It was another weekend of mixed results for the Mandurah Magic, with the teams splitting the double header fixture against local rivals Rockingham Flames on Sunday afternoon in Mandurah.

The women’s team went down fighting to last year’s grand finalists, while the Magic men had a comfortable 20 point win.

The Flames entered round 4 of the women’s league winless, and still missing a couple of their star players. Darcee Garbin’s national commitments have kept her out of the squad, while last year’s league MVP Emma Cannon announced late Sunday that she would not be returning to the league this year to honour her contract with the team.

The Magic were also without youngsters Ashlee Sidebottom and Ashlee Norman, also due to national commitments.

Mandurah started strongly in the first half, capitalising on some Rockingham turnovers to take a five point lead into half time. Brittany Ward’s speed proved effective for the Magic as she forced the Flames into giving the ball up on numerous occasions.

The Flames kept in touch through West Coast Waves forward Kaye Tucker, who was able to convert from distance. Casey Ware was also effective in the first half and was able to stretch Mandurah’s transition defence.

Rockingham was able to cut the deficit in the third quarter but a buzzer beater from Magic guard Maddy Pettit at three quarter time, restored their momentum. However that momentum soon disappeared as Ward took a nasty fall and hit her head against the baseline wall. She sat out with what appeared to be a concussion, and the Flames were able to take full advantage of the Magic’s lack of speed up the floor.

Crucial three pointers from Tucker and Jacinta Bourne were enough for the Flames to edge out a victory, and register their first win of the season. Tucker led all scorers with 23 points, while Casey Mihovilovich led the way for the Magic with 18 points. The Flames sit in tenth spot on the WSBL ladder while the Magic drop to seventh with two wins and two losses.

The Magic men fared much better in their matchup with the Flames, leading from start to finish registering a 103-83 victory. The win was made even sweeter for Magic guard Andrew Bowman who celebrated his 250^th SBL game.

After what was a relatively even first quarter, the Magic took control of the game with stifling defence and accurate shooting.

The Magic shot 52% from the field in comparison with Rockingham’s 38%, and were able to out-rebound the Flames 56-48.

The Magic’s main defensive focus was on Flames import Cooper Land, who came into the game leading the league in scoring with just over 32 points per game. Land was kept relatively quiet during the first half which allowed the Magic to build their lead.

Taylor Land once again ran the floor with determination and provided numerous scoring opportunities for the Magic. Veteran Aaron Trahair was one beneficiary of Land’s vision, converting on four three pointers for the game.

However it was the big men of Mandurah who caused the most damage. Taylor Mullenax and Rhett Della Maddalena again combined well and proved to be a handful inside the paint.

Mullenax led the team with 20 points and 14 rebounds while Della Maddalena finished with 18 points. Taylor Land was also outstanding for the Magic finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Cooper Land led the Flames with 26 points, while Jake Amos also had a solid game with 17.

Despite the win the Magic still sit outside the top eight with two wins and three losses, while the Flames linger in 13^th position, still winless from their first four games.

Week 5 of the SBL sees the Magic women have the week off with a bye while the men will attempt to win in Kalgoorlie for the first time since 1989 as they face the Goldfields Giants on Saturday night. The Flames face a tough double header next week as they travel to Belmont on Saturday night to face the Perth Redbacks and then return home on Sunday afternoon to face the red hot Lakeside Lightning, in what will be Kaye Tucker’s 300^th game in the league.