THE Perry Lakes Hawks Women and Stirling Senators Men continued their push to be SBL championship contenders with strong Friday night wins while the Flames made it a double over the Slammers and the Cougars Men and Lady Wolfpack consolidated top spots.

The three Friday night Women's matches saw the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves beat the Bethanie Stirling Senators 76-58, the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames down the Print Sync South West Slammers 79-40 and the Perry Lakes Hawks defeat the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars 91-57.

Then in the corresponding Men's contests, the Bethanie Stirling Senators beat the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 100-91, the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames beat the Print Sync South West Slammers 105-96 and the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars defeated the Perry Lakes Hawks 100-88.

Senators Men send message beating Wolves; Women pay for turnovers http://www.foxsportspulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-5011-0-0-0&sID=78732&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=45158521

Starting with the Women's action, the Lady Wolfpack got on top early against the Senators at Warwick Stadium and maintained that advantage all night to win by 18 points despite Nikita-Lee Martin hurting a knee during the third quarter.

The win maintains the Wolves' hold on top spot at 13-2 while the Senators have left themselves with plenty of work to do to make the playoffs at 5-11 in 10th position.

Klara Wischer had a strong game for the Wolfpack finishing with 23 points, nine rebounds and four steals shooting an efficient 10-of-13 from the floor.

Amy Kidner contributed 14 points and six rebounds for Joondalup, Shani Amos 10 points, five assists and four rebounds, and Ellyce Ironmonger was a powerful presence with six points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Kara van Dyke top-scored for the Senators with 20 points and seven rebounds shooting 7-of-11 from the floor and 5-of-9 from three-point territory. Amber Land worked tirelessly again for 17 points, eight boards, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

The Flames had no trouble accounting for the Slammers by 39 points at Mike Barnett Sports Complex to stay in the race for the minor premiership. The win improves Rockingham to 14-3 while South West remains with one win ahead of Saturday's clash with the also one-win East Perth Eagles.

For the first time this season the Flames had Sami Whitcomb, Darcee Garbin and Ifunanya Ibekwe all together, and the trio proved unstoppable for the Slammers.

Whitcomb finished with 30 points, five rebounds and four steals with Ibekwe contributing 15 points, 11 boards, six assists and four steals, and Garbin 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Courtney Bayliss top-scored for the Slammers with 15 points and 11 rebounds with Dena English contributing nine points and six boards.

The Hawks continued their hot form as well on Friday beating the Cougars by 34 points at Bendat Basketball Centre. The win sees Perry Lakes consolidate fourth spot with an 11-6 record while Cockburn is only just clinging to eighth at 7-9.

The Hawks broke the game open in the second quarter with 29 points to nine and then another 28 to 14 in the second saw them set up the 34-point win over the Cougars.

Deanna Smith had a night out for the Hawks returning to the starting line-up and delivering 38 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals shooting 12-of-20 from the floor, 5-of-7 from deep and 9-of-9 at the line.

Antonia Edmondson returned for Perry Lakes contributing 23 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals while Lauren Jeffers added nine points, five assists, three boards and three steals.

Candace Williams did all she could for the Cougars with 33 points and nine rebounds but she missed the support of Cherridy Thornton who didn’t suit up.

And in the Men's competition, the Senators got off to a scintillating start in the first half against the defending champion Wolves at Warwick Stadium.

With Kyle Lindbergh and Austin Bruton especially on fire, Stirling was able to lead 56-36 at the half and then despite a comeback by Joondalup sparked by the returning Trian Iliadis in his 100th game, the Senators held firm to win by nine points.

The win improves the Senators to a 14-6 record in third position just behind the second placed Wolves who slip to 14-4 having now lost two Friday night games in-a-row.

Kyle Lindbergh was the star of the night for the Senators with 31 points, eight rebounds and three assists with Austin Bruton providing a significant spark off the bench with 19 points nailing 4-of-7 from three.

AJ Majstrovich finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals for Stirling nailing 4-of-7 from downtown as well with Cody Ellis contributing 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Trian Iliadis lit up in the second half for the Wolves finishing with 33 points shooting 13-of-25 from the field and 7-of-16 from long range.

Kevin Davis added 16 points, 13 rebounds and five assists for Joondalup shooting 8-of-9 from the floor.

The Flames maintained their playoff position with a solid nine-point win over the Slammers at home to improve to a 12-8 record and be four games clear of the eighth placed Hawks. The Slammers are slipping from playoff contention now at 5-13 having lost their last three.

The Flames dominated the rebound count with 60 to 41 while scoring 38 points in the paint to just 22 from the Slammers.

Cooper Land was the star for Rockingham with 33 points, 13 rebounds and five assists shooting 9-of-21 from the field, 4-of-7 from deep and 11-of-12 from the free-throw line.

Chudier Pal contributed 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Flames, Ryan Godfrey 13 points and six assists, Taylor Land 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Jarryd Griffin 11 points and nine boards.

Tre Nichols finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals for the Slammers with Teny Puot contributing 16 points, Corey Easley 15 points, Clive Weeden 13 points and 17 rebounds, and Wade Hitchcock 12 points and four assists.

The Cougars maintained top spot with a strong 12-point win over the Hawks at Bendat Basketball Centre. Cockburn now sits two wins clear of the Wolves at 16-3 while the Hawks are struggling at 8-12 in eighth spot having lost four straight.

The Cougars opened up a 47-37 lead at the half but the Hawks weren’t going away and with a big third quarter trailed by just two heading into the fourth. But Cockburn steadied with 30 points to 20 in the last term to win by 12.

Marcus Goode continued the dominant form that has seen him claim the past two Player of the Week awards with 25 points and 22 rebounds shooting 9-of-18 from the floor and 7-of-10 from the stripe.

Gavin Field contributed 21 points for the Cougars, Najee Lane 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Rhett Della 17 points, six boards and three steals.

Brian Carlwell and Bryton Hobbs got the chance to begin their combination that the Hawks will be relying upon in their playoff push. Carlwell finished with 25 points, 16 rebounds and four assists, and Hobbs 23 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists in his second game back.

Ben Dixon added 12 points and four assists for Perry Lakes, Josh Garlepp nine points and Jordan Hickert eight to go with five rebounds.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Bethanie Stirling Senators 58 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 76
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 79 defeated Print Sync South West Slammers 40
Perry Lakes Hawks 91 defeated Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars 57

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Bethanie Stirling Senators 100 defeated Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 91
Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 105 defeated Print Sync South West Slammers 96
Perry Lakes Hawks 88 lost to Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars 100

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene-Elise Photography