THE Lakeside Lightning men went a long way to securing an SBL playoff spot beating the Stirling Senators on Friday night to open Week 15 while the Rockingham Flames and Cockburn Cougars women's and men's teams traded victories.

The two women's SBL matches on Friday night saw the Stirling Senators beat the Lakeside Lightning 82-48 at Lakeside Recreation Centre and the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames defeated the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 87-75 at Mike Barnett Sports Centre.

The men's action on Friday night saw the Lakeside Lightning beat the Bethanie Stirling Senators 111-100 at Lakeside Recreation Centre and the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars defeated the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 97-86 at Mike Barnett Sports Centre.

Starting with the women's action, the Senators beat the Lightning by 34 points to see Stirling bring an end to its eight-match losing run and win its third game of the season while Lakeside has now lost seven straight and sits two games clear in last position at 1-16.

All five starters for the Senators ended up scoring in double-figures to set up the eventual big win.

Cassie Bates top-scored for Stirling with 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on the back of shooting 9-of-15 from the floor.

Bridget Henderson added 14 points, six assists and five boards as well for the Senators while Emma Berryman contributed 12 points, four assists and three rebounds, Tegan Walker 11 points, eight boards, five assists and three steals, and Amber Land 11 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, three blocked shots and two steals.

Ashleigh Grant top-scored for the Lightning with 18 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots with Courtney Byrnes adding 15 points, five boards and five assists.

And the Flames continued their dominant winning form with a hard fought 12-point win over the Cougars at home that sees Rockingham win an eighth consecutive match to improve to a 15-1 record in top spot.

Meanwhile, Cockburn has now lost four of its last five matches but still holds a spot in the top eight at 7-11.

Samantha Whitcomb again led the way for the Flames with 24 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals on the back of an outstanding shooting night going 7-of-9 from the field, 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.

Darcee Garbin also did well for Rockingham finishing with 23 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals while Jacinta Bourne contributed 17 points and four assists, Tarsha Fletcher 11 points, seven boards and four assists and Talisia Bourne nine points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Playing-coach Deanna Smith did all she could for the Cougars with 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists with Taryn Priestly contributing 22 points and five assists, Katie Loberg 22 points, eight boards and seven assists.

And in the men's action, the Lightning beat the Senators by 11 points in another tremendous contest between the two teams, and this time it could end up playing a big part in which side ends up in the playoffs.

With the victory, Lakeside improves to a 9-10 record having won three in-a-row while Stirling slips to 6-12 to have plenty of work to do in order to remain in the playoff hunt.

Tom Parkinson had a massive night for the Lightning with 32 points and seven rebounds on the back of an outstanding shooting performance with 13-of-15 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point territory.

Jordan Swing added 28 points, six rebounds and two blocks for Lakeside as well with Brad Jackson contributing 16 points, Jesse Dixon 11 and Jarrad Prue eight to go with 26 rebounds and five assists.

Cody Ellis again led the way for the Senators with 27 points, five assists and four rebounds with Kyle Lindbergh adding 19 points, 14 boards and five assists, and Josh Throns 17 points, four rebounds and two steals.

The Cougars then continued their remarkable run of form as well beating the Flames by 11 points with Cockburn having now won nine consecutive matches to move up into third position with a 14-6 record.

Meanwhile, Rockingham slipped to a 10-9 record with the defeat to be losing touch with the top four and just holding on to a spot inside the top eight.

Najee Lane ended up top-scoring for the Cougars with 21 points, 15 rebounds and two steals while Eric Milam contributed 19 points and 11 boards, Gavin Field 19 points and eight rebounds, and Sheldon McIntyre 15 points, nine boards and four assists.

Cooper Land did all he could to try and get the Flames over the line with 21 points, 12 rebounds and five assists while Taylor Land finished with 15 points, seven assists, four boards and four steals.

Ryan Godfrey also contributed 13 points and nine rebounds for Rockingham, Andrew Bowman 12 points and six assists and Jarryd Griffin 10 points and six boards.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Lakeside Lightning 48 lost to Stirling Senators 82
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 87 defeated Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 75

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Lakeside Lightning 111 defeated Bethanie Stirling Senators 100
Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 86 lost to Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 97

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin