THE Rockingham Flames and Mandurah Magic women stayed unbeaten while the South West Slammers and Geraldton Buccaneers continued their winning ways in men's action as part of Week 6 Saturday night's SBL fixtures.

There were four women's matches on Saturday night with the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames winning a thriller 78-76 over the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Mike Barnett Sports Complex and the Mandurah Magic holding off the Schweigen East Perth Eagles 70-67 at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

The Perry Lakes Hawks also beat the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 61-57 at the WA Basketball Centre and the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves thrashed the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 86-60 at Wally Hagan Stadium.

It was a massive night of men's action on Saturday starting with the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers beating the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 105-81 at Active West Stadium and the Bethanie Stirling Senators defeating the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 89-85 at Neils Hansen Basketball Stadium.

The Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars then beat the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 104-99 in overtime at Wally Hagan Stadium while the Mandurah Magic downed the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 112-98 at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

The Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers beat the Perry Lakes Hawks 106-86 at the WA Basketball Centre and the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames defeated the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 96-78 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

In the women's action, the Hawks handed the Slammers their second defeat of the weekend and fourth in-a-row holding on for a four-point victory at the WA Basketball Centre.

Megan McKay led the way for the Hawks with 22 points and six rebounds with Kassi Conditt adding 16 points and 13 boards while Lauren Jeffers contributed eight points and 12 rebounds.

Patricia Bright fought hard for the Slammers with 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots while Deanica McCormick added 17 points, four boards and three assists. Kate Fielding also finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Slammers.

The Wolves then backed up their win over the Redbacks on Friday night beating the Cougars by 26 points on Saturday to record a fifth straight victory and to improve to a 5-1 record.

Chelsea Burns finished with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals for Joondalup City while Rebecca Mercer added another 16 points, Amy Kidner 13, Casey Lockwood 11 and Shani Amos 10 to go with eight rebounds and five assists.

Playing-coach Deanna Smith again led the way for the Cougars with 20 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and two blocked shots but she was the only Cockburn player to score in double-figures.

The Magic and Cougars men both geared up for their big clash on Sunday afternoon with terrific Saturday night victories.

Mandurah beat the defending champion East Perth at Morley by 14 points on the back of a dominant 34 points to 17 fourth quarter.

Paul Hafford led the way all night for the Magic finishing with 31 points, 10 rebounds and three steals while hitting 6-of-13 from three-point territory.

Rhett Della also added 29 points, seven boards and six assists for Mandurah while hitting an efficient 9-of-12 from the field.

Jarrad Jackson also contributed 15 points, three assists and three steals for the Magic with Taylor Mullenax adding 12 points and eight rebounds, and Brendan Della 11 points.

Tom Jervis returned for the Eagles for the first time this season and finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and three assists on the back of shooting 10-of-13 from the floor.

Sunday Dech also had 23 points for East Perth, Drew Williamson 16 (eight assists), Jamie Barnett 12 and Joe-Alan Tupaea 10 (eight assists, seven rebounds).

Meanwhile, Cockburn beat Joondalup City by five points in a thrilling overtime contest at Wally Hagan Stadium.

Gavin Field top-scored for the Cougars with 29 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, four assists and four blocked shots while shooting 10-of-22 from the field, 3-of-5 from downtown and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Eric Millam also had a strong game for Cockburn finishing with 25 points and 13 rebounds with Najee Lane adding 22 points, nine boards and five steals, and Grant Davey 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

The Wolves lost their second game in six days after winning their first five of the 2015 season despite Damian Matacz contributing 24 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots off the bench while shooting 9-of-13 from the floor.

Rob Huntington also had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Joondalup City with Seb Salinas adding 18 points, five boards and four assists, Trian Iliadis 15 points and nine rebounds, Joel Questel 12 points and four assists, and Kevin Davis seven points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.

The Slammers returned to the top of the SBL men's competition with their 20-point win at the WA Basketball Centre over the Hawks with playing-coach Ty Harrelson leading the way with 36 points and five rebounds while shooting 9-of-20 from three-point territory.

Clive Weeden also added 26 points and six rebounds for South West, Tre Nichols 24 points and five assists, and Brian Voelkel 10 points, 19 boards and six assists.

Ben Purser did all he could for Perry Lakes finishing the night with 20 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and three blocked shots with Bryton Hobbs adding 20 points.

Ryan Smith also had 18 points and six rebounds for the Hawks with Josh Garlepp scoring seven points to go with seven rebounds and three assists.

The Flames bounced back from a four-game losing streak on the back of a five-match winning start by beating the Eastern Suns by 18 points in Rockingham on Saturday night.

Ryan Godfrey led the way for the Flames in the win with 26 points and five assists while Tom Remmerswaal adding 22 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Chad Simpson also had 18 points for Rockingham with Taylor Land adding six points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Lien Phillip delivered an outstanding performance for the Eastern Suns in defeat with 21 points and 30 rebounds with Seva Chan adding 19 points, Kevin Anthony 16 points and seven boards, and Jaarod Holes 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Senators then held on to beat the Giants in Kalgoorlie despite only scoring 28 points in the second half while Goldfields added 42.

Cody Ellis was the best performer of the night for the Senators finishing with 25 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots while Austin Bruton contributed 21 points and seven boards.

Ryan Woodbury also had 14 points and eight rebounds for Stirling, Kyle Lindbergh 12 points, nine boards and six assists, and Tom Witts 10 points and four assists.

Jay Bowie did all he could for the Giants to try to get that first win of the season with 30 points, 17 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Jay Holmen added 22 points and 12 rebounds for Goldfields while Brandon Hewitt-Holloway finished with 12 points and six assists, and Mathiang Muo 10 points, 10 boards, three assists and two steals.

The Buccaneers won their eighth straight match and did it in style to end the Tigers' five-match winning streak to win at home by 24 points on Saturday night.

Bennie Lewis had a superb night for the Buccaneers with 37 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Quincy Hankins-Cole added 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Buccs with Carter Cook contributing 15 points and 11 boards, Mat Wundenberg 13 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, and Daniel Thomas 12 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Damien Scott top-scored for the Tigers with 19 points and six rebounds with Nic Cody adding 13 points and 12 boards, Corey Easley 13 points and nine rebounds, and Kyle Armour 11 points, four boards, four assists and two steals.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 60 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 86
Schweigen East Perth Eagles 67 lost to Mandurah Magic 70
Perry Lakes Hawks 61 defeated Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 57
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 78 defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns 76

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 105 defeated Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 81
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 85 lost to Bethanie Stirling Senators 89
Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 104 defeated Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 99
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 98 lost to Mandurah Magic 112
Perry Lakes Hawks 86 lost to Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 106
Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 96 defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns 78

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene-Elise Photography