Flames/Tigers women keep battling as Wolfpack men secure top spot (Week 17 Saturday night SBL wrap)

THE Rockingham Flames women and Joondalup Wolves men took another step to claiming the respective SBL minor premierships with big wins on Saturday night while the action was lit up by two stunning thrillers that saw the Rockingham Flames and Perry Lakes Hawks prevail.

The women's top two teams both scored big wins on Saturday night as the Rockingham Flames and Willetton Tigers continue to fight over that minor premiership, but the Joondalup Wolves have now all but secured the men's first position after beating the Geraldton Buccaneers on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the Hawks men kept their playoff hopes alive with an overtime win over the Giants in Geraldton and the Flames scored another thrilling two-point win over the Stirling Senators.

The two women's matches on Saturday night saw the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers beat the Mandurah Magic 74-51 at Willetton Basketball Stadium, and the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames defeat the Stirling Senators 117-67 at Warwick Leisure Centre.

There were then four men's matches on Saturday night starting with the top of the table clash between the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves and S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers, with the Wolfpack beating the Buccs 108-90 at Active West Stadium.

The Perry Lakes Hawks also beat the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 104-102 at Neils Hansen Basketball Stadium, the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers downed the Mandurah Magic 102-85 at Willetton Basketball Stadium and the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames defeated the Bethanie Stirling Senators 111-109 at Warwick Leisure Centre.

Starting with the two women's matches on Saturday night, the Tigers scored a 23-point win over the Magic to maintain pace with the league-leading Flames as the battle over top spot remains a nail-biter.

The win sees Willetton improve to a 17-2 record while Mandurah slips back to 13-5 to remain in fourth spot but to be losing touch with the third placed Joondalup Wolves who are 15-4.

All five starters for the Tigers scored in double-figures with Desiree Kelley leading the way with 16 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Ebony Antonio added 14 points and five boards for Willetton while Louella Tomlinson was again outstanding at both ends of the floor with 13 points, eight rebounds, eight blocked shots and four assists.

Zoe Harper also finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, and Kate Malpass 10 points, nine assists, eight boards and three steals.

Peyton Davis tried hard for the Magic with a double-double made up of 13 points and 12 rebounds to go with five assists while Ashlee Sidebottom added 10 points, four boards and three assists, and Casey Mihovilovich seven points, seven rebounds, six steals, three assists and two blocked shots.

The Flames then maintained their place on top of the women's SBL standings with a commanding 50-point victory on the road to the Senators on Saturday night with Rockingham improving to 17-1 and Stirling slipping to 3-15.

Reigning MVP Sami Whitcomb continued her dominant form for the Flames with another 30 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals on the back of shooting 12-of-24 from the field, 4-of-12 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

Jacinta Bourne also added 21 points, seven boards and seven assists while having a terrific shooting night with 8-of-13 from the floor, and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Elyse O'Dea also added 16 points off the bench for Rockingham with Kate Williams contributing 14 points and three assists, and Talisia Bourne 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Amber Land top-scored for the Senators with 22 points, 18 rebounds and three assists with Lyndal Gardner finishing with 11 points and five boards, and Cassie Bates 10 points and four rebounds.

Then in the men's action, the Wolves went a long way to securing the minor premiership by beating the Buccaneers in Geraldton by 18 points on the back of a massive 38-point fourth quarter while holding the Buccs to just nine points in the process.

That saw the Wolfpack go from trailing by 11 points entering the fourth quarter to go on and win by 18 to all but lock away top position now for the end of the regular season given they sit on a 20-3 record ahead of the 17-5 Buccaneers.

The only way the Buccs can now finish on top is if they win their remaining four matches over the last three weeks, and if the Wolves lose all of their last three matches.

Captain Seb Salinas had a tremendous game for the Wolves top-scoring with 29 points and five rebounds while shooting an outstanding 7-of-13 from beyond the three-point line.

Kevin Davis added 16 points and nine boards for the Wolfpack with Rob Huntington contributing 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, Trian Iliadis 13 points, nine boards and five assists, Louis Timms 12 points, six blocks and five rebounds, and Damian Matacz 10 points, five boards and five assists.

Bennie Lewis had another strong game for the Buccaneers with 31 points with Carter Cook adding 17 points and nine rebounds, Aaron Ralph 15 points and Cory Cooperwood 10.

The Hawks and Giants are two teams locked in a battle for a playoff position and the result was one of the games of the SBL season on Saturday night in Kalgoorlie.

The game ended up going into overtime and it was Ryan Smith who hit the game-winning pair of free-throws to break the 102-102 deadlock. He nailed both at the line and the Hawks scored the crucial two-point win to keep their playoffs hopes well and truly alive.

As a result of the win, the Hawks improved to a 9-13 record to close the gap to the eighth placed Giants who now fall to 10-12.

Bryton Hobbs once again was a big factor in the Hawks' victory finishing with 35 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals with Ben Purser adding 29 points, 14 boards, four assists and four steals.

As well as hitting the game-winning free-throws, Smith finished with 12 points and four boards for Perry Lakes with Josh Garlepp contributing 10 points and seven rebounds, and Rob Cassir 10 points and four boards.

Jay Bowie did all he could for the Giants finishing with 39 points and 16 rebounds on the back of shooting 13-of-24 from the field, 3-of-9 from beyond the three-point arc and a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line.

Jacob Holmen added 16 points, 11 boards, three blocks and three assists for Goldfields with Brandon Hewitt-Holloway contributing 13 points and five assists, and Russell Hurst 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Tigers rediscovered some strong form up against the Magic to end up winning at home by 17 points that goes a long way to securing the playoff position and keeping Mandurah vulnerable.

Following the result, Willetton improves to a 12-10 record with Mandurah slipping to 11-11 to only narrowly sit ahead of the 10-12 Goldfields, 9-13 Perry Lakes and 9-13 Lakeside.

Damien Scott had a big night for the Tigers leading them to the win on the back of his 31 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Kyle Armour also had a big impact for Willetton with 23 points, nine boards, eight assists and three steals while Ephrem Davis finished with 11 points, 19 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots, Hayden Noordhoek 11 points, four steals, three boards and two steals.

Paul Hafford top-scored for the Magic with 22 points and six rebounds while nailing 8-of-13 from the field, and 6-of-7 from downtown.

Taylor Mullenax added 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists with Ben Smith contributing 12 points, 15 boards, four assists, three blocks and two steals, and Brendan Della 11 points.

It was a thrilling, controversial and crucial contest in Rockingham that saw the Flames beat the Senators by two points at the finish following two free-throws on the buzzer after Nikolas Iliadis was called for a foul on Taylor Land.

Land made the pair to break the deadlock and give the Flames the two-point win and it was a crucial result seeing them improve to a 12-9 and get closer to securing a playoff berth, while the loss ends Stirling's slim playoff hopes with the Senators slipping to 7-14.

Tom Remmerswaal, Taylor Land and Ryan Godfrey all had big nights for the Flames with Remmerswaal finishing with 29 points, Land 27 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals, and Godfrey 26 points and seven boards.

Travis Moore also contributed 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench while shooting 5-of-8 from the field.

Cody Ellis did all he could to get the Senators over the line finishing with 38 points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists while shooting 12-of-19 from the field, 7-of-11 from three-point range and 7-of-10 from the free-throw line.

Kyle Lindbergh contributed 16 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and three assists while Austin Bruton added 16 points and three assists, and Ashley Litterick 15 points, five boards and two steals.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 74 defeated Mandurah Magic 51
Stirling Senators 67 lost to Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 117

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 90 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 108
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 102 lost to Perry Lakes Hawks 104
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 102 defeated Mandurah Magic 85
Bethanie Stirling Senators 109 lost to Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 111

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene-Elise Photography




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