Starting with the women's contest on Saturday night, the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves beat the Stirling Senators 87-58 at Warwick Leisure Centre.

And then in the only men's fixture in Perth on Saturday night, the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves defeated the Bethanie Stirling Senators 106-98 at Warwick Leisure Centre.

There were two regional fixtures as well with the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers beating the Perry Lakes Hawks 105-88 at Active West Stadium and the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants defeating the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 104-99 at Neils Hansen Basketball Stadium.

Starting with the only women's contest of the night, the Lady Wolfpack moved ahead of the Willetton Tigers into second position on the ladder with the 29-point victory with the Wolves improving to a 10-2 record while the Senators slipped to 2-11 in 11th having lost sixth straight.

The Senators were able to stick with the Wolves in the first quarter only trailing by four points at the end of the first period, but from there Joondalup put their foot down.

The Wolves ended up leading by 12 points at half-time, 21 at three quarter-time and then 29 at the final buzzer.

Nikita-Lee Martin top-scored for the Lady Wolfpack with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists while shooting 7-of-13 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point territory.

Rebecca Mercer added 15 points, five assists and four rebounds while Casey Lockwood contributed 14 points off the bench.

Ellyce Ironmonger finished with 10 points and six rebounds as well for Joondalup while Alex Kerr contributed eight points and five rebounds.

Amber Land produced a double-double in the defeat for the Senators finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

Cassie Bates added 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists as well for Stirling while Tegan Walker added 11 points and five boards. Fiona Madden added eight points and five rebounds as well.

Then in the men's contest, the Wolves improved to a 12-2 record into second position on the standings ahead of the South West Slammers with the eight-point victory over a Senators team that has now lost five straight matches in ninth spot.

Once again it was the even contribution across the board and number of standout performers they had that was the key to the win for the Wolfpack with five players scoring in double-figures.

Trian Iliadis finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and three assists for Joondalup with captain Seb Salinas adding 23 points, 11 boards and three assists.

Rob Huntington also added 19 points for the Wolves with Damian Matacz contributing 18 points and five boards off the bench. Kevin Davis added 14 points and nine boards while shooting a supremely efficient 7-of-9 from the field.

Jordan Wild did all he could for the Senators finishing with 24 points and nine rebounds while shooting 8-of-14 from the floor, and 3-of-4 from three-point territory.

Ryan Woodbury contributed 20 points to go with three boards, three steals and two assists for Stirling while Kyle Lindbergh finished with 18 points, nine boards, seven assists and three blocked shots.

Sean Gilmore also finished 11 points for the Senators and Jayden Coburn 10.

The Buccaneers maintained top position in the men's standings with their 17-point win at home over the Hawks on Saturday night.

Bennie Lewis was again the star of the night for the Buccaneers finishing with 33 points, six rebounds and six assists while Carter Cook was also impressive with 28 points, six boards and six assists while shooting 11-of-18 from the field, and 3-of-4 from three-point land.

Aaron Ralph added 13 points and five rebounds as well for the Buccs with Mat Wundenberg contributing eight points, 14 boards and six assists, Daniel Thomas eight points and seven assists, and Cory Cooperwood eight points, eight boards and two steals.

Ben Purser top-scored for the Hawks with 27 points and 14 rebounds with Josh Garlepp adding 24 points and nine boards and Ryan O'Sullivan 11 points and six rebounds but Perry Lakes dearly missed in-form import Bryton Hobbs who didn’t suit up due to an ankle injury.

The Giants have now won five of their last six matches this season to really be emerging as a playoff contender following Saturday night's impressive fie-point come from behind win at home over the Tigers.

Willetton appeared in control of the contest for the first three quarters and still held a 82-73 advantage heading into the fourth quarter, but in that final period the Giants outscored the Tigers 31 points to 17 to end up scoring the five-point win.

Once again it was the Giants' three stars who were all outstanding with Jay Bowie finishing with 32 points, eight rebounds and four assists on the back of shooting 11-of-20 from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Mathiang Muo also scored 24 points to go with nine rebounds for Goldfields with Jacob Holmen contributing 20 points, eight boards, two steals and two blocked shots.

Russell Hurst added 12 points, seven boards and two steals from the bench while Shamus Ballantyne celebrated his 350th SBL appearance with four points, 10 assists and five rebounds.

Corey Easley top-scored off the bench for the Tigers with 25 points and seven rebounds while Damien Scott contributed 23 points, six boards and six assists while shooting well going 10-of-14 from the field, and 2-of-3 from downtown.

Kyle Armour contributed 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for Willetton with Ephrem Davis adding 12 points and 14 boards, and Nic Cody nine points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Stirling Senators 58 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 87

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 105 defeated Perry Lakes Hawks 88
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 104 defeated Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 99
Bethanie Stirling Senators 98 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 106

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene-Elise Photography