The Southside Mitsubishi Redbacks men’s and women’s State Basketball League teams won three of four games over the weekend. 

On the Friday night the Redbacks’ women won at home against the Metropolis Fremantle Cougars 85 to 55 points.  The top-scorer for the Redbacks was Australian Opals Squad member Renae Camino with 29 points along with 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.  Forward Brooke Hiddlestone scored 20 points at a field goal percentage of 75 whilst bringing down 8 rebounds and making 3 assists and 4 steals.  17-year old guard Jacinta Bourne chipped in 13-points in just 18 minutes on the court, which included 4 successful three-point shots.  Perth Lynx player Emma Pass top-scored for the Cougars with 19 points along with 6 rebounds.  Guard Lizell Buckley scored 14 points and brought down 6 rebounds.

On the Saturday night the Redbacks women beat the Carpet Court Slammers in Eaton 91 to 61 points.  Hiddlestone scored 21 points for the Redbacks and brought down an impressive 19 rebounds.  Camino was again the game high scorer with 30 points along with 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots.  The top-scorer for the Slammers was forward Bess Lennox with 14 points along with 15 rebounds and 5 assists, with centre Alex Kerr scoring 14 points and guard Kate Fielding scoring 12 points.

The two wins sees the Redbacks’ women move up one place to 4th in the 12-team competition with a season record of 12 wins and 6 losses.

The Redbacks’ men’s team lost in a tough encounter against the Telstra Shop Success Cougars 86 to 94.  Guard Jarrad Prior top-scored for the Redbacks with 28 points along with 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 7 steals and 1 blocked-shot.  Forward Chris Lynch scored 26 points and brought down 14 rebounds whilst guard Joel Wagner scored 6 points and made 10 assists.  However, the Redbacks could not match the spread of Cougars scorers with forward Bryce Burch accumulating 16 points, guard Alex Prince 16 points, guard Adam Becus 15 points and forward Andrew Musulin 15 points.

The Redbacks’ men reversed this with a tough win against the Slammers on the Saturday night 112 to 98 points.  The Slammers led for the first three-quarters until Redbacks’ guard Ryan Neill got his radar working and put in 25 points in the last quarter, which included 6 three-pointers, for a game total of 37.  Joel Wagner scored 21 points and made 11 assists and 3 steals, while Lynch scored 23 points along with 8 rebounds and 4 assists.  Tough forward defensive player Earl Nurse scored 10 points, brought down 11 rebounds and made 2 assists and 3 blocked-shots. 

The Slammers’ US import and centre John Smith top-scored with 30 points and brought down 14 rebounds.  Guard Ty Alabakis was their next highest scorer with 18 points and made 6 assists, while forward Aaron Edwards scored 10 points along with 10 rebounds. Guard Wade Hitchcock also scored 10 points and made 2 assists along with 2 blocked shots.

The large and vocal Redbacks’ crowd at the Bunbury game was highly notable for an away country fixture, clearly motivated both their men’s and women’s teams and contributed heavily to the great atmosphere that was generated on the night.  This high attendance was as a result of the fixtures being cleverly coordinated so that the Redbacks’ WABL teams played on the Sunday.

The win sees the Redbacks’ men with a season record of 9 wins and 13 losses and maintain 7th place in the 14-team competition.

The action continues this Saturday, 27 June at the Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre between the Redbacks and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns, with the women’s game starting at 6.00PM and the men’s game at 8.00PM.  This game is sponsored by the Local Drug Action Groups In and is part of the Drug Action Week official activities, with entry being only $2 for all spectators.

Article by Redbacks Media