WOMEN'S SBL powerhouses the Joondalup Wolves and Rockingham Flames both suffered road losses on Friday night at the hands of the Stirling Senators and Perth Redbacks.

There were two Women's SBL matches on Friday night to open Week 8 of the 2017 season with the Stirling Senators winning a thriller over the Joondalup Wolves 69-68 to hand the Lady Wolfpack a fourth consecutive loss.

The Perth Redbacks also pulled away from the Rockingham Flames in the second half to end up winning 85-74.

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The Lady Wolfpack took a rare three-game losing run with them to the Warwick Stadium on Friday night with the Senators also looking to bounce back from a loss to Perry Lakes almost a fortnight ago.

The local rivals had plenty to play for and it turned out a tight and tense affair.

The Wolves managed to lead 34-29 by half-time but on the back of Jasmine Martin taking full advantage of the visitors missing Shani Amos again, the Senators pulled away in the third quarter with 22 points to 11.

That saw them lead by six heading into the fourth quarter and it proved just enough for them to hold on for the nail-biting one-point victory.

Martin was the star of the night for Stirling with her best game of the season with 27 points and three assists on the back of shooting 8-of-17 from the floor and 9-of-10 at the free-throw line.

Kisha Lee added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Senators while Amber Land finished with 11 points and 11 boards.

Klara Wischer finished with 17 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and four assists for Joondalup with Nikita Martin adding 17 points, nine boards and four assists.

Chelsea Belcher continued her breakout season with 16 points and five rebounds including 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

Ellyce Ironmonger also had 14 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots for the Lady Wolfpack.

The Redbacks hosted the Flames at Belmont Oasis with Perth looking to stay in touch with the top four but Rockingham both wanted to start stringing wins together, and to celebrate the 350th game of dual championship winner Tarsha Fletcher.

The Redbacks made a strong start and by quarter-time had opened a nine-point advantage, but the Flames despite missing Jacinta Bourne and Chelsea Armstrong, continued to fight hard on the back of a monster effort from new import Chastity Reed.

Rockingham got back within five points by half-time and the game was all tied up by three quarter-time.

But down the stretch, the Flames just ran out of legs and with Dena English cramping up after having to pick up the slack from the absence Bourne and Armstrong, the Redbacks hit some big shots when it mattered to come away with the 11-point win.

Rebecca Benson ended up top-scoring for the Redbacks with 20 points to go with three rebounds and three assists.

Gabby Clayton added 19 points and five assists while hitting 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point territory.

Emilee Harmon contributed 18 points and six rebounds with Ajay Johnson adding 11 points, six boards and five assists, Danielle Lipscombe seven points, six rebounds and four assists, and Lisa Wallbutton six points, eight boards and three assists.

Reed put in a remarkable performance for the Flames and she was unstoppable anywhere inside the arc.

In just her second game for the Flames, she delivered 39 points, 13 rebounds and three steals having played all 40 minutes and shooting 16-of-29 from the field and 7-of-10 at the line.

English put in a tireless performance also for Rockingham playing all but 15 seconds and she only came off having cramped through the last quarter and with the game out of reach.

She finished with 15 points and three assists.

Ashlee Sidebottom also had 10 points and four rebounds for the Flames with Amanda Pether contributing six points.

Flames coach Ryan Petrik, while never happy to lose, couldn’t fault the efforts of his team particularly Reed and English.

"We make no excuses ever. We've had a pretty good run the last couple of years so we don’t ever want to offer up an excuse. We thought we were good enough to win the game but obviously not having those players made it a little bit tougher. But so be it," Petrik said.

"You have to be able to win away from home and when everything's not in your favour. Obviously Chastity and Dena played pretty much the whole game and they are exhausted now. The whole team played really hard and that's all you can ask for after the second half we gave Willetton last week.

"You are always disappointed to lose but if we played that game 100 times with those two rosters, I don’t know how many times we'd actually win.

"We thought flogging Dena and Chastity gave us our best chance but we still knew we were massive underdogs. There was still three points the difference with a few minutes left but these close games generally even themselves out. I think this result was right."

Week 8 Women's SBL action continues Saturday night with the South West Slammers playing the Perry Lakes Hawks, the East Perth Eagles taking on the Mandurah Magic and the Cockburn Cougars facing the Willetton Tigers.

Then on Sunday, the Kalamunda Eastern Suns host the South West Slammers.

FRIDAY NIGHT ROUND 8 WOMEN'S SBL RESULTS

Stirling Senators 69 defeated Joondalup Wolves 68
Perth Redbacks 85 defeated Rockingham Flames 74

SATURDAY NIGHT ROUND 8 WOMEN'S SBL FIXTURES
South West Slammers v Perry Lakes Hawks – Eaton Recreation Centre 6pm
East Perth Eagles v Mandurah Magic – Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 6pm
Cockburn Cougars v Willetton Tigers – Wally Hagan Stadium 6pm

SUNDAY ROUND 8 WOMEN'S SBL FIXTURES
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v South West Slammers – Ray Owen Sports Centre 12pm

Photo by Vikki Hile