THE Willetton Tigers and Joondalup City Wolves men's and women's teams all had big wins in Saturday's night SBL action while the Lakeside Lightning and Geraldton Buccaneers men also recorded important victories.

There were two women's matches on Saturday night with the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers beating the Perry Lakes Hawks 73-46 at Willetton Basketball Stadium and the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves defeating the Perth Redbacks 71-45 at Curtin Stadium.

There were four men's contests on Saturday night starting with the Lakeside Lightning beating the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 129-95 at Lakeside Recreation Centre and the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers downing the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 120-104 at Active West Stadium.

And the other two men's matches on Saturday night saw the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers prevail over the Perry Lakes Hawks 85-76 at Willetton Basketball Stadium and the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves beat the Perth Redbacks 120-80 at Curtin Stadium.

Starting with the women's contests on Saturday night, the Tigers handed the Hawks a 27-point defeat with Willetton now improving to an 11-2 record to remain in contention for a top two spot while Perry Lakes slipped to 6-6 in seventh position.

Louella Tomlinson had a dominant night for the Tigers with 25 points, five rebounds, four steals, four blocked shots and two assists while shooting an outstanding 9-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.

Kate Malpass also did well for Willetton ending up with 20 points, six boards and five assists while shooting 8-of-14 from the floor.

Lisa Wallbutton pulled in 10 rebounds to go with four assists, three blocked shots and two steals off the bench as well for the Tigers while Zoe Harper collected eight boards, and Desiree Kelley five points and five rebounds.

Lauren Jeffers top-scored for the Hawks with 14 points and four assists while Danika Pisconeri contributed 11 points, five rebounds and two steals, and Sarah Donovan 10 points and seven boards.

The Lady Wolfpack then secured top position in the standings with the Flames having the bye thanks to a 26-point victory over the Redbacks. Joondalup has now improved to a 12-2 record as a result while Perth has slipped to 3-11 to miss a chance to put pressure on for a top eight position.

Rebecca Mercer top-scored for the Wolves with 18 points and three assists while doing well from beyond the arc nailing 5-of-8.

Antonia Edmondson added 13 points and three assists as well for the Lady Wolfpack while Amy Kidner contributed 12 points and four rebounds, and Casey Lockwood nine points and eight boards. Ellyce Ironmonger also added six points and seven rebounds for Joondalup.

Jess Jakens ended up top-scoring for the Redbacks with 15 points and six rebounds while Meike Elkington contributed 12 points, six boards, two assists, two steals and a block.

And then there were the four men's matches on Saturday night, starting with the Lightning scoring a thumping 34-point win at home over a Giants team that has been in good form of late.

The win sees the Lightning improve to a 6-9 record and maintain a spot in the top eight while the Giants fall further back at 5-10 with the loss, and a tough game to come against the Wolves in Joondalup on Sunday.

Brad Jackson had a night out for the Lightning with 30 points, six assists and three steals off the bench while hitting 10-of-15 from the field, and an outstanding 8-of-12 from three-point land.

Luke Thomas had a good night as well for Lakeside finishing with 26 points, 11 rebounds and three assists while Jordan Swing contributed 18 points, seven boards and four assists, Jesse Dixon 16 points and five assists, and Jarrad Prue 12 points and 11 boards while nailing 5-of-5 from the field.

Jay Bowie top-scored for the Giants with 24 points to go with six rebounds while Mathiang Muo contributed 17 points, seven boards and six assists, and Jacob Holmen 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

John Santia also finished with 14 points and four assists off the bench for Goldfields while hitting 4-of-5 from three-point territory.

The Buccaneers remained equal with the Wolves on a 14-2 record at the top of the SBL standings following a solid 16-point win over the Flames in Geraldton.

Bennie Lewis had a big night for the Buccaneers with 34 points while Carter Cook was also outstanding with 31 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while hitting 3-of-5 from three-point territory.

Cory Cooperwood also contributed 21 points and six rebounds off the bench while shooting 9-of-12 from the floor, and a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and 1-of-1 from the charity stripe.

Aaron Ralph added 12 points and eight rebounds as well for the Buccs with Mat Wundenberg finishing with nine points, 21 rebounds and six assists.

Cooper Land did all he could for the Flames finishing with 34 points and 10 rebounds for the night while Ryan Godfrey added 22 points, Andrew Bowman 17 points, Tom Remmerswaal 13 points and Taylor Land 12 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and three steals.

The Tigers then had to work hard but came away with a nine-point win over the Hawks at home on Saturday night with Willetton improving to a 10-6 record to be in fifth position as a result while Perry Lakes slips to 4-11 down in 12th spot.

Kyle Armour top-scored with 20 points to go with six assists and five rebounds but it was the evenness in the contribution from a host of players that was most impressive for the Tigers.

Ephrem Davis also added 18 points, 10 boards and three steals while Nic Cody contributed 15 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, Damien Scott 17 points and five boards, and Corey Easley 11 points, six boards, four steals and four blocked shots.

Josh Garlepp led the way for the Hawks with 19 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals while Ryan Smith contributed 15 points, Ben Dixon 12 and Ben Purser 11 to go with 13 rebounds and four assists.

The final match of the night saw the Wolves come away with a resounding 40-point victory over the Redbacks at Curtin meaning Joondalup improved to a 14-2 record to maintain top position while Perth slipped to 5-11 in ninth.

Captain Seb Salinas led the way for the Wolves with 25 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals while shooting 10-of-18 from the field and 3-of-6 from downtown, but six players ended up scoring in double-figures in the big win.

Louis Timms finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocks off the bench for the Wolfpack while Damian Matacz finished with 14 points and three assists and Kevin Davis 12 points, five boards, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Rob Huntington also contributed 10 points and four rebounds for Joondalup with Brad Robbins and Ben Ironmonger scored seven points apiece as well.

Ray Turner again had a solid night for the Redbacks with 21 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 8-of-13 from the field.

Dennis Tawhiti added 13 points off the bench for Perth with Marshall Nelson finishing with 11 points and five rebounds, Ben Smith 11 points and Marshall Brown 10 points, four boards and three assists.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 73 defeated Perry Lakes Hawks 46
Perth Redbacks 45 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 71

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Lakeside Lightning 129 defeated Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 95
S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 120 defeated Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 104
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 85 defeated Perry Lakes Hawks 76
Perth Redbacks 80 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 120

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by HoopShots