THE Rockingham Flames and Joondalup City Wolves split their men's and women's SBL matches on Friday night to open Week 9 action while the Cockburn Cougars won both of their match ups at home to the Stirling Senators.

The women's matches on Friday night saw the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars beat the Stirling Senators 90-73 at Wally Hagan Stadium and the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames defeat the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 76-61 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

The two men's match ups on Friday night saw the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars defeat the Bethanie Stirling Senators 107-102 at Wally Hagan Stadium and the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves beat the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 106-76 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

To start with in the women's contests, the Flames won their top-of-the-table clash with the Wolves recording the 15-point victory at home to see Rockingham improve to a 9-1 record on the season and the Lady Wolfpack slip to 7-2.

Samantha Whitcomb led the way for the Flames on the night finishing with 21 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and two steals while shooting 8-of-19 from the field and 5-of-11 from beyond the arc.

Darcee Garbin was again her partner in crime ending up with 14 points and 14 boards while shooting only 2-of-14 from the floor, but nailing 10-of-15 from the free-throw line.

Jacinta Bourne also contributed 14 points, eight rebounds and four steals for Rockingham with Talisia Bourne adding 11 points, and Tarsha Fletcher 11 points and five assists.

Rebecca Mercer top-scored for the Wolves off the bench with 22 points while hitting 4-of-8 from three-point territory.

Nikita-Lee Martin contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds as well for the Lady Wolfpack with Alex Kerr adding 10 points and Shani Amos seven to go with seven boards.

The Cougars scored a strong 17-point win over the Senators at home to see them improve to a 5-6 record and consolidate a spot in the top eight ahead of Stirling who now falls back to a 2-8 record.

Playing-coach Deanna Smith led the way for the Cougars with 26 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds while shooting 10-of-17 from the floor.

Katie Loberg also added 20 points and seven boards for Cockburn with Taryn Priestly adding 16 points and Abbie McDonald 10 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots off the bench.

Amber Land led the way with a massive triple-double for the Senators made up of 20 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists.

Fiona Madden added 16 points, four rebounds and two assists for Stirling with Tegan Walker contributing 16 points, six boards and three assists while Emma Berryman contributing 12 points.

The men's matches on Friday saw the Cougars win a five-point thriller over the Senators that sees Cockburn retain eighth position and improve to a 6-6 record while Stirling has now lost two straight matches without captain Cody Ellis and slips to a 5-6 record.

Gavin Field had a massive night for the Cougars finishing with 39 points to go with 13 rebounds and five assists on the back of shooting 15-of-26 from the field and 8-of-14 from downtown.

Eric Milam added 23 points and eight boards as well for Cockburn with Najee Lane finishing with 19 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, and Grant Davey 10 points and four assists.

Jordan Wild top-scored for the Senators with 22 points, 13 rebounds and five assists with Kyle Lindbergh contributing 17 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, six blocked shots and two steals.

Austin Bruton also had 17 points for Stirling, Jayden Coburn 15 and Ryan Woodbury 14.

The Wolves recorded a convincing 30-point victory over the Flames also on Friday night with Joondalup City as a result improve to a 9-2 record to continue to put pressure on the Slammers and Buccaneers in the top two positions.

Meanwhile, Rockingham now falls back to a 6-6 record and having lost six of its last eight matches after starting the season with four victories on the tort.

Captain Seb Salinas led the way for the Wolfpack with 25 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals while shooting 11-of-17 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point territory.

Kevin Davis added 19 points and eight boards for the Wolves with Rob Huntington contributing 17 points and six rebounds, Trian Iliadis 17 points, four boards and three assists, and Joel Questel nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Cooper Land top-scored for the Flames with 16 points and seven rebounds with Ryan Godfrey adding 13 points, Andrew Bowman 12 and Taylor Land 10 to go with five boards, four assists and three steals.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 90 defeated Stirling Senators 73
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 76 defeated Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 61

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 107 defeated Bethanie Stirling Senators 102
Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 76 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 106

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene-Elise Photography