MARITA Payne led her new team to an impressive Friday night women's SBL win over her former club to open Week 10 action while Stan Okoye and Seb Salinas in particular led the Redbacks and Wolves to strong men's wins.

Three women's SBL clubs expected to contend for the 2014 championship all flexed their muscles with impressive victories on Friday night.

The Soprano Lady Cougars beat the Perth Redbacks 71-53 at Belmont Oasis with the Lakeside Lightning also defeating the Mandurah Magic 86-61 at Lakeside Recreation Centre and the Joondalup Wolves downing the Perry Lakes Hawks 83-63 at the WA Basketball Centre.

The Cougars scored a solid road win by 18 points over the Redbacks with Cockburn improving to a 6-4 record in the process while Perth remains winless now after 12 matches of the 2014 season.

Emma Pass led the way for the Cougars with 21 points and six rebounds on the back of shooting 8-of-15 from the field.

Marita Payne also contributed 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots in her first appearance for Cockburn against her former team Perth.

Jessica Jakens worked hard for the Redbacks and finished with 20 points, six rebounds and three steals but she had no teammate who managed to score more than Gabby O'Sullivan's eight points.

The Lightning then scored a thumping 25-point win at home over the Magic in a battle between second and third on the women's SBL standings.

The win sees Lakeside improve to a 9-2 record in second position while Mandurah remains third but falls to an 8-3 record with the heavy loss.

Courtney Byrnes led the way for the Lightning with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists with Kari Pickens also contributing 15 points and 12 boards despite shooting just 5-of-19 from the floor.

Ashleigh Grant also added 13 points, Emily Fielding 12 and Krystal Stoneking 10 to go with seven rebounds and three assists.

Despite the loss, Hailey Dunham still put up 20 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots, three assists and two steals for the Magic with Gemma Thomas adding 11 points and six rebounds.

The Wolves recorded an impressive 20-point win on the road to the Hawks with the defending champion Joondalup now improving to a 7-3 record in fourth spot while Perry Lakes sits on 4-5 to be clinging on to eighth position.

Shani Amos had a strong game for the Lady Wolfpack with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on the back of shooting 7-of-14 from the field.

Megan Lee also contributed 15 points for the Wolves with Ellyce Ironmonger adding 12 points and seven rebounds, and Amanda Frontino 11 points.

Lucy Stewart top-scored for Perry Lakes with 17 points with Jessie Clayton adding 10.

And in men's Friday night Week 10 SBL action, the Perth Redbacks beat the Cockburn Cougars 95-84, the Lakeside Lightning downed the Mandurah Magic 118-100 and the Joondalup Wolves won a thriller over the Perry Lakes Hawks 106-103.

The Redbacks beat the Cougars by 11 points at home to improve to an 8-5 record on the season and to move up to fourth position in the standings while the loss for the Cougars sees them slip to a 4-8 record in 12th spot.

Stan Okoye continued his outstanding form for the Redbacks with 42 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 15-of-25 from the floor and 11-of-12 from the free-throw line.

Dennis Tawhiti also contributed 16 points and six rebounds for Perth with Jarrad Prior adding 11 points.

Gavin Field top-scored for the Cougars with 20 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point territory.

Jaarod Holmes also added 19 points and nine boards for Cockburn with Damien Scott finishing with 19 points, five boards and four assists. Steven Van Lit also scored 11 points.

The defending champion Lightning then put in an impressive performance at home downing the Magic by 18 points. The win sees Lakeside improve to 8-5 while Mandurah falls to 6-5.

Brad Tinsley and Brad Jackson were both outstanding for the Lightning with Tinsley finishing with 36 points, six assists and four rebounds on the back of shooting 12-of-17 from the field, and Jackson 31 points while shooting 10-of-19 overall, and 6-of-13 from downtown.

Caleb Palkert also added 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots for Lakeside with Darrel Morgan scoring 12 points and Tom Parkinson 11.

Jarrad Prue again pulled in a remarkable 31 rebounds to go with his eight points, three steals and two blocks. Of his 31 rebounds, 13 were on the offensive end.

Taylor Mullenax top-scored for the Magic with 25 points, five rebounds and two blocks with Ben Smith contributing 21 points and eight rebounds.

Rhett Della Maddalena finished with 19 points and six rebounds as well for Mandurah with Paul Hafford adding 17 points, seven boards, six assists and five steals.

The thriller of the night then took place at the WA Basketball Centre with the Wolves beating the Hawks by three points on the back of a terrific final quarter from the visitors. Joondalup now improves to an 8-4 record in third spot while Perry Lakes sits on 5-6 to hold on to eighth spot.

Seb Salinas continued his outstanding form for the Wolves with another near triple-double on the back of a massive 39 points to go with nine rebounds and nine assists.

Rob Huntington added 18 points and six rebounds for the Wolfpack as well with Brendan Tucek contributing 12 points, Sean Easther 11 points (10 rebounds) and Doug Gates 11.

Justin Cecil led the way for the Hawks with 28 points and six rebounds while Corey Easley also had a good game with 25 points, 10 boards and seven assists.

Ben Purser also put in a strong all-round performance finishing with 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perth Redbacks 53 lost to Soprano Cockburn Cougars 71
Lakeside Lightning 86 defeated Mandurah Magic 61
Perry Lakes Hawks 63 lost to Joondalup Wolves 83

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perth Redbacks 95 defeated Raw Nutrition Cockburn Cougars 84
Lakeside Lightning 118 defeated Mandurah Magic 100
Perry Lakes Hawks 103 lost to Joondalup Wolves 106

Article by Chris Pike