THE Rockingham Flames men and women scored big Friday night wins over the Kalamunda Eastern Suns while the Perry Lakes Hawks also scored two important victories over the Stirling Senators to open Week 18 of the 2015 SBL season.

The Flames women further consolidated top spot on the back of Sami Whitcomb while the Rockingham men remained in touch with the top four as the Hawks women also took another step towards securing a playoff spot and the Perry Lakes men stayed in contention scoring a thrilling win to celebrate captain Ben Purser's 200th SBL appearance.

The two women's matches on Friday night saw the Perry Lakes Hawks beat the Stirling Senators 80-51 at Bendat Basketball Centre, and the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames defeat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 94-45 at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

The two men's games on Friday night saw the Perry Lakes Hawks defeat the Bethanie Stirling Senators 91-90 at Bendat Basketball Centre and the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 109-85 at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

Starting with the women's matches, the Hawks recorded a thumping 29-point victory over the Senators at home which goes a long way to securing Perry Lakes' position in the playoffs.

The win improves the Hawks to an 8-11 record to be two games ahead of the ninth-placed East Perth Eagles with the two teams now playing one another on Sunday.

Kassi Conditt led the way for the Hawks in the big win with 24 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Danika Pisconeri added 13 points, seven boards and six assists also for Perry Lakes on the back of shooting 6-of-8 from the floor.

Lauren Jeffers also had 11 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and two steals for the Hawks while Sarah Donovan contributed nine points and seven boards, and Mia Satie seven points and eight rebounds.

Amber Land top-scored for the Senators with 16 points and 10 rebounds with Emma Berryman contributing 11 points, Cassie Bates nine and Tegan Walker eight to go with six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

The Flames scored a thumping win over an Eastern Suns team that had been in good form of late with Rockingham now moving two games clear on top of the standings having won 12 straight matches to improve to a 19-1 record.

Kalamunda, meanwhile, lost its third game in its last four matches to slip to a 12-8 record to remain solid in fifth position but miss a chance to close in on fourth spot.

Sami Whitcomb continued her remarkable form for the Flames with another 38 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals in the big win on the back of shooting 14-of-23 from the field, 7-of-13 from beyond the arc and 3-of-3 from the foul line.

The reigning women's SBL MVP has now averaged 35.8 points over her last six games in the absence of centre Darcee Garbin.

Jacinta Bourne also contributed 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals for Rockingham with Mary-Alice Telfer adding 10 points and four boards, Kate Williams nine points and four rebounds, and Talisia Bourne six points, six boards and four assists.

Abbey Duinker top-scored for the Eastern Suns with 14 points and seven rebounds with Jessie Edwards adding 11 points and 12 boards.

And then in the men's action, the Hawks scored a crucial but thrilling one-point victory over the Senators at home with the result keeping Perry Lakes right in the mix to still make the playoffs in 2015.

As a result of the win, the Hawks improve to a 10-13 record to join the Goldfields Giants on 10 wins while it was another heartbreaking nail-biting loss for the Senators.

Bryton Hobbs was once again the star of the night for the Hawks with 34 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals on the back of shooting 15-of-27 from the field.

Captain Ben Purser celebrated his 200th SBL appearance not only with the win but making a strong contribution with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Mike Krumel added 12 points and four boards and Ryan Smith 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists on the back of hitting 4-of-6 from three-point territory.

Cody Ellis did all he could to get the Senators over the line finishing with 27 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals while shooting 11-of-18 from the field, and 5-of-9 from three-point range.

Kyle Lindbergh added 14 points and seven rebounds for Stirling with Nikolas Iliadis contributing 13 points, Austin Bruton 12 and Josh Throns 11.

It was a big win for the Flames over the Suns with Rockingham now improving to a 14-9 record to move two games clear in fifth position, and to move within a game of third spot.

Tom Remmerswaal led the way for the Flames with 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists on the back of shooting 11-of-21 from the field.

Cooper Land contributed 15 points, seven boards and three assists for Rockingham with Ryan Godfrey adding 14 points, three boards and two assists, Travis Moore 16 points, six rebounds and two blocks, and Jarryd Griffin 11 points, five boards and four steals.

Lien Phillip had a big night for the Eastern Suns with 25 points, 21 rebounds, three steals and two assists with Kevin Anthony contributing 23 points, three boards and three steals.

Seva Chan also finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals, and Jaarod Holmes six points and six boards.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perry Lakes Hawks 80 defeated Stirling Senators 51
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 45 lost to Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 94

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perry Lakes Hawks 91 defeated Bethanie Stirling Senators 90
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 85 lost to Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 109

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Grant Lauterbach