Last weekend State Basketball League action happened again in the City of Albany for the first time in over 10-years since the Albany Raiders ceased to play.  The Southside Mitsubishi Redbacks obtained approval from the league to play its home-game men’s and women’s fixture against the Mandurah Magic in Albany.  This is the first time the Redbacks have ever taken one of its home fixtures to the country in a qualifying State Basketball League round.

The crowd of around 450 saw the Redbacks women’s team beat the Magic 69 to 56 points.  Small-forward Renae Camino top-scored for the Redbacks with 27 points along with 15 rebounds and 2 assists.  Centre Brooke Hiddlestone was the next highest scorer with 17 points along with 15 rebounds, 4 assists and a massive 7 steals.  Young high-school guard Jacinta Bourne continued her strong emergence into the league scoring 10 points, which included two telling three-pointers in the third quarter to help thwart a strong Magic come-back.

The Magic’s power-forward Shelley Boston proves once again that she remains a force in the league putting in 18 points along with 8 rebounds and 1 assist.  Gemma Thomas scored 15 points with 10 rebounds and Kelli Hayward scored 11 points along with an impressive with 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals.

The win sees the Redbacks women’s team moving up from 6th to 5th place in the 12-team competition with a season record of 9 wins and 6 losses.  The Mandurah Magic finds itself on the cusp of the final play-off position in 8th position with a season record of 7 wins and 8 losses.

The Redbacks’ men’s team beat the Magic 115 to 98.  US import Chris Lynch top-scored with 36 points along with 11 rebounds and 3 assists.  This included a perfect 4 from 4 three-pointers.  Captain and point-guard Joel Wagner scored 16-points along with 6 rebounds and a massive 13 assists.  Shooting guard Jarrad Prior scored 21-points at a field goal percentage of 78, including 3 three-pointers at 60% along with 5 rebounds and 2 assists

Centre Shaun Bennison top-scored for the Magic with 18 points along with 15 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Guard Andrew Bowman scored 17 points along with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Power-forward Tom Remmerswaal again worked hard in the paint in scoring 15 points along with 10 rebounds and 2 assists.  Captain and point-guard Ben Caporn scored 14 points along with 5 rebounds and 6 assists and Aaron Trahair scored 13 points along with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked-shot.

The win sees the Redbacks’ men move up two places in the 14-team competition to 9th place with a season record of 7 wins and 11 losses.  The Magic remains in 14th place with a season record of 1 win and 17 losses.

The Redbacks records it thanks to all concerned from the Mandurah Magic for agreeing to be a part of this country fixture and for the help and positive attitude in making this country fixture happen.  This includes President Kath Della Santina, manager for the two teams on the night Chris Spitty and coaches Brooke Burns and Jason Chalk. 

Thanks also goes to the referees Peter Houghton, Steve Diconza, Brad Carle and Jamie Langshaw for agreeing to be part of this occasion and for getting into the spirit of the night so well.

Thanks similarly go to the score-bench officials Deb Fitzsimons, Jenny Elder, Danni Riddell and Rob Green; statisticians Ron Romero and Jayne Armstrong; and evaluator Ken Riddell for willingly making this trip down to the country and helping out.  Also, thanks goes to Basketball WA Operations Manager “CJ” Jackson for being there on the night and helping out at the basketball clinic the next morning.

The Redbacks also acknowledges the hard-work and support given by the last Raiders coach and current manager of the Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre David Schoeber, Trish Martin of the City of Albany, Chris Thompson of the Department of Sport and Recreation Albany along with Rob Whalley and the committee of the Albany Basketball Association.

Finally, thanks goes to all of the Redbacks’ helpers who came down on the weekend to assist including Sandra and Vicki Bors, Vern and Kay Hiddlestone, Marg Prior, Sue Hosken and Mark and Faith Murray without whose help these games and the basketball clinic, could not have occurred.

Article by Redbacks Media