West Recap | Round 5 Saturday

Image credit: Arctic Moon Photography

Cockburn Cougars women stayed unbeaten while the men won a first game this NBL1 West season with Erin Antosh spectacular for 37 points and 14 rebounds on debut for Goldfields Giants while Elijah Pepper had a mighty triple-double for Warwick Senators.

WEST RECAP | ROUND 5 FRIDAY

PEPPER'S IMPACT HAS SENATORS HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN

NEW REDBACK PATTY EXCITED TO FACE COUGARS

WOMEN

Warwick Senators (94) defeated Mandurah Magic (88)

The Warwick Senators backed up handing the East Perth Eagles a first loss the previous night to overcome a big night from Claire Jacobs to come away with a strong 94-88 home win on Saturday over the Mandurah Magic.

Even with Emma Gandini and Kiara Waite to still come into the line-up, the Senators scored an impressive win on the road to the Eagles on Friday as they returned to Warwick Stadium on Saturday to face the Magic.

It might be a Mandurah team currently without Ally Wilson who is in WNBA training camp at the Chicago Sky, but they did arrive having won three of five games in 2025.

Warwick did get a boost with the inclusion of Perth Lynx WNBL forward Waite for the first time this season and it was an exciting opening from both teams as they combined for 62 points in the opening quarter.

The Magic were leading 32-30 by quarter-time thanks to shooting 12/18 from the floor opposed to the 10/23 for the Senators.

The Senators took over in the second term with 32 points to 20 to open up a 12-point lead along the way and to go into the half-time interval on their home floor leading 62-52.

Warwick extended that lead out to 16 points in the third quarter and maintained their control for most of the rest of the way to eventually win by six points and to improve to 5-1 on the season thanks to the back-to-back wins in the space of 24 hours.

Chloe Forster had a big showing again for the Senators with 27 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals on 4/7 three-point shooting with two-time MVP Stacey Barr delivering 21 points, five boards, four assists and four steals.

Kiara Waite was into the line-up for the first time and produced 14 points, five rebounds and two assists with young gun Kyana Weir contributing 14 points, four boards and two assists, and Nat Burton nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Magic are now 3-3 in what has been a rollercoaster start to the season once again with Claire Jacobs coming up huge to finish with 32 points and nine rebounds on 12/22 shooting from the field and 4/8 from behind the three-point arc.

The league's games record holder Casey Mihovilovich continues to play at a remarkably high level and in her 579th appearance she had 17 points, eight assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Grace Berg also had 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals but when she fouled out it took the wind out of Mandurah's sails.

WARWICK SENATORS 94 (Forster 27, Barr 21, Waite 14, Weir 14)

MANDURAH MAGIC 88 (Jacobs 32, Mihovilovich 17, Berg 12)

Perth Redbacks (59) lost to Cockburn Cougars (73)

Championship teammates Patty Brossmann and Sarah Mortensen combined for 45 points and 34 rebounds against one another as the Cockburn Cougars stayed unbeaten downing the shorthanded Perth Redbacks 73-59.

There was added intrigue to the match up at Belmont Oasis with Brossmann and Mortensen battling one another for the first time since they formed a close friendship as part of Cockburn's championship triumph back in 2023.

Mortensen has returned to the Cougars in 2025 while Brossmann is also back in the league albeit at the Redbacks with Saturday night the first chance for them to play against one another.

The Cougars came into the clash having won all four of their matches so far in 2025 after playing in the past two grand finals as they took on a severely shorthanded Redbacks.

Not only were Perth still without Anneli Maley who just has been released by the WNBA's LA Sparks, but fellow superstar Natalie Chou was out injured while captain Raya Thompson and vice-captain Georgia Denehey were out as well.

That's quite a group of players to be taking on an undefeated league-leading team with but to the credit of the Redbacks, they did fight hard and made it a bit of a scrap, and made Cockburn have to earn the win.

It was an ominous start from the Cougars as they put up 26 points to 12 in the first quarter but the Redbacks were able to make their life harder in the second term and by half-time Cockburn's lead was only 39-23.

The Cougars did score 24 points in the third period with their lead getting out to as much as 24, but the Redbacks did continue to battle and even outscored them 18 points to 10 in the fourth frame to bring the final margin back to just 14 points.

It wasn’t an offensive game either team will want to look back on too fondly with the Cougars ending up shooting 33 per cent from the floor and going 10/34 from deep while the Redbacks went 33 per cent overall and made 1/19 from downtown.

It might have not been pretty, but Cockburn is still 5-0 to be the last remaining unbeaten team with Sarah Mortensen finishing with 24 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Steph Gorman added 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks, Daniel Raber 10 points, eight boards, five assists and four steals, debutant Reece Anticevic eight points, two rebounds and two steals, and Jewel Williams seven points, four boards, three assists and two steals.

Considering the Redbacks were missing four of the biggest minute players, their competitiveness is to be commended with Patty Brossmann leading from the front with 21 points and 22 rebounds.

Sophie Doran also stepped up for seven points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists with Ariane Creighton adding six points and two boards, and Alaska Rhebok six points, four rebounds and two assists.

PERTH REDBACKS 59 (Brossmann 21, Doran 7, Creighton 6, Rhebok 6)

COCKBURN COUGARS 73 (Mortensen 24, Gorman 16, Raber 10)

Lakeside Lightning (80) defeated South West Slammers (67)

The Lakeside Lightning continue to build into the season nicely making it four straight wins with the 80-67 home victory against the South West Slammers.

After starting the season losing their opening three matches, the Lightning were back home at Lakeside Recreation Centre on Saturday fresh off wins against the Slammers, Goldfields Giants and Joondalup Wolves.

They were back up against South West for the second time already this season on their home floor this time and the Lightning started impressively with 30 points to 10 in the first term on the back of landing 5/8 from behind the arc.

South West did outscore Lakeside 20 points to 12 in the second term which cut the lead of the Lightning back to 42-30 by half-time.

Lakeside were able to push back out to a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter and then confirmed the 13-point win from there to make it four straight wins to improve to a 4-3 record.

Sarah Allen delivered 20 points and four assists on 6/12 three-point shooting in the win for the Lightning with Kennedi Williams providing 10 points, five assists and five steals, and Oceane Kounkou eight points, five rebounds and two assists.

Then there was powerful front court pair with Teige Morell producing 16 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks and three assists, and Sam Lubcke 15 points and nine rebounds.

The Slammers are now 1-5 on the season but they did continue to fight hard after the slow start on Saturday with Mykea Gray leading the charge with 21 points, six rebounds, six assists and six steals.

Ella Edwards added 15 points and five rebounds, Cayla King 13 points, seven boards, three steals and two assists, and Courtney Bayliss six points and seven rebounds.

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 80 (Allen 20, Morrell 16, Lubcke 15)

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 67 (Gray 21, E Edwards 15, King 13)

Goldfields Giants (106) defeated Rockingham Flames (52)

Erin Antosh made a spectacular debut with 37 points, 14 rebounds and five assists as the Goldfields Giants took full advantage of the shorthanded Rockingham Flames for the dominant 106-52 home win.

The defending champion Flames arrived in Kalgoorlie having added Georgia Pineau and Sydney Erikstrup into the line-up, but at the same time they were missing Alex Ciabattoni, Alex Sharp, Jess Jakens and Shani Amos.

Opposed to that, the Giants welcomed Antosh fresh off her season in the United Kingdom with Nottingham just coming to a close and her teaming up with Nici Gilday proved too much for Rockingham to handle.

Goldfields were chasing a second win of the season and started on fire putting up 35 points in the first quarter to already be leading the reigning champions by 14 points at quarter-time.

The Giants went on with the job from there by pushing their lead out to 30 in the second term and being in control 58-28 by half-time even while shooting just 5/23 from three opposed to the 4/20 from Rockingham.

It was more of the same throughout the second half with the Giants completing a 17-0 run in the third quarter on the way to leading by 49 points, and then by 54 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 54-point victory.

It was an emphatic way for Goldfields to improve to 2-3 on the season Erin Antosh making a debut to savour made up of 37 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and two blocks on 16/22 shooting.

Nici Gilday enjoyed having the extra help and finished with 24 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds and three steals with Chloe Zorzi contributing 11 points, nine boards, four assists and two steals, and Josephine Odude 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Considering the players missing for Rockingham it's hard to take much from the game but Sydney Erikstrup did have an encouraging first appearance with 13 points, seven rebound and five assists.

Paris Duffield added nine points, three rebounds and two steals, Imogen Soulos nine points, and Emily Steven seven points, six rebounds and four assists.

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 106 (Antosh 37, Gilday 24, Zorzi 11)

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 52 (Erikstrup 13, Duffield 9, Soulos 9)

MEN

Geraldton Buccaneers (111) defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns (82)

Johny Narkle, Akeem Springs and Josh Keyes combined for 68 points as the Geraldton Buccaneers proved too strong at home for the Kalamunda Eastern Suns going on to win 111-82.

The Buccs were back home at Active West Stadium for just their second home game of the season on Saturday night after once again splitting their road double last weekend beating the Perry Lakes Hawks after a loss to the Rockingham Flames.

They played host to an Eastern Suns team still trying find their feet this season having won just two of six games despite a line-up featuring Terrico White, Marshall Nelson, Travis Fee and Lewis Thomas who are new additions in 2025.

The Buccs put up 35 points in an impressive first quarter on the back of shooting 14/21 from the field to already open up an eight-point advantage.

That lead was out to double-figures in the second term with the Buccaneers still on top 58-48 at the half-time interval.

Geraldton only continued to pull away further throughout the second half with the lead growing to 19 points in the third frame, and then 31 in the fourth by the time they had completed a 19-0 scoring run.

From there the Buccaneers went on to win by 29 points to improve to a 4-2 record on the season with the two home wins and splitting their four road matches so far.

Johny Narkle continued his hot form for the Buccs with 25 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists on 4/8 three-point shooting with Akeem Springs adding 23 points and three boards on 9/13 shooting.

Josh Keyes also had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists, Liam Hunt 14 points, 13 boards, three assists and three steals, and Verle Williams 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.

The Eastern Suns having now lost four in-a-row to slip to a 2-5 record with Marshall Nelson top-scoring with 21 points to go with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Travis Fee added 19 points and seven rebounds, Terrico White 17 points and two boards, and Lewis Thomas five points, eight assists and five rebounds.

GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 111 (Narkle 25, Springs 23, Keyes 20)

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 82 (Nelson 21, Fee 19, White 17)

Warwick Senators (104) defeated Mandurah Magic (87)

Elijah Pepper delivered a mighty impressive triple-double to show he's much more than just a big-time scorer while Todd Withers put up 34 points as the Warwick Senators stayed unbeaten with the 104-87 win over the Mandurah Magic.

The Senators were back home at Warwick Stadium fresh off a 36-point road win the previous night against the East Perth Eagles ahead of hosting the defending champion Magic who arrived on their own four-match winning streak.

That set the stage for what might well have been the biggest test for the unbeaten Warwick on the season but by quarter-time they had already opened up a 12-point lead to be on top 31-19 having knocked down 5/11 of their three-point attempts.

It was another 33 points to 16 in the second quarter from the Senators to see them end up leading by as much as 31 and to be on top 64-35 at the half thanks to knocking down 10/26 from three opposed to the 1/14 from the Magic.

Warwick remained in control throughout the second half despite being outscored by Mandurah with the defending champs putting up 53 points to 40 but the Senators still going on to score the 17-point victory.

Warwick improves to 6-0 on the season with the win with Elijah Pepper putting in another standout showing even if he couldn't quite put up a fourth 50-point effort of the season.

He still had a first triple-double with 35 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and four steals on 14/24 shooting from the field, 4/13 from downtown and 3/3 at the line while Todd Withers delivered a season-best 34 points with 9/16 shooting from three-point territory.

Mitch Clarke played his second game after returning from the UK on Wednesday night and the two-time championship winning point guard provided eight points, seven assists and five rebounds.

Mandurah is now 4-2 on the season with a four-game winning run coming to an end with them shooting 3/32 from three-point land in the finish including Julian Pesava going 0/8 and Lachlan Bertram 2/9.

Pesava did still manage 19 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals, and Bertram 19 points, eight boards and three assists.

Sammie Freeman top-scored for the Magic with 26 points and 10 rebounds while fellow import Jahcoree Ealy added 12 points, nine boards and six assists.

WARWICK SENATORS 104 (Pepper 35, Withers 34, Clarke 8)

MANDURAH MAGIC 87 (Freeman 26, Bertram 19, Pesava 19)

Perth Redbacks (87) lost to Cockburn Cougars (90)

With both teams needing a win and missing their gun guard, it turned into an overtime battle which saw the Cockburn Cougars open their account for 2025 with the 90-87 win over the Perth Redbacks thanks to 56 points from Terrandus Smith and Chan Nai.

The Redbacks were back home at Belmont Oasis looking to snap a two-game losing slide but still being without Joe Cook-Green in their back court while the winless Cougars were also missing Kortland Martin in theirs.

That meant there were opportunities there for others to step up and it was Cockburn who made the fast start chasing that first win of the season with an early 13-point lead before the Redbacks responded with a 10-0 run.

The Cougars were still leading 22-18 by quarter-time and even though the visitors got back out to an 11-point lead in the second term, by half-time the Redbacks had cut their deficit back to 41-35.

Cockburn continued to remain in front and were still 12 points up when Chan Nai hit a pair of three-pointers to open the fourth quarter, but the Redbacks kept on trying to fight back.

Even with the Cougars still leading by seven with three minutes to play, back-to-back threes for the Redbacks to Michael Riley and new import big Emmanuel Kanwei suddenly made it a one-point ball game.

Ultimately it was a score on the inside from Callan McDonald that tied scores up with the Redbacks able to force the game to overtime despite not having been in front for a single second.

Perth still couldn’t find a way to grab the lead in the extra five minutes either and eventually it was an offensive foul call that Matt Clifford drew on Lochlan Cummings, and then a pair of free throws from Terrandus Smith that secured Cockburn a first win of the season.

The Cougars are now 1-5 following the win with Terrandus Smith the start in just his second game since arriving with 29 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals on 8/15 shooting from the field and 10/12 at the foul line.

Chan Nai added 27 points, eight rebounds and four blocks on 4/15 three-point shooting while Josh Hunt contributed 18 points, six boards and four assists despite only shooting 6/21 from the field and 6/15 from the foul line.

The Redbacks have now lost three straight to slip to a 2-4 record with Callam McDonald having his best performance on return from an 18-month injury layoff with 21 points, 19 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Lochlan Cummings was up against the team he won a championship with in 2016 and had 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists while Michael Riley contributed 14 points, five boards and three assists, and Jacob Formosa 10 points and three assists.

PERTH REDBACKS 87 (McDonald 21, Cummings 19, Riley 14)

COCKBURN COUGARS 90 (Smith 29, Nai 27, Hunt 18)

Lakeside Lightning (103) defeated South West Slammers (91)

Despite a breakout performance with 10 three-pointers from South West Slammers import Calvin Whipple, the Lakeside Lightning scored a second win of the season by having more varied attacking weapons.

Both teams came into the match up at Lakeside Recreation Centre needing a win having combined for just one of them so far in 2025.

The Lightning lost a tight one on Friday night to open the round too away to the Joondalup Wolves while the Slammers arrived still looking to open their account for the season in their sixth match.

The Lightning had already opened up a 25-20 lead by quarter-time against the same team they had won their lone game of the season against already.

Lakeside then completely blew the game apart in the second frame with 33 points to 15 including going on a 17-0 scoring run and knocking down 5/9 from downtown before heading into the half-time break leading 58-35.

Even with the Slammers outscoring the Lightning 56-45 in the second half with Calvin Whipple having his best performance of the season, Lakeside still cruised to the eventual 12-point win.

The Lightning improve to 2-4 on the season with the win with Corey Shervill continuing his standout form with another 28 points, 14 rebounds and four assists with 4/11 shooting from downtown.

Isaiah Lewis provided 25 points and seven assists with 5/8 three-point shooting, AJ Wilson 18 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots, and Michael Garbellini 16 points, nine boards and seven assists.

The Slammers remain winless for the season after six games despite Whipple's best efforts of knocking down 10/15 from three-point land for 34 points to go with five rebound and two assists.

Devan Craig added 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Jamal Poplar 14 points, 12 boards, four assists, three blocks and two steals.

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 103 (Shervill 28, Lewis 25, Wilson 18)

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 91 (Whipple 34, Craig 18, Poplar 14)

Goldfields Giants (106) lost to Rockingham Flames (110)

The Rockingham Flames handed the Goldfields Giants their first loss of 2025 with the 110-106 win in Kalgoorlie on a night where Isaac White scored 39 points for the winners and Joshua Duach 42 for the losers.

It had all the makings of one of the games of the season with the unbeaten Giants putting their winning run on the line and trying to avoid a first defeat on their brand new home floor at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium.

Rockingham arrived in hot form too having won their past three matches and with their lone loss of the season being at the expense of the also undefeated Warwick Senators.

The game certainly lived up to the billing and the two teams combined for 60 points in the first quarter with the Flames leading 32-28 by quarter-time on shooting 11/20 opposed to the 11/19 from the Giants showing the quality of the contest.

It was another combined 58 points in the second term and it was Rockingham with 30 to 28 to marginally extend the lead for the visitors to 62-56 by half-time in a high quality affair.

Goldfields knocked down 5/8 from three-point range in the third frame and that saw them open up a lead as big as 10 points to grab the momentum and to put themselves in a good position to stay unbeaten.

However, the Flames hit back late in the third term and by three quarter-time scores were all level to set up the big finish.

It was a hot start to the last quarter with Joshua Duach scoring the first 13 points for his team including landing three from long-range which gave the Giants the four-point lead with six minutes to play.

He landed another a minute later from downtown to push the Goldfields lead out to five but Jervon Pressley scored inside and Justin Beard from outside in response to level scores up once more.

Isaac White then hit a three to put Rockingham back in front before he extended the lead to five with a pair of free throws and Tevin Jackson scored soon after to keep the lead at five with the Flames ending up winning by four.

As a result, the Giants are now 4-1 following a first loss of the season and the Flames are 6-1 with a fourth consecutive victory.

Even while losing 335-game great Ryan Godfrey to injury in the fourth quarter, Rockingham put in a standout performance shooting 51 per cent from the field and making 14/37 from downtown with Isaac White delivering 39 points, nine assists and seven rebounds with 5/10 three-point shooting.

Emmett Naar added 19 points and nine assists, Laquinton Ross 14 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, and Justin Beard 13 points and eight boards.

The Giants still shot at 49 per cent from the field and went 16/25 from three despite the loss with Joshua Duach outstanding with the former Melbourne United development player putting up 42 points and three rebounds with 9/13 three-point shooting.

Michael Jok added 20 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals, Shaun Stewart 20 points, 11 assists, four boards and two steals, and De'Sean Parsons 13 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and four steals.

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 106 (Duach 42, Stewart 20, Jok 20)

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 110 (White 39, Naar 19, Ross 14)