TWO thrillers in women's action took place on Saturday night and then all four road teams won in the men's competition on a big night of action in Week 7 of the SBL season.

There were just the two women's SBL matches taking place on Saturday night and both were thrillers with only four points separating the four sides in the finish.

The Perry Lakes Hawks recorded a thrilling 76-73 win over the Perth Redbacks at the WA Basketball Centre and the Mandurah Magic beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 76-75 at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

The Hawks' three-point win over the Redbacks improves Perry Lakes to a 4-3 record on the season while Perth remains winless from nine matches despite the improved performance.

Kate Anthony was the star of the night for the Hawks finishing with 28 points and six rebounds on the back of shooting 10-of-20 from the field.

Anna Kovats added 10 points, six assists and five rebounds for Perry Lakes.

Monique Kickett stepped up for her best performance of the season for the Redbacks with 22 points and five rebounds with Alix Hayward contributing 18 points, seven boards and six assists.

Jess Jakens also added 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots for Perth.

The Magic then continued their impressive start to the season and maintained pressure on the unbeaten Rockingham and Lakeside at the top of the women's standings with Mandurah ending up thrilling one-point winners of the Eastern Suns.

The win improves the Magic to a 6-2 record on the season while the Suns slipped to 3-6 despite a win over the Willetton Tigers on Anzac Day.

Hailey Dunham also put on her best showing of the season for the Magic with 27 points and nine rebounds with Briana Klasztorny adding 15 points and 10 boards, Casey Mihovilovich 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Jorjah Smith 10 points.

Alison Schwagmeyer top-scored for the Eastern Suns with 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Jennie Rintala also finished with 14 points, Chelsea Armstrong 11 and Sarah-Jane Knox 11 to go with 12 rebounds.

Meanwhile in men's SBL action on Saturday night, all four teams won on the road with the Sun City Geraldton Buccaneers beating the Lakeside Lightning 121-97 at Lakeside Recreation Centre and the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers defeated the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 106-92.

The Perth Redbacks also defeated the Perry Lakes Hawks 113-93 at the WA Basketball Centre and the Mandurah Magic downed the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 126-115 at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

The Lightning suffered their third loss of the season on Saturday night to slip to a 5-3 record while the Buccaneers were tremendously impressive in the 24-point win to rise to a 7-2 record and into second position in the standings.

Bennie Lewis and Odartey Blankson both had massive games for the Buccaneers with Lewis finishing with 41 points and six assists on the back of shooting 16-of-27 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Big man Blankson also contributed 40 points, 16 rebounds and four assists while shooting 17-of-28 from the floor and 4-of-6 from downtown.

Carter Cook also added 15 points for Geraldton with Aaron Ralph finishing with 11 points and Matt Wundenberg 11 to go with 13 rebounds.

Tom Parkinson top-scored for Lakeside with 19 points and 11 rebounds with Brad Tinsley adding 17 points, seven boards and five assists, Brad Jackson 17 points, Jesse Dixon 14 points and Caleb Palkert 13 points to go with 13 boards and five blocked shots.

South West stopped its losing slide after an impressive start to the season with a 14-point win over the Giants with the Slammers now on a 3-5 record and Goldfields are 2-7.

Playing-coach Ty Harrelson had a huge night for the Slammers with 38 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while shooting 8-of-12 from three-point territory.

Clive Weeden also contributed 28 points and 10 rebounds for South West while Jonathan Todd Hendley and Trent Worthington scored 11 points apiece. Patrick Phillips added 10 assists.

Miles Tierney top-scored for the Giants with 27 points and Duran Blue added 21 and Tommy Hannon 18 to go with 14 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots.

The Redbacks' hot form also continued with a 20-point win over the Hawks with Perth now improving to a 6-3 record and Perry Lakes slipping back to 4-4.

Dennis Tawhiti top-scored for the Redbacks with 22 points and eight rebounds with Marshall Nelson adding 18 points (11 rebounds), Jarrad Prior 18, Stan Okoye 18 (nine rebounds), Jarrad Jackson 13 and Joel Wagner 11 (seven assists, six boards).

Justin Cecil did all he could for the Hawks with 22 points while shooting 9-of-17 from the field.

Corey Easley also had 21 points, five boards and five assists for Perry Lakes and Ben Purser finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The Magic also improved to a 6-2 record with an 11-point win over the 2-8 Eastern Suns who again sit on the bottom of the table.

Paul Hafford and Taylor Mullenax both had huge nights for Mandurah with Hafford finishing with 32 points, 13 assists, nine rebounds and four steals while Mullenax had 32 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 13-of-16 from the floor.

Ben Smith added 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic with Rhett Della Maddalena and Brendan Della Maddalena both scoring 12 points.

Adhar Mayen tried to inspire the Suns to the win with 36 points with Ben Smith adding 27 points, Joel Questel 19 and Mike Krumel 17.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perry Lakes Hawks 76 defeated Perth Redbacks 73
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 75 lost to Mandurah Magic 76

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Lakeside Lightning 97 lost to Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers 121
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 92 lost to Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 106
Perry Lakes Hawks 93 lost to Perth Redbacks 113
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 115 lost to Mandurah Magic 126

Article by Chris Pike