Flames, Tigers women both lose; Eagles break losing run (Week 7 Saturday night SBL wrap)

THE defending champion Rockingham Flames and Willetton Tigers lost their first games of the season respectively and the East Perth Eagles won for the first time in more than a year, and that's only the highlights of the women's SBL action on Anzac Day.

While the women's action saw the Flames and Tigers lose for the first time, and the Eagles win for the first time in 2015, also on Anzac Day there were five massive men's contests with the Magic, Buccaneers, Senators, Redbacks and Tigers all recording impressive victories.

The Anzac Day women's SBL action began in the afternoon with the Mandurah Magic beating the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 71-62 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

Then in the evening of Anzac Day, the Schweigen East Perth Eagles beat the Stirling Senators 56-51 at Morley Sports and Recreation Centre, the Perry Lakes Hawks downed the Perth Redbacks 66-36 at Curtin Stadium and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns upset the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 80-76 at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

And in the men's Anzac Day matches, it started in the afternoon with the Mandurah Magic beating the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 111-103 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

Then in the evening, the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers beat the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 107-91 at Active West Stadium and the Bethanie Stirling Senators downed the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 96-80 at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

The Perth Redbacks also scored a 108-91 win over the Perry Lakes Hawks at Curtin Stadium and the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers downed the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 103-85 at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

In the women's clashes on Anzac Day, the Magic started the day by handing the defending champion Flames their first loss of the season with a nine-point win at Rockingham with Mandurah dominating the second half outscoring the previously unbeaten Flames 45 to 27.

Both the Magic and Flames have now lost one match apiece with a tremendous rivalry already building between the Peel region clubs this season.

Casey Mihovilovich was once again outstanding for Mandurah finishing the afternoon with 25 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, three steals and three blocked shots on the back of shooting 7-of-21 from the field, 4-of-10 from downtown and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.

Ashlee Sidebottom was also terrific for the Magic with 18 points, eight boards and three assists while Emma Klasztorny added eight points and nine rebounds, Rachel Halleen seven points and five boards, and Briana Klasztorny six points and eight rebounds.

Jacinta Bourne top-scored for the Flames with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots and two steals in a strong all-round performance.

Darcee Garbin added 14 points and 12 rebounds also for Rockingham while Samantha Whitcomb had 10 points, eight boards and five assists, and Lizel Buckley seven points and nine rebounds.

And then the Eagles won their first game of the season and finally ended their 24-game losing streak that took in the last 16 matches of last season and the first eight of this year.

East Perth proved too strong for Stirling holding their opponents to just five third quarter points on the way to the eventual five-point win that was their first victory since April 11 last year when the Eagles beat the Redbacks.

Stephanie Jones had a remarkable game for the Eagles and it finished with her not scoring a solitary point and missing her six shots, but she did pull in 18 rebounds in a dominant display on the glass.

Kelsey Maffin ended up scoring 11 points and collecting nine boards as well for East Perth with Denielle Lipscombe contributing 11 points and six boards off the bench.

Jodee Sontay also scored 10 points for the Eagles and Nicole Jorre St Jorre 10 to go with six rebounds and four assists.

Cassie Bates top-scored for the Senators with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists with Tegan Walker adding 14 points, six boards and three steals.

Captain Amber Land also worked hard finishing with a strong all-round game for Stirling with nine points, 15 rebounds and five assists.

The Hawks then continued their winning run recording a fourth straight victory to improve to a 6-2 record by beating the Redbacks by 30 points at Curtin on Anzac Day.

Lauren Jeffers led the way again for Perry Lakes with 17 points, five steals, three rebounds and two assists while Kassi Conditt also had a big night with 16 points, 17 boards, two assists and two blocked shots.

Megan McKay finished with a double-double as well for the Hawks with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Mia Satie contributed eight points off the bench.

Jess Jakens top-scored for the Redbacks with 13 points, three rebounds and two assists but no other player scored more than four points or had more than the six boards pulled in by Lauren Hall and Alix Hayward.

There was then another upset in the women's action with the Eastern Suns beating the Tigers by four points at home with Kalamunda winning just their second game of the season and handing Willetton its first defeat of 2015.

Thea Lemberger was the star of the night for the Suns finishing with 25 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals on the back of shooting 11-of-19 from the floor and 3-of-7 from three-point territory.

Jessie Edwards also added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Eastern Suns with Madeleine Dennis contributing 12 points and five boards, Abbey Duinker 10 points and five rebounds, Melissa Moyle nine points, four boards and four assists, and Rebecca Motroni nine points, four rebounds and three assists.

Ebony Antonio top-scored for the Tigers who lost their first game of the season and she finished with 16 points and four rebounds while Lisa Wallbutton had a big performance off the bench with 15 points and 13 boards.

Kate Malpass also contributed 14 points, 10 assists, three steals and two rebounds for Willetton with Zoe Harper finishing with 12 points and Louella Tomlinson 10 to go with eight boards, three assists and three blocked shots.

And in the men's action on Anzac Day, it started in Rockingham with the Magic recording an eight-point victory over the Flames.

That sees Mandurah improve to a 7-3 record with its fourth straight win while Rockingham has now lost five of its last six to now hold a 5-5 record.

Rhett Della had a big afternoon for the Magic with 31 points, 13 rebounds and four assists while shooting 10-of-18 from the field and 11-of-15 from the foul line.

Ben Smith finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds as well for Mandurah while Taylor Mullenax contributed 17 points and 12 boards, Trent Gerovich 17 points, Paul Hafford 13 points and six rebounds, and Jarrad Jackson 12 points, five assists, four steals and three boards.

Cooper Land did all he could for the Flames finishing with 24 points, 16 rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocked shots with Ryan Godfrey adding 23 points.

Travis Moore contributed 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Rockingham with Jarryd Griffin adding 11 points, four rebounds and two assists, and Taylor Land 11 points, six assists and three steals.

The Buccaneers won their ninth straight match on Anzac Day evening keeping the Giants winless so far in 2015 with the 18-point victory at home.

Bennie Lewis led the way for the Buccs with 28 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots while shooting 9-of-18 from the field, 2-of-5 from three-point range and 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.

Aaron Ralph contributed 27 points and 10 rebounds for Geraldton while Carter Cook added 20 points, three boards, three assists and two steals, Mat Wundenberg 10 points and 17 rebounds, Quincy Hankins-Cole 10 points and 12 boards, and Daniel Thomas nine points and eight assists.

Jacob Holmen did all he could to try and get the Giants over the line finishing with 27 points and 14 rebounds while Jay Bowie contributed 16 points, Mathiang Muo 15 points and six rebounds, Russell Hurst 12 points and 10 boards, and Edin Zunic eight points and six rebounds.

The Senators then backed up their nail-biting win over the Lakeside Lightning on Friday night with a 16-point win over the Eagles in Morley on Saturday night with the defending champion East Perth now having eight straight matches to be struggling with a 1-8 record.

Kyle Lindbergh finished with 17 points, five assists, five blocked shots, three rebounds and two steals for Stirling while Cody Ellis contributed 17 points, seven boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks.

Austin Bruton added 13 points and six rebounds for the winning Senators while Ashley Litterick finished with 13 points, six boards, four assists and two blocks.

Jamie Barnett top-scored for the Eagles who were again without Tom Jervis finishing with 19 points and four rebounds with Drew Williamson adding 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Sunday Dech contributed 14 points and 12 boards for East Perth as well with Joe-Alan Tupaea finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

The Redbacks improved to a 4-5 record thanks to a 17-point home victory over the Hawks on Saturday night with Perry Lakes slipping to a fourth successive defeat and a 2-7 record.

Ray Turner had a remarkable night for the Redbacks and led his team to the win with 45 points, 22 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots on the back of shooting 16-of-29 from the field and 13-of-16 from the foul line.

Ben Smith also contributed 25 points and four rebounds for Perth while Joel Wagner finished with 12 points, seven assists and six boards, and Ashley Stephens nine points and five rebounds.

Bryton Hobbs tried to keep pace with the efforts of Tucker for the Redbacks and he finished with 35 points, six rebounds and two steals for the Hawks while shooting 15-of-28 from the floor and 2-of-5 from long range.

Ben Purser added 18 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots for Perry Lakes with Ryan Smith contributing 15 points and 11 boards, and James Elliott 12 points and four rebounds.

The Tigers beat the Eastern Suns by 18 points at Kalamunda with Willetton best served by Damien Scott who finished the evening with 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Kyle Armour also contributed 16 points, 14 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks for the Tigers while Ephrem Davis added 17 points, 11 boards and three blocked shots.

Nic Cody added 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals as well for Willetton while shooting an efficient 5-of-8 from the floor and Corey Easley chipped in with 17 points and 12 boards off the bench.

Kevin Anthony had 23 points and nine rebounds for the Eastern Suns with Lien Phillip having a monster night with 23 points and 20 rebounds.

Seva Chan continued his impressive form with the Suns with another 18 points and five rebounds with Jaarod Holmes contributing eight points, five boards and four steals, and Geordie Murray eight points off the bench.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 62 lost to Mandurah Magic 71
Schweigen East Perth Eagles 56 defeated Stirling Senators 51
Perth Redbacks 36 lost to Perry Lakes Hawks 66
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 80 defeated Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 76

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 103 lost to Mandurah Magic 111
S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 107 defeated Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 91
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 80 lost to Bethanie Stirling Senators 96
Perth Redbacks 108 defeated Perry Lakes Hawks 91
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 85 lost to Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 103

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by HoopShots




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