Hawks men and women both win to secure playoff spots (Week 19 Saturday night SBL wrap)

IT WAS a big Saturday night for the Perry Lakes Hawks with both their men's and women's teams beating the Mandurah Magic to guarantee positions in the playoffs for 2015 with one round of the SBL season to go.

There were three women's matches on Saturday night with the Perry Lakes Hawks defeating the Mandurah Magic 65-44 at Bendat Basketball Centre, the Perth Redbacks beating the Stirling Senators 85-78 at Warwick Leisure Centre and the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers downing the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 96-73 at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

It was a big night of men's action on Saturday starting with the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars beating the S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 112-87 at Active West Stadium and the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants downing the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 128-94 at Kambalda Recreation Centre.

The Perry Lakes Hawks then continued their winning ways beating the Mandurah Magic 119-87 at Bendat Basketball Centre while the Bethanie Stirling Senators downed the Perth Redbacks 119-116 at Warwick Leisure Centre and the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 148-107 at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

Starting with the women's matches, the Hawks guaranteed their place in the playoffs for 2015 by beating the Magic by 21 points and handing Mandurah its second defeat of the weekend.

The Hawks did well limiting the offence of the Magic keeping them to just 44 points for the game to end up winning 21 points in the finish largely on the back of a 23-13 fourth quarter.

Lauren Jeffers top-scored for the Hawks with 16 points, seven assists and four rebounds while shooting 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.

Megan McKay added 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench while Sarah Donovan contributed nine points, nine boards and three assists, Danika Pisconeri eight points and eight rebounds, and Kassi Conditt seven points, eight boards, three blocks, two steals and two assists.

Ashlee Sidebottom ended up top-scoring for the Magic with 12 points and six rebounds with Emma Klasztorny adding 10 points and 11 boards.

The Senators and Redbacks might not have had a playoff berth at stake, but the Redbacks got their fifth win of the season ending Stirling's campaign with a loss and a three-game losing streak as the Senators end 2015 on 4-18.

Gaby Clayton led the way for the Redbacks off the bench with 24 points, six rebounds and four assists while hitting 9-of-20 from the field and 4-of-8 from three-point territory.

Jess Jakens contributed 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists as well for Perth while Alix Hayward finished with 15 points and six boards, and Lauren Hall 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Slammers guaranteed their place in the playoffs with an emphatic win over the fifth placed Suns on Saturday night with South West improving to a 9-12 record while Kalamunda slips to 12-9 having lost three straight.

The Slammers got off to a flying start against the Suns with 33 points to 19 in the opening quarter and were never really troubled from there going on to win by 23 points.

Deonica McCormick led the way for the Slammers with 24 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and three blocked shots while shooting 10-of-13 from the field.

Patricia Bright added 19 points, six boards and three assists for South West with Bianca Donovan contributing 12 points and six assists, Kelly Bastow 12 points and Kate Fielding six points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Jessie Edwards top-scored for the Eastern Suns with 23 points and 13 rebounds while Abbey Duinker added 19 points, eight boards, three assists and two steals, and Rebecca Motroni 15 points and five assists, and Natalia Soli'ai nine points, eight rebounds and five assists.

And then in the men's contests, the Cougars had a massive first half in Geraldton with 70 points to open up a 25-point half-time lead to set up the eventual 25-point victory after the Buccs were able to stem the tide in the second half, but not able to make any inroads on the deficit.

Najee Lane ended up top-scoring for the Cougars with 25 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots with Gavin Field adding 23 points, six boards and two assists, Eric Milam 22 points and six rebounds, and Julian Pesava 17 points and seven boards.

Bennie Lewis led the way for the Buccs once again finishing with 32 points, five rebounds and two assists with Carter Cook contributing 13 points, four assists, three boards, two steals and two blocked shots, and Aaron Ralph nine points and eight rebounds.

The Giants hosted the Eagles in their annual home game at Kambalda for the season and continued their tremendous form gearing up for a return to the playoffs with a 34-point victory over the defending champions.

Again it was Goldfields' three stars who were outstanding with Jay Bowie leading the way with 34 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals on the back of shooting 14-of-20 from the field, and 3-of-5 from deep.

Mathiang Muo also contributed 30 points, five steals and four rebounds for the Giants while Jacob Holmen added 24 points and nine boards, and Brandon Hewitt-Holloway 14 points and nine assists.

Rhys Vague top-scored for the undermanned Eagles with 20 points and 11 rebounds while Brendan Dinardo added 17 points and seven assists, Brighton Pass 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Jamie Barnett 1 5 points, six boards and four assists.

The Senators and Redbacks might not have had a lot to play for in their clash on Saturday night at Warwick, but the two teams put in an exciting contest that ended up going to overtime with Stirling prevailing in yet another thriller. This time the Senators won by three points.

Cody Ellis again led the way for the Senators with 27 points, 11 rebounds and four assists while Nikolas Iliadis contributed 20 points, six assists and three boards, Austin Bruton 22 points and five assists, Kyle Lindbergh 15 points and nine rebounds.

Caleb Davis also finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Stirling with Ashley Litterick contributing 11 points and six boards.

Raphiael Putney had a big performance for the Redbacks finishing with 33 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 13-of-25 from the field with Ray Turner adding 26 points, 12 boards and three blocked shots shooting 9-of-14 from the floor.

Ben Smith added 17 points for Perth with Marshall Nelson contributing 12 points and nine rebounds.

The Slammers then bounced back from a Friday night loss to by beating the Suns to improve to a 17-8 record in third spot while the Eastern Suns remain last now having lost their last 14 games at 2-23.

There were some enormous individual performances coming from the Slammers in the big win led by MVP candidate Tre Nichols who finished with a remarkable 51 points, five rebounds and four assists on the back of 18-of-31 from the field, 5-of-9 from three-point range and 10-of-11 from the foul line.

Brian Voelkel also delivered a massive triple-double with 29 points, 23 rebounds and 14 assists while shooting 9-of-14 from the floor.

Jordan Hickert also added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Slammers, Wade Hitchcock 15 points and Patrick Phillips 15 points and three assists.

Kevin Anthony had a big night for the Eastern Suns with 42 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots with Jaarod Holmes adding 20 points, five boards and three assists, and Seva Chan 17 points and three assists.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perry Lakes Hawks 65 defeated Mandurah Magic 44
Stirling Senators 78 lost to Perth Redbacks 85
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 73 lost to Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 96

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
S & K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 87 lost to Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 112
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 128 defeated Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 94
Perry Lakes Hawks 119 defeated Mandurah Magic 87
Bethanie Stirling Senators 119 defeated Perth Redbacks 116
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 107 lost to Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 148

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Sebpix Photography




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