Tigers women secure spot; up to Magic/Wolves for men (Week 20 Friday night SBL wrap)

THE Willetton Tigers women guaranteed a playoff position with a win in Friday night's SBL action ending the season of the South West Slammers while only one of the Mandurah Magic or Joondalup Wolves men's teams will now make the post-season depending on the Saturday night results.

The three women's matches on Friday night saw the Lakeside Lightning thrash the Joondalup Wolves 85-56 at Lakeside Recreation Centre, the Willetton Tigers win a thriller 72-69 over the Mandurah Magic at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre and the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames hammer the Stirling Senators 113-75 at Warwick Leisure Centre.

The results mean that top eight women's teams are now set heading into the playoffs next week.

The Tigers had to win one of their two matches this weekend and took care of business on Friday night to now mean that the 2012 champions, and the team that knocked out Willetton last season the South West Slammers can't make the 2014 women's SBL playoffs.

The Lightning and Wolves were both going to finish second and third respectively no matter what happened on Friday night, but it was Lakeside who geared up for the playoffs in winning form recording a 29-point win over the defending champions.

Emily Fielding was the star of the night for the Lightning with 30 points, four rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots on the back of shooting 11-of-19 from the field, and 4-of-8 from three-point territory.

Krystal Stoneking added 17 points and nine boards with Lakeside while Kari Pickens also finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Alex Kerr top-scored for the Wolves with 13 points and five rebounds while Megan Lee contributed 11 points.

The Tigers came into the weekend needing to either beat the Magic on Friday night or the Redbacks on Saturday, and Willetton defeated Mandurah on the road on Friday by just the three points to guarantee a playoff berth.

The win improves Willetton to a 9-12 record now in eighth position where it will finish while Mandurah is 11-10 in seventh and likely to stay there as well.

Melissa Marsh led the way for Willetton finishing with 24 points on the back of shooting 7-of-14 from the floor and 8-of-12 from the free-throw line.

Ebony Antonio also added 17 points and eight boards for the Tigers with Lisa Wallbutton contributing 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Casey Mihovilovich did all she could for the Magic finishing with 26 points and four assists while hitting 4-of-8 from downtown.

Briana Klasztorny also finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for Mandurah with Hailey Dunham contributing nine points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Flames ensured they will finish the regular season a game clear on top of the women's standings with a 38-point hammering of a Senators team needing to win.

Rockingham will now finish the season as minor premiers with a 20-2 record while Stirling will finish on 12-10 and looks set to finish in sixth-place to set up a quarter-final berth with the defending champion Wolves.

Samantha Whitcomb had an outstanding night for the Flames with 25 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals with Kate Williams contributing 19 points on the back of shooting 5-of-9 from three-point territory.

Darcee Garbin added 15 points and 10 rebounds for Rockingham with Jacinta Bourne finishing with 13 points and eight boards, and Talisia Bourne 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Taylor Wild top-scored for the Senators with 22 points while hitting 8-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-8 from downtown.

Tegan Walker also contributed 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists with Amber Land finishing with 10 points, 13 boards and four assists.

All three men's matches on Friday night had playoff implications with the Lakeside Lightning beating the Joondalup Wolves 109-98 at Lakeside Recreation Centre, the Mandurah Magic defeating the Willetton Tigers 138-121 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre and the Stirling Senators hammering the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 125-87 at Warwick Leisure Centre.

Those results mean that the Buccaneers, Flames, Redbacks, Lightning and Senators are guaranteed of making up the top five men's positions heading into the playoffs next week.

The Slammers and Eagles now are guaranteed of at least making the playoffs as well with the Magic and Wolves the two teams fighting over the last position in the top eight heading into the final night of competition.

The Lightning scored an important eight-point win over the Wolves to mean that they will not finish any lower than fourth with a 16-10 record while Joondalup left its season finishing on 14-12 and needing some luck now just to make the playoffs at all.

The Lightning's regular season is now over and they are going to either finish third or fourth depending on the Saturday night results while the Wolves have a nervous wait with their regular season over as well.

Joondalup will finish eighth if the Slammers beat the Magic but the Wolves will miss out on post-season action altogether if Mandurah beats South West.

Brad Tinsley led the way for the Lightning with 33 points, four assists and three rebounds while shooting 12-of-19 from the field.

Jesse Dixon contributed 16 points for Lakeside with Caleb Palkert adding 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Jarrad Prue 10 points, 18 boards, three blocked shots and two assists.

Trian Iliadis top-scored for the Wolves with 24 points, six rebounds and six assists with Rob Huntington adding 18 points and eight boards.

Seb Salinas also contributing 14 points, six rebounds and six assists with Ephrem Davis adding 13 points and nine boards, and Rhys Smith 13 points and five rebounds.

The Magic had a massive final quarter to beat the Tigers by 17 points in impressive fashion but in the end the result meant nothing with Willetton already out of finals contention and Mandurah still needing to win on Saturday night anyway.

Even though the Magic scored the impressive win, it actually did nothing to change their playoff chances.

Mandurah now still needs to beat South West on Saturday night to finish in eighth place while a loss for the Magic will mean they finish ninth.

Captain Taylor Mullenax led the way for the Magic with 32 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots on the back of shooting 13-of-20 from the field and 5-of-7 from three-point range.

Ben Smith also finished with 30 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks for Mandurah with Paul Hafford adding 27 points, six boards and six assists.

Trent Gerovich added 14 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Magic with Rhett Della finishing with 14 points, seven boards and four assists and Daniel Florance 10 points.

Willetton imports Quinn McDowell and John Dickson did all they could with McDowell finishing with 42 points and eight rebounds while Dickson added 40 points, 12 boards, two steals and two blocked shots.

The Senators geared up for the playoffs impressively with a 38-point hammering of the second-placed Flames.

The Flames were going to finish second no matter the result on Friday night so that changes nothing but for the Senators, their season ends with a 16-10 record and they will either finish fourth or fifth depending on what happens on Saturday.

Jordan Wild top-scored for the Senators with 25 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and two steals while Cory Cooperwood adding 24 points, seven boards and five assists, Cody Ellis 21 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Josh Throns also contributed 17 points for Stirling and Austin Bruton 12 to go with three assists.

Ryan Godfrey top-scored for Rockingham with 20 points while Taylor Land added 14 points, Tom Remmerswaal 12, Andrew Bowman 12 and Travis Moore 12.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Lakeside Lightning 85 defeated Joondalup Wolves 56
Mandurah Magic 69 lost to Willetton Tigers 72
Stirling Senators 75 lost to Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 113

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Lakeside Lightning 109 defeated Joondalup Wolves 98
Mandurah Magic 138 defeated Willetton Tigers 121
Stirling Senators 125 defeated Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 87

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by June Halliday




Comments

Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.

Download the GameDay App!

Stay up-to-date with your favourite teams and keep an eye on your rivals by accessing the latest match results, fixtures and stats via GameDay App.

GameDay Splash Screen
App Store Google Play