Mandurah, South West, Willetton and Rockingham all have made unbeaten starts to the women's SBL season after three rounds but it was Deonica McCormick who enforced her will over the weekend leading the Slammers to wins over Kalamunda and Stirling.

The Slammers' import delivered two superb performances firstly with 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals against the Senators and then 31 points, six boards and six assists against the Eastern Suns to make her mark as an early MVP contender to open her SBL career.

The two women's matches on Friday night saw the Willetton Tigers beat the Cockburn Cougars 80-69 at Willetton Basketball Stadium and the Rockingham Flames down the Perth Redbacks 87-64 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

There were three women's matches on Saturday night with the Mandurah Magic beating the Perry Lakes Hawks 79-72 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre, the Cockburn Cougars downing the East Perth Eagles 74-65 at Wally Hagan Stadium and the South West Slammers defeating the Stirling Senators 71-62 at Warwick Leisure Centre.

The two women's matches on Sunday saw the Mandurah Magic beat the Perth Redbacks 50-44 at Curtin Stadium and the South West Slammers defeat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 80-77 at Eaton Recreation Centre.

Following three rounds of the 2015 season, the Mandurah Magic (4-0), South West Slammers (4-0), Willetton Tigers (3-0) and Rockingham Flames (2-0) are all undefeated.

The Perry Lakes (2-1) are just behind after suffering its first loss of the weekend at the hands of Mandurah with the Cockburn Cougars (3-2), Joondalup Wolves (1-1) and Stirling Senators (1-3) rounding out the top eight.

The Perth Redbacks (1-3) are just outside while the East Perth Eagles (0-5), Kalamunda Eastern Suns (0-3) and Lakeside Lightning (0-3) are all yet to taste victory in 2015.

The outstanding individual performances began on Friday night with Zoe Harper having a big game for Willetton with 18 points and 11 rebounds with Louella Tomlinson again putting in a stunning all-round performance with 17 points, 12 boards and seven blocked shots.

Kate Malpass had another good game for the Tigers with 15 points and eight rebounds.

Playing-coach Deanna Smith had another 20 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Cougars while Katie Loberg contributed 16 points and four boards.

Samantha Whitcomb was outstanding for the Flames coming off her MVP season in 2014 with 25 points, eight rebounds and three steals.

Darcee Garbin also had 16 points and 10 boards for Rockingham while Talisia Bourne contributed 16 points.

Gabby Clayton did all she could for the Redbacks with 26 points and five rebounds with Meike Elkington adding 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.

And then on Saturday night, Deanna Smith once led the way for the Cougars coming off two successive Player of the Week awards with another 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists off the bench.

She received plenty of support with Katie Loberg contributing 21 points and 11 rebounds, Taryn Priestly 13 points and Kristen Everard eight points, six boards and four assists.

Nicole Jorre St Jorre did all she could for the Eagles finishing with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists with Stephanie Jones adding 15 points and eight boards.

Deanica McCormick was again the star of the night for the Slammers with 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Kate Fielding had her best game of the season as well for South West with 16 points, six boards and three assists despite shooting 5-of-21 from the field. Patricia Bright made a good contribution with 12 points, 11 boards and four blocked shots.

Amber Land had a massive game for the Senators with 29 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 9-of-27 from the floor but 10-of-13 from the free-throw line.

Casey Mihovilovich had a tremendous night for the Magic leading the way with 30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists while shooting 8-of-17 from the floor, 4-of-10 from three-point territory and 10-of-11 from the field.

Briana Klasztorny also finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Mandurah.

Kassi Conditt worked hard for the Hawks with 20 points and four rebounds with Lucy Stewart adding 12 points off the bench and Danika Pisconeri contributing six points, six boards and five assists.

And finally on Sunday afternoon, Deanica McCormick had another dominant performance for the Slammers this time finishing with 31 points, six rebounds and six assists to help her team overcome a Suns team who finished with a dominant last quarter with 31 points to 12.

Kelly Bastow also had 20 points for South West with Kate Fielding contributing 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks in a strong all-round display.

Madeleine Dennis did all she could for the Eastern Suns finishing with 20 points and 14 rebounds with Melissa Moyle contributing 20 points, 10 boards, five assists and two blocked shots.

Jessie Edwards also had a good impact for Kalamunda with 15 points and 10 rebounds with Natalia Soli'ai also adding 11 points and eight boards.

Casey Mihovilovich top-scored for the Magic with 13 points and seven rebounds with Ashlee Sidebottom contributing 10 points, six boards and three assists. Briana Klasztorny also had nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.

No Redbacks player scored in double-figures but Lauren Hall contributed eight points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots. Gabby Clayton also had seven points and 11 boards, and Meike Elkington seven points and nine rebounds.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Willetton Tigers 80 defeated Cockburn Cougars 69
Rockingham Flames 87 defeated Perth Redbacks 64

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Mandurah Magic 79 defeated Perry Lakes Hawks 72
Cockburn Cougars 74 defeated East Perth Eagles 65
Stirling Senators 62 lost to South West Slammers 71

SUNDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perth Redbacks 44 lost to Mandurah Magic 50
South West Slammers 80 defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns 77

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Ashley Pearce