THE top two women's teams the Rockingham Flames and Willetton Tigers both took one-nil leads in their SBL semi-final match ups after wins on Saturday night while the only men's contest saw the South West Slammers win an overtime thriller over the Goldfields Giants.

Both Game 1 semi-final matches in the women's competition took place on Saturday night with the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames beating the Mandurah Magic 90-70 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

The Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers also defeated the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 82-68 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium.

The men's semi finals got underway on Friday night with the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves beating the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames, and then on Saturday night it took overtime for the Collie South West Slammers to overcome the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 116-111 at Neils Hansen Basketball Stadium.

Starting with the women's contests, the defending champion and minor premier Flames moved within one win of another grand final appearance with a 20-point win over the Magic and Mandurah.

The Flames got off to a fast start with 26 points to the Magic's 14 in the first quarter, and then another 33 points to 15 in the second saw Rockingham in control leading by 26 points at half-time before going on to win comfortably by 20.

Darcee Garbin continued her hot form from the quarter finals with another big game for the Flames with 26 points and six rebounds while shooting 9-of-15 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.

Reigning MVP Sami Whitcomb also had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Rockingham with Jacinta Bourne contributing 22 points, four boards, four assists and two steals, Talisia Bourne 10 points and five rebounds, and Tarsha Fletcher eight points.

Ashlee Sidebottom top-scored for the Magic with 18 points while Briana Klasztorny finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, Rachel Halleen 10 points and Casey Mihovilovich nine points, nine assists and three boards.

The Tigers, meanwhile, moved to within one game of the grand final for 2015 as well beating the Wolves by 14 points at Joondalup on Saturday night.

The Lady Wolfpack made a strong start and led the Tigers 35-24 at half-time, but Willetton gradually worked its way on top of Joondalup and ended up outscoring the home team 27-17 in the fourth quarter to win the match by 14 points.

It was the depth of the Tigers that led to the win with six players scoring in double-figures with Desiree Kelley leading the way with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals while Zoe Harper finished with 14 points, nine boards and two assists.

Melissa Collins (nee Marsh) turned back the clock to also finish with 13 points for Willetton while Kate Malpass finished with 13 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals, Lara Napier 11 points and four boards, and Louella Tomlinson 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Rebecca Mercer top-scored for the Wolves with 20 points while Nikita-Lee Martin added 17 points and 10 rebounds, Shani Amos 11 points and five assists, and Ellyce Ironmonger nine points, 16 boards and three assists.

Then in the men's contest on Saturday night, the Slammers and Giants played out an overtime classic in front of a big, loud and vocal Kalgoorlie crowd who were trying to get their team one win away from the men's grand final for 2015.

The Giants needed a big fourth quarter to force the overtime period and that's what they delivered with 29 points to 20 from the Slammers with scores locked at 103-apiece after 48 minutes.

However, that comeback seemed to take the win out of the sails of Goldfields and South West was able to score 13 points to eight in overtime to win and now require to win just one of two potential matches at Eaton Recreation Centre next weekend to advance to the grand final.

Even more impressive and important for the Slammers getting the win in hostile territory was the fact that it came without playing-coach Ty Harrelson who should return for next weekend's Game 2 and potentially Game 3 if it's required.

Tre Nichols led the way for South West with 27 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals while Wade Hitchcock added 20 points, three assists and two boards while nailing 8-of-17 from the field, and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Brian Voelkel had another monster game for the Slammers with 19 points, 18 rebounds and six assists with Trent Worthington contributing 17 points and 10 boards, Jordan Hickert 14 points and five rebounds, and Aaron Edwards 11 points.

Jacob Holmen top-scored for the Giants with 35 points, 15 rebounds and six assists while Mathiang Muo contributed 26 points, eight boards and four assists, and Jay Bowie 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.

Brandon Hewitt-Holloway also contributed 14 points and eight assists for Goldfields and Russell Hurst had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Mandurah Magic 70 lost to Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 90
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 68 lost to Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 82

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 111 lost to Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 116

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Grant Lauterbach