Stacey Barr showed why she can’t be forgotten as an MVP fancy in the NBL1 West Women’s Division leading the Warwick Senators to a big Saturday night while the Perry Lakes Hawks and East Perth Eagles backed up their Friday night victories.
It was a big night in the NBL1 West Women’s Division to close out Round 9 and the Senators spoiled the homecoming of the Perth Redbacks while the Hawks and Eagles and Lightning made it two wins for the round, the Lightning bounced back and Joondalup Wolves also won on the road.
Those results came on the back of what happened on Friday night when the Perry Lakes Hawks beat the Lakeside Lightning 91-74 at Bendat Basketball Centre, the East Perth Eagles defeated the Rockingham Flames 83-77 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex, and the Cockburn Cougars downed the Mandurah Magic 69-56 at Wally Hagan Stadium.
That all led into the five matches on Saturday night starting with a Stacey Barr-inspired 93-58 win for the Warwick Senators against the Perth Redbacks at Belmont Oasis.
Barr put up 31 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and four steals for the Senators while Jess Jakens had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Redbacks.
The Perry Lakes Hawks returned to the winner’s list on Friday and backed it up at Eaton Recreation Centre on Saturday becoming the latest team to put the South West Slammers to the sword, winning 97-31.
Nat Burton put up 24 points and six rebounds for the Lady Hawks and Megan McKay 22 points and 12 rebounds.
The East Perth Eagles continue to be the great surprise packets of 2021 going to Willetton Basketball Stadium and coming away with the 87-76 victory over the Willetton Tigers.
It was a stunning display from Mary Goulding who produced 35 points, 13 rebounds and four steals in the win for East Perth while Samantha Lubcke battled tirelessly for the Tigers with 29 points and seven rebounds.
Two teams that lost on Friday then met at Lakeside Recreation Centre and it was the Lakeside Lightning who overran the Rockingham Flames to win 72-69.
Mikayla Pirini put up 21 points for Lakeside with Ash Isenbarger added 17 points, 14 rebounds and six assists while Tayah Burrows had 16 points for the Flames and Alex Ciabattoni 15.
The final game of the round then took place at Ray Owen Sports Centre with the Joondalup Wolves defeating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 66-54.
Chelsea Belcher had 17 points for the Wolfpack, Amber Land 15 and Kayla Steindl 12. Jewel Williams scored 20 points for the Eastern Suns.
NBL1 WEST – 2021 WOMEN’S SEASON
ROUND 9 – SATURDAY NIGHT
PERTH REDBACKS 58 lost to WARWICK SENATORS 93
The Perth Redbacks were playing their first game at home in a month but it wasn’t a happy homecoming against the Warwick Senators on Saturday night.
After beating the East Perth Eagles in their last home game at Belmont Oasis back in Round 6, the Redbacks had played their past four matches on the road ahead of hosting the Senators back on their home court on Saturday.
It wouldn’t prove to be the happy homecoming they were hoping for, though, thanks to Stacey Barr and her Warwick teammates.
With Barr unstoppable and back to her MVP winning form of 2019, the Senators proved too strong to claim the 93-58 victory.
That result improves Warwick to a 5-3 record in fifth position for the season while the Redbacks slip back to 4-4 and seventh spot.
The Senators did well on the boards as well up against the Redbacks pulling in 62 rebounds to 51 for the night including 18 offensive boards to 12.
There were plenty of boards to gobble up with the Senators shooting at just 37 per cent from the field while the Redbacks really struggled going 20/76 at 26 per cent.
Stacey Barr was right back on top of her game in unstoppable form for the Senators finishing the evening with 31 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and four steals on the back shooting 11/21 from the floor and 6/11 from beyond the three-point arc.
Mackenzie Clinch-Hoycard was impressive for the Senators as well with 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists while Chloe Forster put up 13 points and eight boards, Caitlyn Jones 13 points and five assists, and Tayla Hepburn nine points and nine rebounds.
Captain Jess Jakens top-scored for the Redbacks with 12 points and eight rebounds while Maddie Allen fought hard inside for 10 points, 16 rebounds, four blocked shots, three assists and two steals.
Makailah Dyer finished with eight points, two assists and two steals for Perth, Bri Bailey six points, Shenae Hartree six points, five rebounds and three steals, Sarah Allen five points and three rebounds, and Denielle Ashworth five points and four boards.
SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 31 lost to PERRY LAKES HAWKS 97
The struggles of the South West Slammers continued on Saturday night with the Perry Lakes Hawks able to make it two wins within 24 hours.
The Lady Hawks got their second win of the season on the board against the Lakeside Lightning before hitting the road to take on the Slammers on Saturday at Eaton Recreation Centre.
The Slammers remain winless in 2021 and have struggled to avoid blowout each time they’ve hit the floor, and unfortunately it was more of the same even on their home court on Saturday against Perry Lakes.
South West did manage to start the game reasonably well, though putting up 18 points in the opening quarter even if Perry Lakes did score 27 themselves to lead by nine after one.
The lack of firepower the Slammers possess was then clearly evident in the second quarter as they moved towards their second unit. The home team managed just the two points the entire quarter while the Lady Hawks had no trouble putting up another 27 points to lead 54-20 at the half.
The Slammers did score a few more points in the third quarter at least with nine but Perry Lakes put up another 26 to lead 80-29 by three quarter-time. Once again the Hawks held the Slammers to two points the entire fourth quarter as they went on to record the 97-31 victory.
The two wins this weekend improve Perry Lakes to a 3-5 record on the season while the Slammers are 0-9 with an average losing margin of 54.8 points.
The Lady Hawks pulled 58 rebounds for the game opposed to 33 from the Slammers while also forcing their opponents into monstrous 38 turnovers while South West also shot just 13/52 from the field at 25 per cent. Perry Lakes focused on their inside game with just 1/11 from downtown.
Nat Burton had her best game of the NBL1 West season to date with 24 points and six rebounds while her partner in crime in the front court Megan McKay finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. They shot a combined 20/27 from the floor.
Mia Satie also had 11 points, four assists three steals for Perry Lakes, Millie McCarthy eight points, eight assists and five steals, Annika Renkema eight points, five rebounds and three assists, and Ellie Newman six points and seven rebounds.
Zaya Black top-scored for the Slammers with seven points and six rebounds. Imogen Van Iaere added six points and seven rebounds, and Cian Parsons six points and 13 rebounds.
WILLETTON TIGERS 76 lost to EAST PERTH EAGLES 87
The stunning emergence of the East Perth Eagles this season continued on Saturday night with a win on the road to the Willetton Tigers.
The Eagles opened Round 9 in the NBL1 West Women’s Division with the tremendous win over the Rockingham Flames on the road, and they delivered another standout performance away from home Saturday against the Tigers.
East Perth took on the Tigers at Willetton Basketball Stadium and by the end of the evening they ensured that after several years in the wilderness, they are a team to absolutely be reckoned with now in 2021.
Coming in with the momentum off their Friday night win over the Flames in Rockingham, East Perth started strongly against the Tigers with 26 points to 21 in the opening quarter.
The Eagles stretched their advantage further with another 21 points to 12 in the second period to head into the half-time break leading 47-33.
Willetton was able to stem the tide and even outscore East Perth in the second half but it mattered little with the Eagles going on to score the 87-76 victory.
The win improves the Eagles to an impressive 6-4 record 10 games into the season while the Tigers should be too deterred with the loss, still holding a 5-2 record.
Mary Goulding has made the world of difference to East Perth so far in 2021 and that continued on Saturday night as she delivered another 35 points, 13 rebounds and four steals while shooting 14/18 from the floor and 4/5 from three-point territory.
Tahlia Fejo also put up 14 points and five rebound for the Eagles, Opal Mader 12 points and three assists, BJ Moyes 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and Eryn Fisher eight points and four assists.
The Tigers fought hard but just didn’t have the shooting night they were hoping for going 36 per cent from the field and 21 per cent from the three-point line.
Samantha Lubcke continued the outstanding start to her NBL1 West career, though, with 29 points, seven rebounds and three assists on 11/16 shooting from the field.
Alex Sharp added 14 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for Willetton, Taryn Priestly nine points and two assists, Hayley Winter eight points and six assists, and Desiree Kelley eight points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 72 defeated ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 69
Lakeside and Rockingham both suffered losses on Friday night and only one would be able to respond how they hoped on Saturday, and it ended up being the Lightning winning a thriller over the Flames.
Lakeside lost to Perry Lakes at Bendat Basketball Centre on Friday night while Rockingham was upset on their home floor by the East Perth Eagles heading into their clash on Saturday at Lakeside Recreation Centre.
The game was all set up for a big finish over the opening three quarters with Rockingham leading by five points at quarter-time before Lakeside put up 25 points to 20 in the second to leave scores all square at 40-40 by the half.
It was tough going in the third quarter with 14 points to the Flames and 11 to the Lightning and even though Rockingham pushed its lead out to six to start the final term with a three to Ashlyn Lee, Lakeside was quickly back on top with triples to Kyrah Daniels and two to Mikayla Pirini.
Things remained tight the rest of the way but the Lightning managed to lead 70-66 with two minutes on the clock after a triple to Jae Flynn and basket to Pirini.
A Chloe Napolitano three-pointer did pull the Flames back within a point but Pirini responded for Lakeside to keep them up three, and they would go on to win 72-69.
Mikayla Pirini played her best game of the season since joining the Lightning from the Wolves to finish with 21 points on the back of knocking down 5/9 from three-point territory.
Ash Isenbarger continued her good form for the Lightning with 17 points, 14 rebounds and six assists while Kyrah Daniels finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Courtney Green also had six points and four rebounds, and Jae Flynn six points and eight assists.
Tayah Burrows top-scored for Rockingham with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists with Alex Ciabattoni adding 15 points, nine boards, seven assists, three steals and three blocked shots.
Jorjah Smith also had 11 points and four rebounds on 3/15 shooting from downtown with Zoe Richards contributing 10 points and seven boards, Ariana Hetherington seven points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals, and Ashlyn Lee seven points.
KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 54 lost to JOONDALUP WOLVES 66
Lakeside and Rockingham both suffered losses on Friday night and only one would be able to respond how they hoped on Saturday, and it ended up being the Lightning winning a thriller over the Flames.
Lakeside lost to Perry Lakes at Bendat Basketball Centre on Friday night while Rockingham was upset on their home floor by the East Perth Eagles heading into their clash on Saturday at Lakeside Recreation Centre.
The game was all set up for a big finish over the opening three quarters with Rockingham leading by five points at quarter-time before Lakeside put up 25 points to 20 in the second to leave scores all square at 40-40 by the half.
It was tough going in the third quarter with 14 points to the Flames and 11 to the Lightning and even though Rockingham pushed its lead out to six to start the final term with a three to Ashlyn Lee, Lakeside was quickly back on top with triples to Kyrah Daniels and two to Mikayla Pirini.
Things remained tight the rest of the way but the Lightning managed to lead 70-66 with two minutes on the clock after a triple to Jae Flynn and basket to Pirini.
A Chloe Napolitano three-pointer did pull the Flames back within a point but Pirini responded for Lakeside to keep them up three, and they would go on to win 72-69.
Mikayla Pirini played her best game of the season since joining the Lightning from the Wolves to finish with 21 points on the back of knocking down 5/9 from three-point territory.
Ash Isenbarger continued her good form for the Lightning with 17 points, 14 rebounds and six assists while Kyrah Daniels finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Courtney Green also had six points and four rebounds, and Jae Flynn six points and eight assists.
Tayah Burrows top-scored for Rockingham with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists with Alex Ciabattoni adding 15 points, nine boards, seven assists, three steals and three blocked shots.
Jorjah Smith also had 11 points and four rebounds on 3/15 shooting from downtown with Zoe Richards contributing 10 points and seven boards, Ariana Hetherington seven points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals, and Ashlyn Lee seven points.
KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 54 lost to JOONDALUP WOLVES 66
The Joondalup Wolves kept their ominous form going on Saturday night to deliver a 12-point victory against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on the road.
Both teams were playing their only games of weekend with the Lady Wolfpack taking on the Eastern Suns at Ray Owen Sports Centre to close out the round on Saturday night.
The Lady Wolfpack suffered their lone slip up of the season a couple of weeks back away to the East Perth Eagles, but they won their second game since that with the performance against the Suns.
The Eastern Suns actually got off to a good start on their home floor with 17 points to 13 in the opening quarter, but the Wolves turned it around in the second with 22 points to 16 to head into half-time leading 35-33.
The Lady Wolfpack turned up the defensive head even more in the second half holding Kalamunda to just the eight points. They scored 19 themselves to push the lead out further and then to head home with the 66-54 victory.
The result leaves Joondalup sitting atop the NBL1 West Women’s Division with a 6-1 record while Kalamunda is 2-5 under new coach Craig Mansfield.
Chelsea Belcher put up 17 points for the Wolfpack while Amber Land finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists, and Kayla Steindl 12 points, 10 boards, four assists and two steals.
Rebecca Benson also had six points and three assists, and Nes’eya Williams six points and 11 rebounds.
Jewel Williams top-scored for Kalamunda with 20 points and four rebounds with Rebecca Motroni contributing nine points, Mia Jacobs six points and five rebounds, Ellyce Ironmonger six points, nine rebounds and three assists, and Sam Roscoe six points, 12 boards and four assists.