THE Joondalup Wolves and Perry Lakes Hawks both won their Women's SBL quarter-final series' on Saturday night to set up a semi-final battle starting at Joondalup Basketball Stadium next weekend.

It was Game 2 between the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars and Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves when they did battle at Wally Hagan Stadium on Saturday night, with the minor premier Lady Wolfpack prevailing 84-63.

It was then Game 3 in the fascinating series between the Perry Lakes Hawks and Mandurah Magic, and it was the Lady Hawks who prevailed on their home floor of Bendat Basketball Centre winning 71-59.

That sets up a semi-final contest between the Wolves and Hawks for a place in the 2016 Grand Final.

The other semi-final series was decided on Friday night when the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames and Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers eliminated the Texture WA Perth Redbacks and Lakeside Lightning respectively.

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Starting with the Game 2 on Saturday night between the Cougars and Lady Wolfpack, Cockburn was on its home floor and needed something special to force the No. 1 seeds to a Game 3 on Sunday.

With Candace Williams in their line-up that wasn’t without a possibility, but in the end the strength and depth of the Wolves proved too strong as the minor premiers ran away with the 21-point victory.

The Cougars actually led by a point at the end of the first quarter but the Wolves started to warm up in the second period to lead 41-36 at the half. It was then all Joondalup after half-time with the Wolves outscoring the Cougars 43-27 to end up winning by 21 points.

The Lady Wolfpack did well shooting 45 per cent from the field to 37 per cent from the Cougars, but it was on the glass Joondalup really dominated with 49 boards to 27, including 20 at the offensive end to nine to help them control the possession game.

It was Nikita-Lee Martin who top-scored for the Wolves with 23 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

Klara Wischer contributed 20 points, eight boards, six assists and two steals as well for Joondalup while Amy Kidner added 13 points and five rebounds, Ellyce Ironmonger 11 points, 18 boards and five assists, and Shani Amos six points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

Sherelle Knight again provided a spark off the bench as husband Matt and their two daughters watched on, adding seven points and two assists in almost 17 minutes of court time.

Williams never gave up for the Cougars despite the frustrations of the season coming to an end, finishing with 27 points and 15 rebounds shooting 11-of-22 from the floor.

Cherridy Thornton added 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Cougars while Nicole Roberts contributed seven points and Chelsea Evans four in what might have been her final SBL appearance.

Then in the deciding Game 3 in what has been a thrilling series between the fourth ranked Hawks and fifth ranked Magic, it was always likely to go down to the wire after both teams had prevailed on their home floors.

It was Perry Lakes who earned the home court advantage for the decider and the Hawks made the most of it leading pretty much all night to secure the eventual 12-point win to advance to the semi finals.

The Lady Hawks led by three points at quarter-time and then 16 at half-time. The Magic tried to pull off a comeback in the second half but the Hawks didn’t give them enough of a sniff to end what has been an exciting second half of 2016 by Mandurah despite not having a true home floor.

Deanna Smith led the way for the Hawks with 22 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals on the back of hitting four of her seven three-point attempts, and a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line.

Antonia Edmondson added 14 points, four boards and two assists for Perry Lakes with Lauren Jeffers finishing with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Sarah Donovan contributed 10 points and six rebounds for the Lady Hawks as well.

Annette Davis finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals for Mandurah while Rachel Halleen backed up her big performance on Friday night with 14 points and three boards.

Adijat Adams also added 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots for the Magic and Casey Mihovilovich eight points, seven assists and six boards.

WOMEN'S QUARTER FINAL GAME 2
Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars 63 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 84

WOMEN'S QUARTER FINAL GAME 3
Perry Lakes Hawks 71 defeated Mandurah Magic 59

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Sebpix Photography