West Recap | Round 6 Friday

Image credit: @m.clarkmedia | Madeleine Clark

Perry Lakes Hawks championship winners Nat Burton and Mitch Clarke led Warwick Senators to Friday night NBL1 West wins on their old home floor while Joondalup Wolves and Willetton Tigers split their evening.

CONTINUING WILLETTON CULTURE KEY FOR TIGERS CAPTAIN

WEST RECAP | ROUND 5 SATURDAY

WOMEN

Perry Lakes Hawks (75) lost to Warwick Senators (81)

The Warwick Senators overcame a 15-point half-time deficit to overrun the Perry Lakes Hawks for the 81-75 win with Stacey Barr leading the charge with 31 points despite going 1/11 from downtown.

The Hawks were back on their home floor of Bendat Basketball Centre looking to bounce back from last week's loss to the Willetton Tigers but were without coach Craig Mansfield through illness with Mark Matthiessen taking over for the evening.

Perry Lakes was also without Alex Fowler who was on Australian Opals duties in the Trans-Tasman Throwdown while Mia Satie was still sidelined through injury.

They played host to a Senators team having won four straight even while still awaiting the arrival of Emma Gandini, and it was Warwick who started the better to already be leading 25-18 by the end of the first quarter.

However, Perry Lakes turned the momentum in their direction in the second frame with 34 points to 17 on the back of knocking down 7/8 from behind the three-point arc to go on a 16-0 scoring run.

The Hawks were leading by as much as 15 points as a result and were up 52-42 by half-time still leaving the Senators with plenty of work to do should they want a fifth straight victory.

Warwick did take charge in the third quarter holding Perry Lakes to just nine points on 4/20 shooting while they put up 27 themselves even with going just 3/12 from behind the three-point arc.

That saw the Senators leading 69-66 by three quarter-time and they were able to hold firm throughout the last 10 minutes on the way to the eventual six-point victory.

Warwick improves to a 6-1 record with five straight wins as a result of the six-point triumph with Stacey Barr shaking off shooting 1/11 from behind the arc to still deliver 31 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals with 12/14 shooting at the foul line.

Chloe Forster also had 16 points and three assists, Kyana Weir nine points and three steals, Kiara Waite four points and 10 rebounds, and Nat Burton nine points and five rebounds back on her old home floor where she won a championship with for Perry Lakes.

Perry Lakes has now lost its past two matches to be 3-3 on the season with Grace Stone finishing with 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Ellie Newman added 20 points, six rebounds and two assists, Jayda Clark 10 points and six boards, and Maddy Dennis four points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 75 (Newman 20, Stone 20, Clark 10)

WARWICK SENATORS 81 (Barr 31, Forster 16, Weir 9, Burton 9)

 

Joondalup Wolves (64) defeated Willetton Tigers (50)

The Joondalup Wolves are on the board for the 2025 season with Maddie Sutton firing them to the 64-50 win over a Willetton Tigers dearly missing the powerful presence of Zitina Aokuso.

The Wolfpack were back home at Arena Joondalup having lost their first five matches of the 2025 season as they hosted a Tigers team who were sitting on a 4-1 record and on a four-game winning streak.

However, that lone loss so far for Willetton came without Aokuso in the line-up and they were once again without here on Friday night taking her 22.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 8.3 assists with her.

That was quite a hole for the Tigers try and cover and it did prove impossible even though it was only a narrow 13-12 lead for the Wolfpack by quarter-time with both teams combining to shoot 9/38 at 24 per cent.

Willetton did well in the second quarter with 250-game captain Desiree Kelley stepping up as they outscored Joondalup 18 points to 10 to go into the half-time interval leading 30-23.

For the Wolves to get their first win of the season, they needed a big second half and that started with 23 points to 11 in the third quarter as they turned a 10-point deficit into an eight-point lead.

Willetton remained ice cold in the fourth quarter shooting just 4/16 while the Wolves got to the foul line 15 times to secure the 14-point win and to open their account for the season.

The Wolfpack got the win despite shooting 29 per cent from the field but they did go 22/29 at the foul line and pulled down 57 rebounds to 41 while only sending Willetton to the charity stripe five times for the entire 40 minutes.

Maddie Sutton was playing her third game since joining Joondalup and produced a match-winning performance with 14 points, 22 rebounds and three assists.

Stefanie Berberabe top-scored with 17 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals with Ella Thornton-Elliott contributing eight points and two steals, Alecia Knowles six points and six rebounds, and Jorjah Smith six points and four assists.

Willetton are now 4-2 on the season with both losses coming without Zitina Aokuso and they show just 30 per cent for the game but more striking was the 1/5 for the entire night at the foul line.

Desiree Kelley didn’t get the 250-game celebration she was hoping for with 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals while Ajulu Thatha added 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Eva Langton 12 points, six boards and three assists.

JOONDALUP WOLVES 64 (Berberabe 17, Sutton 14, Thornton-Elliott 8)

WILLETTON TIGERS 50 (Thatha 14, Langton 12, Kelley 10)

MEN

Perry Lakes Hawks (77) lost to Warwick Senators (81)

No Elijah Pepper and still no Cody Ellis, but the Warwick Senators kept their unbeaten record intact on the back of scoring the game's last 10 points to beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 81-77.

The Senators arrived at Bendat Basketball Centre without Pepper who has on duty with the Australian Boomers in the three-game Trans-Tasman Throwdown this week taking his 43.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists a game with him.

Ellis is still yet to return from a calf injury but Mitch Clarke was on hand for the second weekend with the Senators and was up against his former team on his old home floor for the first time after 137 games and being a two-time championship winning point guard with Perry Lakes.

The Hawks came into the match up at home trying to hand the Senators a first loss of 2025 and fresh off an upset win on the road against the Willetton Tigers.

Perry Lakes made a strong start going on a 10-0 scoring run in the first quarter to lead by as much as eight and to be on top still 24-19 by quarter-time while limiting Warwick's three-point shooting to 2/10.

The Senators only marginally shot better in the second frame going 2/9 from downtown but they did manage 26 points even though it was the Hawks still leading 47-45 by half-time.

It was a seesaw battle throughout the second half with the Senators narrowly leading 63-62 by three quarter-time before the Hawks were back on top 77-71 with three minutes to play.

Warwick were staring down the barrel of a first loss of the season but they were able to dominate the last there minutes without giving up a single point to Perry Lakes.

Todd Withers then threw down a dunk for Warwick as did Tyler Shand before Keegan Phillips was called for a charge, and up the other end George Pearl knocked down the three ball and suddenly the Senators were up by one.

Perry Lakes had gone ice cold all of a sudden and the Senators were able to secure the win on a strong and-one completion from Withers as they finished the game scoring the last 10 points to go from being down six to win by four.

Mitch Clarke was playing his third game for the Senators and the first against the team he grew up playing for and had played 137 games and in two championships for. He led the charge for a Warwick team missing Elijah Pepper in the back court for 18 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Todd Withers also produced 18 points and seven rebounds, Cooper Creek 14 points, 10 boards and two blocked shots, Brody England 12 points and three rebounds, George Pearl 10 points, two boards and two assists, and Tyler Shand six points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals.

Up until the last three minutes the Hawks had done plenty right but they slip to a 3-4 record with the loss with Matt Leary top-scoring with 21 points on 4/11 three-point shooting.

Jaden Stanley-Williams added 13 points and eight rebounds for Perry Lakes, Davin Miller 12 points, 13 boards and two blocks, Keegan Phillips nine points, four assists and three rebounds, and 291-game veteran guard Seva Chan eight points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 77 (Leary 21, Stanley-Williams 13, Miller 12)

WARWICK SENATORS 81 (Withers 18, Clarke 18, Creek 14)

Joondalup Wolves (101) lost to Willetton Tigers (105)

A game of spectacular runs and huge performances ended up seeing the Willetton Tigers beat the Joondalup 105-101 on a career-best performance from Roosevelt Williams Jr with two late three-pointers.

The two teams entered the 2025 season after being top four finishers in 2024 with Willetton reaching the grand final and Joondalup heartbreakingly fallen short in a home preliminary final.

The Wolves had started the season winning four of six games ahead of hosting the Tigers at Arena Joondalup on Friday night with the Tigers arriving looking to bounce back from a surprise loss at home to the Perry Lakes Hawks.

Willetton got the better of the start scoring 12 consecutive points in the first quarter on the way to a 32-22 lead by the end of one having shot 13/21 while Joondalup missed all six of their three-point attempts.

It was the Tigers till leading 56-50 going into the half-time break after a high quality opening half before it was the turn of the Wolfpack to take charge in the third term going on a 17-0 run heading into three quarter-time.

That turned into a 25-0 streak for the Wolves when they also scored the first eight points of the fourth term to open up a 12-point lead on the back of three balls to Joey Baker and Ethan Elliott.

Willetton were then able to dramatically turn the tide back their way with the next seven points capped off with a three ball from Damien Scott.

Roosevelt Williams Jr then knocked down back-to-back threes as well to give the Tigers the two-point lead with a minute to play with that getting out to four when Taeshon Cherry made two free throws.

Tyreese Davis, though, missed two at the line to keep Joondalup alive down two with the last possession. In the end Turnage had a good look at the basket but passed out to Caleb Davis who had an equally good look at the winning three.

The shot looked good too but just rimmed out and the Tigers were able to secure the four-point win despite being down 12 early in the fourth term having given up 25 straight points.

Damien Scott showed he's not slowing down 357 games into his career with 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists on shooting 12/19 from the field and 3/6 from behind the arc.

Emerging point guard Roosevelt Williams Jr was also tremendous with 29 points, seven rebounds and four assists on shooting 13/17 from the floor and 3/4 from downtown.

Taeshon Cherry also had 23 points and four rebounds, Tyreese Davis 10 points, seven boards and four assists, and Tom Gerovich eight points, 12 assists and six rebounds.

The Wolves are now 4-3 following the loss despite Ethan Elliott continuing his stunning form to start the season with 32 points, seven assists, three steals and two rebounds on 11/17 shooting from the floor, 3/6 from downtown and 7/9 at the foul line.

CJ Turnage added 27 points and 12 rebounds, Joey Baker 16 points on 4/9 three-point shooting, Caleb Davis 10 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and newly arrived import Adili Kuerban 10 points and three boards.

JOONDALUP WOLVES 101 (Elliott 32, Turnage 27, Baker 16)

WILLETTON TIGERS 105 (Scott 30, Williams Jr 29, Cherry 23)