63 road win over the defending champion Rockingham Flames.

Rockingham and Cockburn were the two standouts teams in the NBL1 West in 2024 and played off in the first ever grand final at RAC Arena, and it turned out a tremendous contest before the Flames took over late to secure the championship.

Not only was Friday night at Mike Barnett Sports Complex a grand final rematch, but also a meeting of the last two championship winning teams but the Cougars were fresh off a first up win while the Flames were beating by the East Perth Eagles.

Friday night was the chance for Rockingham to raise their championship banner too in front of the team they defeated, but it was a Flames team missing the captain and MVP of that triumph Alex Sharp.

Georgia Pineau, Marena Whittle and Rosie Deegan also weren’t out there for Rockingham while the Cougars had a dominant first up win over the Goldfields Giants and welcomed championship winning import Sarah Mortensen into the line-up.

On the back of that, Cockburn raced out to a 21-10 lead by quarter-time and they were back out to a 14-point advantage in the second term on the way to the 45-33 lead by half-time.

The Cougars then rammed home their dominance in the fourth period with 26 points to six to close out the grand final rematch with the 33-point victory to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Not only did Mortensen return for the Cougars, but she starred with the 2023 All-First Team member delivering 27 points and 13 rebounds with 5/7 three-point shooting.

Daniel Raber is fresh off a WNBL season at Geelong and provided 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals with Jewel Williams delivering 16 points, five boards and three assists, Regan Turnour-McCarty eight points and four assists, and Steph Gorman six points, 10 assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Rockingham is now 0-2 to start its championship defence under new coach, but given how far from full strength they've been it's far from time to panic.

Paris Duffield finished with 15 points and four rebounds, Alex Ciabattoni 15 points, six boards, three assists and three steals against the team she led to last year's grand final, Emily Steven 12 points on 4/9 three-point shooting, and Jess Jakens 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 63 (Ciabattoni 15, Duffield 15, Steven 12)

COCKBURN COUGARS 96 (Mortensen 27, Raber 23, Williams 16)

Perry Lakes Hawks (72) defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns (58)

The Perry Lakes Hawks might have been missing some superstars but were able to shake off 40 points and 25 rebounds from Karly Murphy with Amy Jacobs stepping up in the 72-58 win over the Eastern Suns.

The Hawks started the new season impressively last Friday night beating the Lakeside Lightning 75-50 but that was with reigning WNBL MVP Sami Whitcomb starring with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

She wasn’t there on Friday night back at Bendat Basketball Centre having been part of the Australian Opals camp all week in Melbourne while Alex Fowler was also unavailable, Grace Stone is yet to arrive and Mia Satie also wasn’t out there.

That potentially opened the door for the Eastern Suns to hit back from becoming the first team to suffer a loss to the South West Slammers in three years last Saturday.

Kalamunda had a real advantage inside with the presence of Murphy as well and she couldn’t possibly have done more, but Perry Lakes still had all the answers the longer the game went.

That was despite the Eastern Suns leading 21-15 by quarter-time and the visitors were still leading 32-28 by half-time, but Perry Lakes took change in the second half.

The Hawks put up 21 points to 13 in the third period, and 23 to 13 in the fourth on the way to the 14-point victory despite missing a big chunk of what could be their starting five.

Perry Lakes is now 2-0 with the win with Amy Jacobs stepping up big time with 23 points, five assists and three rebounds on 5/11 three-point shooting.

Maddy Dennis also had 13 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks, Emilie Beggs 15 points, seven boards, five assists and two steals, and Ellie Newman nine points, five rebounds and two assists.

While it was a tough loss for the Eastern Suns, it was a remarkable individual performance from Karly Murphy who scored 40 of her team's 58 points to go with 25 rebounds and three steals.

She shot 16/35 from the field as well with the rest of the side scoring 18 points on 6/46 shooting at just 13 per cent.

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 72 (Jacobs 23, Beggs 15, Dennis 13)

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 58 (Murphy 40, Berry 10, Gartrell 5)

MEN

Lakeside Lightning (66) lost to Mandurah Magic (92)

The Mandurah Magic have now recorded their first win as defending NBL1 West champions with Julian Pesava delivering 29 points in the 92-66 road win over the Lakeside Lightning.

The Magic broke through for their first championship last season and celebrated that occasion with the raising of the banner at home last week only to end up losing the grand final rematch to Willetton by 14 points.

Lakeside also had a tough opening round with a pair of defeats at the hands of the Perry Lakes Hawks and Warwick Senators by a combined 39 points.

That meant both teams were determined to hit back on Friday night at Lakeside Recreation Centre and it was an exciting opening to the contest with Mandurah narrowly leading 27-25 by quarter-time.

It was still a tight affair by half-time with the Magic leading 48-41 but the defending champions dominated the second half with Pesava on fire, and new imports Sammie Freeman and Jahcoree Ealy settling into the league.

The advantage in favour of Mandurah got out to 18 points in the third quarter and 27 in the fourth before the Magic secured the eventual 26-point victory.

Mandurah is now 1-1 to start its title defence with Pesava leading the charge with the two-time championship winner delivering 29 points, seven rebounds and four assists including shooting 4/5 from long-range.

Import centre Freeman was imposing with 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals while even hitting a three ball while point guard Ealy finished with 16 points, eight assists, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

Lachlan Bertram also had 10 points, five assists and four steals, and Hamish Warden nine points and two boards on perfect 3/3 three-point shooting.

It's already now a long road back for the Lightning at 0-3 to start the season having also lost the opening four matches of 2024 and going on to miss the finals once again.

Import big AJ Wilson fought valiantly for 24 points, four rebounds and two assists for Lakeside with Ben Lee adding 15 points, four rebounds and four steals on 3/6 deep shooting, Corey Shervill 12 points, three assists and three steals, and Josh Davey 11 points and six rebounds.

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 66 (Wilson 24, Lee 15, Shervill 12)

MANDURAH MAGIC 92 (Pesava 29, Freeman 22, Ealy 16)

Rockingham Flames (108) defeated Cockburn Cougars (87)

The Rockingham Flames gained two key players but were without two others and they still sent another message to the league of their 2025 intentions beating the youthful Cockburn Cougars 108-87.

It was a first game at home at Mike Barnett Sports Complex of the season for the Flames coming off the 21-point win last Friday night against the East Perth Eagles.

That was with Emmett Naar running the ship with 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and captain Justin Beard providing 10 points, seven boards and four assists, but neither were available on Friday night.

However, the Flames did add new import centre Jervon Pressley and brought back Travis Durnin to play host to a Cougars team coming off a 40-point loss to Goldfields having lost the experience of Rhys Vague, Seva Chan, Kyle Armour, Gavin Field and Hunter Clarke.

Pressley came in and had an immediate impact for Rockingham on debut with an early three ball despite his reputation suggesting his best work will be done closer to the basket on both ends.

Rockingham put up 33 points in the first quarter to lead by 14 already after one and the signs were ominous, but credit to Cockburn who dug deep for 30 points to 19 of their own in the second period.

That cut the Flames lead back to just 52-49 at half-time but the home team pushed that advantage back out to double-digits in the third quarter, and then it got out to as much as 22 in the fourth before they scored the eventual 21-point victory.

Rockingham is 2-0 on the season with the win by a combined 42 points with Naar, Beard and potentially a second import to come into that team from Friday night.

Fresh off signing with his hometown Adelaide 36ers for NBL26, Isaac White put on a show in his first home game with Rockingham with 34 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists on 12/24 shooting and 8/8 at the foul line.

He had plenty of help too with new import Jervon Pressley finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, Ryan Godfrey 16 points, six boards and five assists, Callum Beard 15 points and nine rebounds, and Tevin Jackson 12 points.

The young Cougars team did put in a spirited showing with Josh Hunt finishing with 21 points, three rebounds and three assists while Kortland Martin added 16 points and four assists, Riley Eves 10 points and four rebounds, and Nathan Pond 10 points in only 11:29 of court time.

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 108 (White 34, Pressley 18, Godfrey 16)

COCKBURN COUGARS 87 (Hunt 21, Martin 16, Eves 10, Pond 10)

Perry Lakes Hawks (68) lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns (77)

Terrico White returned to his old practice floor at Bendat Basketball Centre and helped the Eastern Suns to the 77-68 Friday night win over the Perry Lakes Hawks.

The Eastern Suns had a mixed opening to a season that is promising so much with a first up win over the South West Slammers last Saturday night but then dropping their home opener on the Sunday to the Geraldton Buccaneers.

Perry Lakes had just the one game in Round 1 and scored the home win against the Lakeside Lightning, and the Hawks were back at Bendat Basketball Centre on Friday night to play host to Kalamunda.

Perry Lakes made a strong start to be leading by nine points at quarter-time but the Eastern Suns lit it up in the second term clearly stung by only managing 11 points in the opening 10 minutes.

Kalamunda scored 31 points to 14 in that second frame to go into half-time leading 42-34 and the lead got out to 12 in the third quarter, but Perry Lakes wasn’t done with yet.

The Hawks regained the lead after starting the final term with back-to-back triples from Matt Leary, but the Suns responded immediately with the next nine points to regain control and go on to score the nine-point win to improve to 2-1 on the season.

It was familiar surroundings for Terrico White to return to the court that he used to practice on when he was at the Perth Wildcats and went on to become not only an NBL championship winner, but a Grand Final MVP.

He had a solid enough showing with 14 points and four assists while Marshall Nelson top-scored with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Fellow new signing Travis Fee continues to grab his chance since moving from Willetton with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists with Joel Vaiangina contributing 11 points and two boards against his former team.

Jaden Stanley-Williams top-scored for Perry Lakes with 17 points, four rebounds and two assists but he didn’t have another teammate in double-figure scoring.

Davin Miller did have nine points and 10 rebounds, and Seva Chan nine points and four assists.

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 68 (Stanley-Williams 17, Miller 9, Chan 9)

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 77 (Nelson 16, White 14, Fee 14)