THE men's and women's teams of the Stirling Senators, Lakeside Lightning and Rockingham Flames all recorded impressive road victories on Friday night to open Week 12 SBL action.

The three women's SBL matches on Friday night saw three convincing wins by road teams currently occupying three of the top four spots in the standings at present.

The fourth-placed Stirling Senators beat the Perth Redbacks 74-61 at Belmont Oasis while the second-placed Lakeside Lightning downed the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 94-76 at Ray Owen Sports Centre and the unbeaten league-leading Orange Autos Rockingham Flames beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 89-50 at the WA Basketball Centre.

The Senators continued their tremendous recent form with another 13-point win over the Redbacks on Friday night.

Stirling has now improved to an 8-3 record on the season to be clear in fourth spot and to be closing in on Mandurah's third position while Perth now remains winless after 14 matches this season.

Taylor Wild top-scored for the Senators with 17 points with Amber Land adding 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Tegan Walker finished with 12 points.

Jess Jakens did all she could for the Redbacks finishing with 26 points and five rebounds with Lori Ashworth contributing 11 points and eight boards.

Lakeside maintained its hold on second position with a comfortable 18-point win over last year's grand finalists Kalamunda.

The win improves the Lightning to an 11-3 record on the season while the Eastern Suns slip to 6-7 in seventh spot.

Kari Pickens had a remarkable night for the Lightning finishing with 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists on the back of 14-of-20 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point territory.

Courtney Bayliss also scored 16 points for Lakeside with Ashleigh Grant adding 13 points and Jessica Van Schie 12 to go with seven assists and five rebounds.

Adrienne Jones led the way for Kalamunda with 20 points and five rebounds with Alison Schwagmeyer contributing 17 points and seven boards, Jennie Rintala 12 points and Melissa Moyle 10.

Rockingham extended its unbeaten run to open the 2014 season to 15 wins with a 39-point hammering of Perry Lakes on Friday night.

Samantha Whitcomb continued her dominant form this season for Rockingham with another 28 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Jacinta Bourne also added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Flames with Kaye Tucker finishing with 18 points and seven boards, and Darcee Garbin 16 points and 14 rebounds.

No Perry Lakes players made it to double-figures in scoring with Kate Anthony the best with eight points, seven rebounds and three assists. Rosie Tobin also had seven points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.

Meanwhile in the three men's matches at the same venues, again the road teams all won with the Stirling Senators downing the Perth Redbacks 101-98, the Lakeside Lightning beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 112-102 and the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames defeating the Perry Lakes Hawks 121-102.

The Senators maintained touch with a top-eight place with their thrilling three-point win over the Redbacks on Friday. Stirling improves to a 6-7 record with the win while Perth slips to 9-7 with the loss.

Jordan Wild top-scored for Stirling with 24 points and 11 rebounds with Cory Cooperwood also having a good night with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Josh Throns added 20 points also for the Senators with Austin Bruton contributing 17 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Thomas Witts 11 points.

Redbacks import Stan Okoye again did the best he could for his team with another 37 points and 11 rebounds on the back of shooting 15-of-27 from the field and 3-of-6 from downtown.

Lee Roberts added 16 points and 13 rebounds on debut for the Redbacks as well with Jarrad Jackson contributing 14 points and six assists.

Lakeside maintained its hold on third-place with a 10-point win over Kalamunda with the Lightning now improving to a 10-6 record while the Eastern Suns continue to struggle at 3-12.

Caleb Palkert led the way for the Lightning with 30 points and six rebounds with Brad Tinsley adding 28 points and seven assists.

Jesse Dixon also added 17 points for Lakeside with Jarrad Prue finishing with 10 points, 24 rebounds, three assists, two assists and a block.

Louis Timms did all he could for Kalamunda with 32 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two assists while Joel Questel contributed 22 points, Adhar Mayen 16 and Ben Smith 10.

The Flames then bounced back from two tough losses last weekend to beat the Hawks by 19 points. Rockingham remains in second position with a 13-5 record while Perry Lakes is 6-8 now in 10th spot.

Cooper Land was again the star for the Flames with 42 points and nine rebounds while shooting 17-of-29 from the floor and 5-of-10 from three-point territory.

Taylor Land also finished with 20 points, nine assists and five rebounds for Rockingham with Ryan Godfrey adding 17 points and six boards.

Ben Dixon top-scored for Hawks with 18 points with Ben Purser adding 17 points, James Elliott 16, Justin Cecil 16, Corey Easley 14 and Josh Garlepp 14.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perth Redbacks 61 lost to Stirling Senators 74
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 76 lost to Lakeside Lightning 94
Perry Lakes Hawks 50 lost to Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 89

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perth Redbacks 98 lost to Stirling Senators 101
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 102 lost to Lakeside Lightning 112
Perry Lakes Hawks 102 lost to Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 121

Article by Chris Pike