West Recap | Round 7 Saturday

Image credit: Mark Filpo (@codexdesignstudio)

Sasha Goodlett dominated for East Perth Eagles with 42 points and 14 rebounds in the NBL1 West with the South West Slammers winning a second game and Geraldton Buccaneers captain Aaron Ralph shot himself within touching distance as all-time three-point leader.

ANTONIO ALL IN ON EAGLES AFTER HECTIC INTRODUCTION

WEST RECAP | ROUND 7 FRIDAY

EMERGING STAR WEIR THRIVING IN SENATORS ENVIRONMENT

WEST RECAP | ROUND 7 THURSDAY

WOMEN

Perth Redbacks (67) lost to Warwick Senators (82)

The Warwick Senators hit back from a loss the previous night to hit the road and limit the influence of Anneli Maley to beat the Perth Redbacks 82-67 at Belmont Oasis.

Both teams played on Friday night with the Senators seeing their five-game winning streak ended by the undefeated Cockburn Cougars while the Redbacks won a thriller over the Lakeside Lightning with both Maley and Natalie Chou especially impressive.

It shaped as a crucial match up too with both teams deserving to have championship aspirations especially with the Senators still to welcome in Emma Gandini and now that the Redbacks have got back Maley when she didn’t make a final WNBA roster.

Perth was back home at Belmont Oasis and opened up a nine-point lead in the first quarter but that advantage was back to just three at quarter-time.

Warwick worked on top in the second term thanks to 21 points to 16 and went into the half-time break leading 39-37.

Then in the third quarter the Senators really took control and even completely a run of scoring 23 points in-a-row to all of a sudden open up a 20-point lead.

There would be no comeback from the Redbacks from there with the Senators going on to score the 15-point win to mean that both teams end up splitting their double-header weekends.

Warwick now finish the weekend with a 7-2 record for the season so far with Chloe Forster starring with 24 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals with 4/9 three-point shooting.

Two-time MVP Stacey Barr also had 17 points and three assists for the Senators, Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard 15 points, 11 boards and three steals, Kyana Weir 12 points, and Nat Burton 10 points, 14 rebounds and three assists.

The Redbacks are now 5-3 on the season after a win and a loss this weekend with Natalie Chou top-scoring but it was only with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists on 6/20 shooting.

Anneli Maley couldn’t quite have her usual impact with nine points and 11 rebounds on 3/15 shooting while Shenae Hartree returned for Perth this weekend for the first time in 2025 and she had 10 points and nine rebounds in almost 14 minutes of court time.

Sophie Doran also celebrated her 100th game in a career that has included championships at Willetton and Rockingham, and had five points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Redbacks.

PERTH REDBACKS 67 (Chou 14, Hartree 10, Maley 9, Rhebok 9)

WARWICK SENATORS 82 (Forster 24, Barr 17, Clinch Hoycard 15)

East Perth Eagles (103) defeated Mandurah Magic (96)

Sasha Goodlett delivered the type of unstoppable performance that she's been threatening all season with 42 points and 14 rebounds as the East Perth Eagles scored the 103-96 home win over the Mandurah Magic.

The Eagles suffered their first loss of the season two weeks ago at the hands of the Warwick Senators but that was only when they couldn’t quite complete two chances at a winner just before the buzzer.

They had the bye last weekend so were back in action at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre on Saturday night hosting a Magic coming off playing at home on Thursday and beating the Joondalup Wolves.

The teams had already played earlier this season too with the Eagles winning in Mandurah by eight points, and it was the Magic looking for revenge and starting well with 29 points to 21 in the first quarter.

The Eagles were able to turn the tide in the second quarter and it all started by going inside to Goodlett and things happened from there. East Perth put up 27 points to 18 for the period that saw the home team go into half-time narrowly leading 48-47.

The Eagles built a double-figure lead in the third quarter and were still on top 75-67 by three quarter-time having shot 12/17 from the floor in that period.

Even though East Perth did lead by as much as 15 in the last term, the Magic did get back as close as five when McKenna Dale knocked down a three with a minute to play.

But it was a crucial and crafty and-one from Abby Cubillo that steadied the Eagles and they secured the seven-point win from there to improve to a 5-1 record on the season.

Sasha Goodlett has joined the NBL1 West this season having had a brilliant career as a dominant big all over the world including winning a WNBA championship, and she proved unstoppable for the Eagles on Saturday night.

She finished with 42 points 14 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots on 19/22 shooting from the field and 4/6 at the foul line.

Madison Torresin was outstanding too with 26 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists on 9/15 shooting with Awatea Leach adding 13 points, six assists, five steals and three boards, and Abby Cubillo 13 points, 10 assists and two rebounds.

The Magic are now 5-4 on the season having split their pair of Round 7 match ups with McKenna Dale also having a huge night in her fascinating match up with Goodlett.

Dale finished with 35 points, eight rebounds and two assists on 12/14 shooting from the floor, 7/8 from downtown and 4/4 at the foul line.

Grace Berg also had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Claire Jacobs 21 points and three assists, and the league's legendary games record holder Casey Mihovilovich four rebounds, four assists and five steals.

EAST PERTH EAGLES 103 (Goodlett 42, Torresin 26, Leach 13, Cubillo 13)

MANDURAH MAGIC 96 (Dale 35, Berg 22, Jacobs 21)

Willetton Tigers (76) defeated Goldfields Giants (47)

The Willetton Tigers took full advantage of a Goldfields Giants team being without Nici Gilday to end up winning 76-47 at home on Saturday night.

The Giants came to Perth for their road double this weekend without import guard Gilday who was suspended for both games after an incident late in last week's home game against the Mandurah Magic where she made contact with Ariana Wheki.

She was still suspended for the two games despite it being accepted at the tribunal that the contact was not intentional, and it did significantly hurt the chances of Goldfields being able to be competitive this weekend starting on Saturday night at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

The Tigers were still without the powerful presence of Zitina Aokuso but they had the more depth to cover her absence and it was a completely dominant opening quarter from Willetton.

They outscored the Giants 28 points to five while shooting 11/19 themselves and keeping Goldfields to just 2/13.

Willetton put up another 20 points 13 in the second term to lead by as much as 30 and to go into half-time on top 48-18.

The lead for the Tigers did grow to as great as 37 in the second half before they ended up winning by 29 while shooting 41 per cent from the field and 30 per cent from three while the Giants managed just 26 per cent overall and went 3/28 at 11 per cent from three.

Willetton improves to 6-2 on the season with the win with Ajulu Thatha starring once more with 19 points, 15 rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Eva Langton also delivered 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals with Desiree Kelley adding nine points, four boards, three assists and two steals, and Matilda Muir seven points and six rebounds.

The Giants are now 2-5 on the season ahead of playing the undefeated Cockburn Cougars on Sunday with Erin Antosh finishing with 19 points and seven rebounds.

Kate Sidebottom ended up with 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals, and Kiriana Hawaikirangi pulled down 10 rebounds and had five assists in her first game of the season having come back from Snow College in Utah.

WILLETTON TIGERS 76 (Thatha 19, Langton 18, Kelley 9)

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 47 (Antosh 19, Sidebottom 14, Zorzi 5, Clinch Hoycard 5)

Kalamunda Eastern Suns (73) lost to South West Slammers (83)

Having not won for nearly three years to start the 2025 season, the South West Slammers now have two wins on the board in the first nine matches after beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 83-73 in overtime.

The Slammers won the first game of the season when they also downed the Eastern Suns at Eaton Recreation Centre with the return encounter taking place on Saturday night at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

Kalamunda were on their home floor and still hunting a first win of 2025 having lost the first six matches and while the Slammers hadn’t won since beating the Suns back in Round 1, they had put in some strong showings including against the defending champions Rockingham on Friday night.

The Eastern Suns were at home but were also without Karly Murphy who has been averaging 23.2 points and 15.3 rebounds for them so far in 2025.

It was South West clinging to the 23-22 lead by quarter-time and things remained close leading into half-time with the Suns narrowly leading 42-39 at the main break.

The Suns were smelling that first victory of the season and knocked down four triples in the third quarter to open up a nine-point lead, and then they were up 12 at the start of the fourth thanks to three balls from Alyssa Bowen and Jemma Gartrell.

There was a chance that should Kalamunda just make the next basket and the lead might have been too much for the Slammers to claw back in the last eight minutes, but South West scored next with a three ball from Cayla King.

Then just five minutes later and the Slammers had got all the way back level when Addison Edwards scored with just two minutes to play.

Alexis Donovan put them in front before Olivia Berry answered for the Suns and that's where scores stayed all locked up at 69-69 at the end of regulation.

It was then all the Slammers in overtime with the only four points for the Suns all coming at the foul line while they missed all nine shot attempts but South West poured on 14 points to claim the 10-point win.

The victory improves the Slammers to a 2-6 record on the season with the two imports putting in strong performances. Mykea Gray finished with 18 points and eight rebounds and Cayla King 18 points, five boards, four assists and three steals with 4/8 three-point shooting.

Kate Fielding then produced 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists while playing 37 minutes in the 353rd game of her career.

Addison Edwards also had 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals, and Javene Fitch 12 points and two boards.

The Eastern Suns are now 0-7 on the season remaining the only team yet to win in 2025 with Alyssa Bowen finishing with 17 points, 14 rebounds and three assists.

Emma Strelein also had 17 points, five steals, two rebounds and two assists, Yume Knoll 11 points, five boards and five assists, and Olivia Berry 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 73 (Bowen 17, Strelein 17, Knoll 11)

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 83 (Gray 18, King 18, Fielding 17)

MEN

Geraldton Buccaneers (96) defeated Perry Lakes Hawks (68)

The Geraldton Buccaneers losing consecutive home games was always going to be mighty unlikely and Aaron Ralph moved to potentially within one game of being the all-time three-point leader by playing a key role in the 96-68 win over the Perry Lakes Hawks.

The Buccs did lose their first home game of the season last Saturday night against the East Perth Eagles which would have made them nice and fired up to welcome the Hawks to Active West Stadium this week.

Perry Lakes arrived in solid form, though, including pushing the Warwick Senators more than any other team has been able to so far this season before losing by four points last Friday night.

Geraldton didn’t get the hot start they would have been hoping with Perry Lakes managing to lead 18-14 by half-time before it remained a tight contest leading into half-time after Geraldton outscored the Hawks 19 points to 11.

The saw the Buccs leading 33-29 at half-time with the home team only shooting 11/33 from the field while Perry Lakes were also struggling at 12/37.

The Buccaneers came out a different outfit in the third quarter and they piled on 38 points thanks to shooting 14/19 from the field including knocking down 4/8 from three-point territory.

That included scoring 18 consecutive points and they would end up leading 27 which got out to 31 in the fourth term and from there the Buccs cruised to the 28-point victory.

Geraldton improves to a 5-3 record as a result of the win with Johny Narkle delivering 25 points, eight rebounds, five steals and two assists with 8/15 shooting from the field, 3/6 from downtown and 6/7 at the foul line.

Then there was captain Aaron Ralph in his 466th game knocking down 6/9 from beyond the three-point arc for 20 points. That now takes him to 1092 career three-point makes as he chases down the all-time record of Ryan Neill who hit 1097 in 487 games.

Josh Keyes also added 13 points and five rebounds, Verle Williams 11 points, six assists, five boards and three steals, and Akeem Springs seven points, four rebounds and four assists.

Perry Lakes are now 3-5 following the loss and while they got some good performances especially out of Nick Floyd with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, they needed more from imports Jaden Stanley-Williams and Davin Miller.

Stanley-Williams finished with just eight points and five rebounds on 2/11 shooting with Miller having four points and five rebounds on 1/6.

Matt Leary did have 10 points and six rebounds for the Hawks, Keegan Phillips nine points and two boards, and Luke Phillips nine points, five rebounds and three assists.

GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 96 (Narkle 25, Ralph 20, Keyes 13)

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 68 (Floyd 15, Leary 10, L Phillips 9, K Phillips 9)

Perth Redbacks (69) lost to Warwick Senators (101)

The Warwick Senators remain the lone undefeated men's team in the NBL1 West after a dominant showing over the shorthanded Perth Redbacks to score the 101-69 win.

Both teams had already played the night before ahead of the clash at Belmont Oasis with the Senators improving to an 8-0 record beating the Cockburn Cougars while the Redbacks snapped a four-game losing slide by beating the Lakeside Lightning.

The job for the Redbacks was made all the tougher with the continued absence of Joe Cook-Green and Callan McDonald while the Cougars were also without coach Andrew Cooper who is currently in the United States for his daughter Jesni's college graduation.

Mitch Clarke helped the Senators to the flying start hitting three early triples and having 11 points to his name in the opening minutes.

Elijah Pepper then closed the opening quarter with a pair of three balls himself and Warwick went into quarter-time already leading 31-11 having made 7/15 downtown in those first 10 minutes.

It was another 31 points in the second term from the Senators as they hit another 6/10 from behind the arc to go into half-time in control 62-33 with their perfect record looking safe.

To the credit of the Redbacks they did score nine straight points in the third quarter and stand-in Warwick coach Daniel Vlahov had to blow an early timeout – and he made it a standing one.

The Senators did still outscore the Senators the rest of the way with the lead getting out to as much as 37 points before they secured the 32-point victory.

Warwick improve to a perfect 9-0 record with the pair of wins this weekend even without their head coach with Elijah Pepper hitting another 6/14 from three-point territory for 29 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Mitch Clarke added 20 points, nine assists, four steals and three rebounds, George Pearl 13 points, five assists and three rebounds, and Brody England 10 points and four boards while Cody Ellis made his return from a calf injury suffered on opening night to have four rebounds in 13 minutes.

The Redbacks are now 3-6 having split their two games this weekend with Jonah Underwood finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds, Michael Riley 13 points and four boards, Lochlan Cummings 12 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Emmanuel Kanwei eight points and 10 boards.

PERTH REDBACKS 69 (Riley 13, Underwood 13, Cummings 12)

WARWICK SENATORS 101 (Pepper 29, Clarke 20, Pearl 13)

East Perth Eagles (86) lost to Mandurah Magic (88)

No more than nine points ever separated the two teams and the East Perth Eagles got scores back level in the last quarter, but the defending champion Mandurah Magic answered the challenge for the 88-86 road win.

The Eagles were back home at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre fresh off their best performance of the season to win in Geraldton last Saturday night on the back of adding Jonah Antonio to the line-up who has spent the past three NBL seasons at the Cairns Taipans.

East Perth were looking to build on that momentum hosting a Magic team trying to bounce back from a loss at home to the Joondalup Wolves back on Thursday night.

The Eagles started well on their home floor opening up a seven-point lead but the Magic then got going and ended up being on top 27-24 by quarter-time.

Mandurah never again trailed the rest of the night but at the same time it remained a close contest entire match as well.

The Magic were leading 50-43 by the half-time break and did open up a nine-point lead during the third quarter, and were still up 66-62 by three quarter-time.

Mandurah were back up seven early in the fourth quarter as well but East Perth weren’t going away and by the time Max Rice scored with just over two minutes to go, the scores were all locked away at 81-81.

East Perth had all the momentum too but Mandurah responded with scores at the basket to Sammie Freeman and Hamish Warden with the latter converting his shot into a three-point play.

That made the Magic lead five once more and ultimately a Jahcoree Ealy layup when the seas parted for him was the one that clinched the eventual two-point victory for the defending champions.

Mandurah improves to a 6-3 record in defence of their title following the victory with Ealy ending up top-scoring with 20 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Lachlan Bertram added 19 points, four rebounds and two assists, Julian Pesava 18 points, 10 assists, five boards and two steals, and Sammie Freeman 13 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.

The Eagles are still yet to win consecutive games this season now sitting on a 2-5 record with Ioannis Dimakopoulos putting in h is best performance of 2025 so far with 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists on 9/14 shooting.

Lee Roberts added 20 points, 15 rebounds and two assists with Max Rice contributing 18 points and two assists, and Jonah Antonio 13 points, 12 boards and five assists.

EAST PERTH EAGLES 86 (Dimakopoulos 21, Roberts 20, Rice 18)

MANDURAH MAGIC 88 (Ealy 20, Bertram 19, Pesava 18)

Willetton Tigers (70) lost to Goldfields Giants (81)

On a night where Taeshon Cherry was virtually a lone hand for the Willetton Tigers, the Goldfields Giants had a variety guns stepping up for the eventual 81-70 victory to start their road double.

The Tigers had won their past two and five of seven so far this season ahead of returning to Willetton Basketball Stadium on Saturday night to host the visiting Giants.

However, Willetton were without key pair Tom Gerovich and Roosevelt William Jr while the Giants arrived with a chip on their shoulder following home losses to the Rockingham Flames and Mandurah Magic over the past two weeks.

Goldfields did start well away from home for an early five-point lead but the Tigers worked on top and were up 28-21 by the end of one.

The Giants were rewarded by attacking the basket more in the second term and got to the foul line 14 times which got some Tigers in foul trouble including 359-game veteran guard Damien Scott.

Despite that, Willetton were still clinging to the 44-41 lead by half-time even with shooting 5/23 from three with the Giants only putting up five three-point attempts.

Goldfields were able to assume the lead by three quarter-time but it was only by a point. However, they did take control in the final 10 minutes outscoring Willetton 21 points to 11 on the way to the 11-point road victory.

The Giants did end up shooting 47 per cent from the field opposed to Willetton's 39 while going just 3/10 from three while the Tigers put up 28 more attempts for 5/38. Goldfields then went 20/29 from the free-throw line too and Willetton just 7/11.

Giants captain De'Sean Parsons finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists on 7/11 shooting from the floor and 8/12 at the stripe.

Shaun Stewart also had 22 points, four rebounds and two assists on 9/13 shooting with Joshua Duach contributing 19 points, eight boards, three steals and two assists, Leigh Rickwood-Pitt seven points and nine rebounds, and Michael Jok six points, eight boards, three assists, three steals and two blocks.

Willetton are now 5-3 on the season following the loss without two of their key players with Taeshon Cherry finishing with 32 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Ultimately he didn’t get enough help, though, with fellow import Tyreese Davis ending up just with two points on 1/7 shooting.

Michael Vigor did have seven points, 10 rebounds and two assists in his 309th game with 297-game captain Andrew Black adding seven points and two assists, and 318-game veteran Kyle Armour six points and three assists on 2/3 three-point shooting.

WILLETTON TIGERS 70 (Cherry 32, Black 7, Vigor 7)

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 81 (Stewart 22, Parsons 22, Duach 19)

Kalamunda Eastern Suns (106) defeated South West Slammers (81)

The shackles were unleashed for the Kalamunda Eastern Suns and they had six players scoring in double digits led by 24 from Marshall Nelson to make it consecutive wins with the 106-81 victory over the South West Slammers.

The Eastern Suns did storm home last week to beat the Cockburn Cougars but scoring hadn’t been coming easily so far for them this season averaging just 78 points a game over the opening six rounds.

They were back at Ray Owen Sports Centre on Saturday night hosting a Slammers team still chasing a first win of 2025 but who have been close recently against the Joondalup Wolves and Rockingham Flames.

That included that loss the previous night at Eaton Recreation Centre to the Flames so the Slammers deserved to head to the hills thinking their first win of the season was close to coming.

After the Suns got up six early in the game, the Slammers responded with 10 straight points to take their own four-point lead and to be up 23-22 by quarter-time.

Kalamunda then fired up in the second frame with 31 points to 21 including getting to the foul line 13 times to go into the half-time break leading 53-44.

The Eastern Suns went on with the job from there in the second half with 32 points to 18 in the third term, and 21 to 19 in the fourth to open up a lead as big as 28 points before ending up winning by 25.

It was the best offensive performance of the season from the Suns with the 106 points on the back of shooting 53 per cent from the floor, going 11/25 from deep and in turn holding the Slammers to 81 points on 39 per cent shooting and 7/29 from behind the arc.

The victory improves Kalamunda to a 4-5 record on the season with the back-to-back wins with Marshall Nelson delivering 24 points, six assists and four rebounds.

He had plenty of help too with Travis Fee producing 16 points, four assists, three boards and two steals, Marley Sam 14 points, four steals and three assists, Lewis Thomas 13 points and four rebounds, Joel Vaiangina 12 points, eight boards and four assists, and Dyson Lowe 10 points.

That's two more losses this weekend for the season for the Slammers who are now 0-9 despite Jamal Poplar continuing to impress with his energy around the basket with another 26 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and two assists.

Devan Craig added 13 points, three rebounds and two assists, Rivar Evans 12 points, three boards, three assists and two steals, and Pharell Keats 10 points, seven assists, five steals and three rebounds.

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 106 (Nelson 24, Fee 16, Sam 14)

SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 81 (Poplar 26, Craig 13, Evans 12)