SATURDAY night's SBL action was the first time a host of teams turned out for the 2014 season with both of Stirling and Wanneroo's units coming away victorious while the South West Slammers were emphatic against the Goldfields Giants.

There were four men's SBL games played on Saturday night with the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers beating the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 127-88, the Rockingham Flames downing the Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers 100-93, the Stirling Senators defeating the Perth Redbacks 102-95 and the Wanneroo Wolves winning against the Willetton Tigers 107-88.

There were just the two women's SBL matches on Saturday night with the Stirling Senators beating the Perth Redbacks 92-52 and the defending champion Wanneroo Wolves defeating the Willetton Tigers 64-56.

In men's action, the Slammers opened their 2014 campaign in emphatic fashion hammering the Giants at Eaton Recreation Centre on Saturday night by 39 points.

Playing-coach Ty Harrelson led the way for South West with 31 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals but he had plenty of support on the night.

Clive Weeden finished with 30 points and eight rebounds with Jonathan Todd Hendley contributing 20 points and eight boards, and Lee Smith 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

It was a tough way for Goldfields to open its season with Kyle Keirnan top-scoring off the bench with 14 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Duran Blue also finished with 13 points for the Giants with Tommy Hannon scoring 12 points, Travis McIlroy 12, Miles Tierney 10 and Matthew Leske 10.

The Rockingham Flames then bounced back from losing to the Redbacks on Friday by downing the Geraldton Buccaneers by seven points at the Mike Barnett Sports Complex on Saturday night.

Cooper Land again was the star of the show for the Flames finishing with 33 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists on the back of shooting 6-of-11 from three-point territory.

Tom Remmerswaal also contributed 25 points and six rebounds for Rockingham with Taylor Land finishing with 16 points, nine boards and eight assists as he closed in on a triple-double.

In the Buccaneers' first appearance for 2014, Bennie Lewis and Aaron Ralph were equal top-scorers with 27 points apiece while Carter Cook scored 25 points to go with seven rebounds.

The Perth Redbacks couldn’t quite make it a double win weekend to open 2014 with the Stirling Senators prevailing in a tight affair by seven points at Warwick Leisure Centre.

The difference in the end was a 35-point third quarter by the Senators.

Cory Cooperwood starred for Stirling finishing with 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists on the back of shooting 11-of-19 from the field.

Josh Throns was also a strong performer for the Senators with 25 points and nine rebounds while Austin Bruton added 16 points off the bench and Jordan Wild also had a good night with 14 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Stan Okoye backed up his good night on Friday with another standout performance for the Redbacks on Saturday finishing with 28 points and six rebounds.

Joel Wagner also finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists with Dennis Tawhiti adding 16 points, Jarrad Prior 13 and Jarrad Jackson 11.

Last year's grand finalists Wanneroo also had a good start to its 2014 season with a 19-point win on the road to the Tigers at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

Trian Iliadis led the way for the Wolves with 23 points, 10 rebounds and three assists with Rob Huntington adding 21 points, Seb Salinas 18, Reece Maxwell 17 and Sean Easther 10 to go with 11 rebounds.

John Dickson couldn’t possibly have done any more for Willetton finishing the night with 41 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals on the back of 15-of-25 from the field and 11-of-13 from the foul line.

Meanwhile, the Redbacks women arrived at Warwick Leisure Centre on Saturday night coming off an opening night 44-point loss at home to the Rockingham Flames.

The Stirling Senators were playing their first game of the 2014 season as well and were keen to make a statement, and that's exactly what they did against the Redbacks recording a 40-point victory.

Tegan Walker top-scored for the Senators with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists with Taylor Wild adding 15 points and six assists, Amber Land 15 points and nine rebounds and Taylor Bestry 11 points and five boards.

It capped off a horror weekend for the Redbacks with combined 94-point losses.

Against Stirling, Jessica Jakens again top-scored with 18 points and nine rebounds with Alix Hayward contributing 13 points, seven boards, three assists and two blocked shots off the bench.

The defending women's champions Wanneroo then opened up its 2014 campaign against a Willetton team who finished last year on top of the standings at the end of the regular season.

And it was the Wolves who prevailed in a tight contest recording an eight-point victory at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

Ellyce Ironmonger led the way for the Wolves with 16 points and 11 rebounds with Nikita-Lee Martin adding 15 points, five boards and three assists.

Antonia Edmondson led the way for the Tigers with 17 points while Lisa Wallbutton contributed 15 points and 13 rebounds.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Stirling Senators 92 defeated Perth Redbacks 52
Willetton Tigers 56 lost to Wanneroo Wolves 64

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 127 defeated Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 88
Rockingham Flames 100 defeated Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers 93
Stirling Senators 102 defeated Perth Redbacks 95
Willetton Tigers 88 lost to Wanneroo Wolves 107

Article by Chris Pike