THE Rockingham Flames, Joondalup Wolves and Willetton Tigers all recorded men's and women's victories in the SBL on Friday over the Mandurah Magic, Lakeside Lightning and South West Slammers.

The Flames, Tigers and Wolves all cemented their positions as the top three teams in the women's SBL with their Friday night wins in the second last round of the 2015 season, while Rockingham beat Mandurah in the men's competition leaving the Magic vulnerable in eighth position to the chasing Perry Lakes Hawks.

The three women's matches on Friday night saw the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves beat the Lakeside Lightning 74-44 at Lakeside Recreation Centre, the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames defeat the Mandurah Magic 84-68 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre, and the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers down the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 76-52 at Eaton Recreation Centre.

The men's Friday night action saw the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames put another dent in the Mandurah Magic's playoff hopes, beating them 106-91 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

The Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves also defeated the Lakeside Lightning 114-95 at Lakeside Recreation Centre and the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers downed the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 99-65 at Eaton Recreation Centre.

Starting with the women's action on Friday night, the Wolves held the Lightning to just 20 first half points at Lakeside to set up an eventual 30-point victory.

The win locks away third position come the end of the season now for the Lady Wolfpack at 17-4 while the Lightning have now lost 12 straight matches to finish their season with a 1-21 record.

Rebecca Mercer again led from the front for the Wolves with 18 points shooting 8-of-14 from the field.

Nikita-Lee Martin added 15 points and six rebounds as well for the Lady Wolfpack with Antonia Edmondson contributing 13 points, seven boards and four assists, Ellyce Ironmonger nine points, four rebounds and three assists, and Chelsea Burns eight points, 11 boards, eight assists and four steals.

Courtney Byrnes fought hard for the Lightning to end up top-scoring with 17 points, four steals, three rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots while Ashleigh Grant contributed 14 points, five boards and four blocks.

The Flames extended their winning run to 13 by beating the Magic in Mandurah by 16 points on Friday night on the back of holding the home team to just the nine points in the fourth period after a tight opening three quarters.

Sami Whitcomb continued her stunning recent form for the Flames with another 28 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Jacinta Bourne added 14 points, 11 boards, five steals and three assists for Rockingham while Darcee Garbin marked her return with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Talisia Bourne also contributed 10 points and three assists for the Flames with Tarsha Fletcher adding eight points and five rebounds.

Ashlee Sidebottom top-scored for the Magic with 16 points, three rebounds and two assists with Emma Klasztorny contributing 13 points and 11 boards, Rachel Halleen 13 points and Casey Mihovilovich 11 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals.

The Tigers won their eighth straight match to remain just the one game behind the league-leading Wolves with Willetton beating the Slammers in Eaton by 24 points on Friday night. Meanwhile, the loss sees South West slip to an 8-12 record to only just be clinging on in the top eight.

Kate Malpass led the way for the Tigers finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two assists while Louella Tomlinson contributed 20 points, 11 boards, five blocked shots, two assists and two steals shooting 8-of-13 from the field, and 2-of-3 from both beyond the arc and from the charity stripe.

Emma Gandini also contributed 13 points and six rebounds for Willetton with Ebony Antonio adding 10 points, four boards and four assists, and Zoe Harper eight points and nine rebounds.

Patricia Bright was the only player for the Slammers scoring in double-figures finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds in the loss.

And then in the men's contests on Friday, the Wolves continued the Lightning's disappointing finish to the season handing Lakeside a sixth successive defeat that has cost them a spot in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the minor premier Wolves continued their winning ways claiming a sixth straight victory to improve to a 22-3 record.

The Wolves' win was again set up by having so many different players stepping up with Kevin Davis leading the way with 24 points and nine rebounds while shooting 10-of-14 from the field.

Trian Iliadis also added 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Wolfpack on the back of shooting 9-of-15 from the floor and 4-of-7 from three-point territory.

Rob Huntington contributed 19 points off the bench for Joondalup while Seb Salinas finished with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists, Damian Matacz 11 points and four assists, and Joel Questel six points and eight assists.

Jordan Swing had a tremendous night for the Lightning despite the loss to the Wolves finishing with 38 points, six rebounds and five assists while shooting 15-of-23 from the floor and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.

Tom Parkinson added 20 points and eight rebounds for Lakeside while Luke Thomas contributed 15 points and 13 boards while Jarrad Prue finished with eight points and 13 rebounds.

The Flames then put in a dominant fourth quarter with 36 points to 23 to beat the Magic in Mandurah on Friday night.

The win keeps the Flames right in contention to snatch fourth position off the Cougars heading into the playoffs to earn home court advantage in the quarter-final series, while the Magic now could be out of the top eight altogether come Saturday night unless they beat the Hawks.

Cooper Land had a monster night leading the Flames to the win over the Magic finishing with 31 points, 15 rebounds and three assists while shooting 13-of-25 from the field.

Taylor Land also added 17 points, nine boards and three assists for Rockingham while Tom Remmerswaal contributed 13 points and six rebounds, Jarryd Griffin 11 points and seven boards, Ryan Godfrey 11 points and five assists, and Justin Beard 11 points and six rebounds.

Ben Smith did all he could to try and get the Magic over the line with 18 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks and two steals while Taylor Mullenax contributed 18 points, eight boards, two assists and two steals.

Paul Hafford also finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for Mandurah with Beau Samuelson scoring 16 points off the bench, and Jarrad Jackson adding nine points and six assists, and Rhett Della seven points and nine boards.

The Slammers missed a chance on Friday night to secure third position going down at home to the Tigers by 34 points with South West managing just the 40 points over the last three quarters. The win is a confidence booster for Willetton ahead of the playoffs improving them to 13-12.

Damien Scott ended up top-scoring for the Tigers with 21 points while Nic Cody contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Kyle Armour added 14 points, seven assists, five steals and four rebounds as well for Willetton with Ephrem Davis also finishing with 13 points, 14 boards and two assists.

Tre Nichols top-scored for the Slammers with 13 points and five rebounds with Aaron Edwards adding 12 points, 11 rebounds and three assists with the Slammers missing the presence of playing-coach Ty Harrelson on the floor.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Lakeside Lightning 44 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 74
Mandurah Magic 68 lost to Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 84
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 52 lost to Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 76

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Lakeside Lightning 95 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 114
Mandurah Magic 91 lost to Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 106
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 65 lost to Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 99

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin