IT WAS a big Friday night of action to begin Week 14 of the SBL season and it was highlighted by the Perry Lakes Hawks men scoring an upset 26-point win over the league-leading Joondalup Wolves coinciding with the return of import guard Bryton Hobbs.

The three women's matches on Friday night saw the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers defeat the Lakeside Lightning 100-62 at Lakeside Recreation Centre, the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves down the Perry Lakes Hawks 72-46 at Bendat Basketball Centre and the Mandurah Magic beat the Schweigen East Perth Eagles 79-63 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

Then in the three men's matches on Friday, the Lakeside Lightning beat the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 110-89 at Lakeside Recreation Centre, the Perry Lakes Hawks defeat the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 97-71 at Bendat Basketball Centre and the Mandurah Magic down the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 91-86 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

Starting with the three women's matches, the Tigers recorded a third straight victory to improve to a 13-3 record with their commanding 38-point victory over the Lightning on Friday night.

The Tigers got off to a flying start and had the win sewn up by half-time leading 49-24, but they never took the foot off the gas ending up scoring 100 points to win by 38.

Kate Malpass had a massive night for Willetton ending up with 32 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and five steals while shooting 14-of-23 from the field, and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.

Ebony Antonio added 12 points, six assists and five rebounds as well for the Tigers while Louella Tomlinson contributed 11 points and eight boards, Emma Gandini 10 points, Lisa Wallbutton 10 points and six rebounds, Desiree Kelley seven points, four boards and four assists, and Zoe Harper six points and 13 rebounds.

Ashleigh Grant had a good night for the Lightning finishing with 28 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots with Courtney Byrnes adding 13 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.

The Lady Wolfpack then bounced back from having their winning run ended last week by recording a 26-point victory over the Hawks on Friday to improve to a 13-3 record and to set up their tantalising clash with the Rockingham Flames on Saturday night.

The loss saw Perry Lakes suffer its sixth straight defeat to now slip to a 6-8 record on the season.

No player for the Wolves scored more than 12 points, but with nine players all scoring at least five points they ended up coming away with the comfortable win over the Hawks.

Casey Lockwood top-scored for the Lady Wolfpack with 12 points with Chelsea Burns adding 11 points, four rebounds and two assists and Rebecca Mercer 10 points and three assists.

Ellyce Ironmonger also finished with eight points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals while Alex Kerr contributed eight points, Shani Amos eight points, three boards and three assists, Amy Kidner six points, Nonila Martin six points, and Nikita-Lee Martin five points, five rebounds and three steals.

Kassi Conditt finished with 10 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Hawks with Mia Satie adding 10 points, five boards and three assists. Georgia Clarke also had five points, six rebounds and two assists, and Annika Renkema six points, five boards and two steals.

The Magic then capped off a memorable night on their home floor when they were celebrating the milestones of Shelly Boston (400 games), Gemma Thomas (250) and Rachel Halleen (200) with a 16-point victory over the Eagles.

The win for Mandurah sees it improve to a 12-3 record to have won four straight matches while East Perth missed out on a chance to further close in on a top eight spot.

Casey Mihovilovich led the way for the Magic finishing the night with 19 points, 10 rebounds, eight steals and five assists while Ashlee Sidebottom contributed 16 points.

Boston added 13 points and eight boards off the bench for Mandurah with Rachel Halleen finishing with 11 points, four assists and three rebounds, and Emma Klasztorny six points, three boards and three assists.

Kelsey Maffin top-scored for the Eagles with 19 points to go with four steals and three rebounds on the back of shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 3-of-7 from three-point territory.

Haylee DeSousa contributed 15 points off the bench for East Perth with Denielle Lipscombe adding 12 points and Dannielle Devenny nine points to go with nine rebounds.

And then in the men's contests on Friday night, the Lightning consolidated their position in the top eight with an impressive 21-point victory at home over the Tigers.

The win sees Lakeside improve to a 7-10 record and to move a game clear in eighth spot of the chasing Perth Redbacks and Goldfields Giants.

Meanwhile, Willetton has now lost four of its last five games to slip to a 10-8 record to be losing touch with the top four and getting in danger of losing a playoff spot altogether unless they turn things around soon.

Jordan Swing continued his outstanding season for the Lightning leading the way in the win with 27 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocked shots on the back of shooting 11-of-20 from the floor.

Luke Thomas also contributed 20 points for Lakeside while Tom Parkinson finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, Brad Jackson 14 points, Jarrad Prue 14 points and 22 rebounds, and Jesse Dixon 10 points.

Damien Scott top-scored for the Tigers with 29 points with Kyle Armour contributing 24 points and 10 assists, and Corey Easley 15 points. Ephrem Davis also had eight points and 12 rebounds for Willetton.

The Hawks then scored the upset of the night beating the Wolves at home by a thumping 26 points with Perry Lakes ending its three-match losing run in the process of also putting a stop to the Wolfpack's winning streak that was at 10.

Perry Lakes came into contest in 12th spot at 4-12 with Joondalup on top of the standings at 16-2, but that didn’t stop the Hawks from putting in their best performance of the season and to keep their playoff hopes alive, and to leave the Wolves vulnerable of losing top spot this weekend.

Bryton Hobbs returned from injury for the Hawks and led the way on the night with 32 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals while hitting 5-of-10 from three-point territory.

Ben Purser also had a good game for Perry Lakes finishing with 25 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and two steals while shooting well with 12-of-19 for the game.

Josh Garlepp contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks, Ryan Smith 11 points, four boards and three assists, and Mike Krumel 10 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks.

Trian Iliadis top-scored for the Wolves with 23 points, six assists and five rebounds while shooting well with 9-of-14 from the floor, and 4-of-7 from downtown.

Kevin Davis contributed 16 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots with Louis Timms adding seven points and 10 boards.

The closest match of the evening took place in Mandurah with the Magic ending up prevailing by five points over the Eagles.

With the win, Mandurah bounces back from two straight losses to improve to an 11-7 record while the defending champion East Perth lost for the first time in four matches to slip to 4-14 on the season.

Ben Smith had a terrific night for the Magic with 29 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks on the back of nailing 12-of-24 from the field.

Paul Hafford also added 18 points, 10 boards and three assists for Mandurah while Taylor Mullenax contributed 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals, Brendan Della 10 points and four assists, and Rhett Della six points, nine boards and four assists.

Playing-coach Joe-Alan Tupaea led the way for the Eagles finishing with 19 points and five rebounds on the back of shooting 9-of-12 from the floor.

Sunday Dech added 19 points, five assists and four boards as well for East Perth with Drew Williamson contributing 18 points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists. Rhys Vague added eight points and 16 rebounds also for the Eagles.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Lakeside Lightning 62 lost to Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 100
Perry Lakes Hawks 46 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 72
Mandurah Magic 79 defeated Schweigen East Perth Eagles 63

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Lakeside Lightning 110 defeated Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 89
Perry Lakes Hawks 97 defeated Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 71
Mandurah Magic 91 defeated Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 86

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin