THE losing run of the Kalamunda Eastern Suns Men's SBL team is over after a win over the Lakeside Lightning on Friday night while the Wolves made it a double at HBF Arena, the Cougars and Magic split their battles and the Flames took two wins away from the Slammers including 55 points from Sami Whitcomb.

It was a huge night of SBL action with four Women's and four Men's contests to open Week 10 of the competition and there certainly were some interesting results.

That included the Wolves beating the Senators in both contests in what was dubbed the 'Battle of Joondalup' at HBF Arena while the Suns men ended their 25-game losing run at the hands of the Lightning and Whitcomb had a night out for the Flames delivering 55 points.

The four Women's matches saw the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves defeat the Bethanie Stirling Senators 71-47 and the Mandurah Magic defeat the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars 73-64.

The Lakeside Lightning also defeated the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 100-85 and the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames beat the Print Sync South West Slammers 88-78.

And in the Men's contests, the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves beat the Bethanie Stirling Senators 109-91, the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars thumped the Mandurah Magic 115-77, the Kalamunda Eastern Suns defeated the Lakeside Lightning 128-123 in overtime and the Nags Head Tavern Rockingham Flames downed the Print Sync South West Slammers 96-89.

Starting with the Women's matches, the Lady Wolfpack locked horns with the Senators at HBF Arena in a taste of what is to come when the new stadium is built in Joondalup, and it was the Wolves who proved too strong winning by 24 points.

Joondalup opened up a 63-30 lead by three quarter-time and it was only 17 points to eight in the fourth period by Stirling that closed the final gap to 24. The win improves the Wolves to 8-1 on the season while the Senators slip to 4-8.

Joondalup finished up shooting 43 per cent from the field at 28-of-65 but they restricted Stirling to just 56 attempts of which they made 13 at 23 per cent. The Wolves also dominated the boards pulling in 41 rebounds to 24.

Klara Wischer top-scored for the Lady Wolfpack with 19 points, six rebounds and three assists on shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point territory.

Amy Kidner added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolves, Ellyce Ironmonger 10 points, seven boards, four assists and two blocked shots, and Chelsea Belcher nine points.

Amber Land was the only Senators player to score in double-figures finishing with 18 points to go with six rebounds, five steals and three assists.

The Magic continued their immediate improvement with Casey Mihovilovich back from injury with a nine-point win on the road over the Cougars to see Mandurah improve to 4-6 on the season and Cockburn slip to 5-6.

The Magic were able to force the Cougars into 26 turnovers for the game, scoring 20 points from those while also dominating in the paint with 52 points inside to just 24 from Cockburn.

It took three quarters for the Magic to pull away from the Cougars but they eventually did with Adijat Adams again top-scoring with 16 points and eight rebounds. Annette Davis added another 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Mihovilovich also had 15 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots for Mandurah and Emma Klasztorny 11 points and seven boards.

Candace Williams did all she could for the Cougars ending the night with 27 points, 13 rebounds and four steals shooting 8-of-24 from the field and 11-of-12 from the foul line.

Cherridy Thornton contributed 11 points and five rebounds for the Cougars and Taryn Priestly seven points, four assists and three rebounds.

The Lightning then maintained their place in the top eight improving to 5-5 beating the Eastern Suns at home by 15 points. It was a tight contest for three quarters but Lakeside pulled away in the fourth period with 32 points to 18 to score the win.

It was a good shooting night for the Lightning going 38-of-76 from the field at 50 per cent despite nailing just 3-of-19 from three. They were also able to force the Suns into 25 turnovers and scored 24 points from those as well as 58 points in the paint opposed to 34 from Kalamunda.

Alison Schwagmeyer continued her outstanding form for the Lightning with 27 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals shooting 10-of-17 from the floor.

Ashleigh Grant also had a big night with 27 points, five boards and three assists shooting 12-of-14 while Courtney Byrnes contributed 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals, and Devanny King 15 points, four boards and three assists.

Carley Mijovic top-scored for the Suns with 24 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals while Sabrina Jeridore added 23 points and six boards and Stacey Barr 18 points, four steals, three assists and two rebounds. Mijovic and Barr shot a combined 15-of-45 from the field and 7-of-25 from deep.

The Flames might have been taking on a winless Slammers team at Eaton Recreation Centre, but the two-time defending champs had to work hard for the win by 10 points. The eventual win improves Rockingham to 10-2 on the season with South West losing a 10th straight match.

It was a monster performance by Sami Whitcomb that got the Flames over the line as she turned on a clinic finishing with 55 points, 17 rebounds, two assists and two steals on shooting 18-of-37 from the floor, 3-of-15 from three-point range and 16-of-20 from the free-throw line.

Ashlee Sidebottom added 22 points and six rebounds for Rockingham and Lizel Buckley pulled in 12 boards.

Courtney Bayliss top-scored for the Slammers with 21 points to go with 11 rebounds and six assists with Dena English contributing 17 points and Brittany Gliddon 10 to go with 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Georgia Denehey also had 18 points and eight rebounds off the bench for South West.

And in the Men's fixtures, HBF Arena saw the defending champion Wolves beat the Senators by 18 points to see the Wolfpack retain top spot with a 9-2 record while the Senators slip to 9-6.

Joondalup had a strong shooting night going 42-of-81 from the field at 51 per cent while Stirling shot 31-of-74 at 41 per cent. The Wolves also did well on the glass with 50 rebounds to 36.

Trian Iliadis returned for the Wolves and top-scored with 29 points, five rebounds and five assists with Kevin Davis contributing 20 points, nine boards and three steals shooting 9-of-11.

Seb Salinas also had 15 points for the Wolfpack, Rob Huntington 14, Reece Maxwell 11 and Greg Hire nine to go with 18 rebounds.

Cody Ellis top-scored for the Senators with 21 points while AJ Majstrovich contributed 19 points and nine rebounds, and Kyle Lindbergh 15 points, four boards, three assists and three steals.

The Cougars bounced back from a narrow loss in Geraldton last week to score a commanding 38-point win at home over the Magic on Friday to consolidate second position at 10-3. Mandurah slips to 4-9 with the loss.

It was a dominant display by Cockburn shooting 46 per cent from the field and going 16-of-29 from three-point range at 55 per cent. They pulled in 66 rebounds to 47 by Mandurah as well.

Marcus Goode top-scored for the Cougars with 16 points and 11 rebounds with Gavin Field adding 25 points and six boards and Najee Lane 16 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.

Sheldon McIntyre contributed 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals as well with Julian Pesava delivering 11 points and four boards off the bench.

Trevor Setty had 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Magic with Ben Smith adding 20 points and eight boards, Chad Simpson 14 points and five rebounds, and Taylor Mullenax 10 points and 10 boards.

The Eastern Suns then won their first game since May 2 last year when they ended their 26-game losing streak beating the Lightning in overtime by five points at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

The Suns hit 21 points in overtime to come away with the drought breaking victory and in the process handed the Lightning a fifth straight defeat as they slip to 4-8.

Both teams had no trouble jacking up shots with the Suns finishing with 38-of-109 from the field at 34 per cent, 21-of-62 from beyond the arc and 31-of-40 from the free-throw line. The Lightning shot 47-of-104 at 45 per cent, 11-of-36 from long range at 30 per cent and 18-of-39 from the foul line.

The Lightning dominated the boards with 72 rebounds to 48 but a remarkable 37 turnovers hurt with the Suns scoring 34 points off those.

Jarrad Prior had his best game with Kalamunda in the victory finishing with 31 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals shooting 9-of-20 from the floor, 7-of-17 from long range and a percent 6-of-6 at the line.

Kerrod Horn added 20 points and five boards for the Eastern Suns, Brandon McGill 18 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and six steals, and Tim Squire 17 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Daniel Alexander did all he could for the Lightning scoring 32 points and pulling in 17 rebounds to go with four assists, two steals and two blocks. He shot 13-of-23 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point land.

TJ Hallice also had 27 points, 18 rebounds and 12 assists for the Lightning racking up a triple-double.

Matthew Vinci contributed 17 points, Tom Parkinson 12 points and five rebounds, Corey Martin 10 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists in another triple-double and Daniel Grida 10 points and five boards.

The Flames then headed to Eaton Recreation Centre and came away with a seven-point victory to consolidate themselves in the top eight at 8-6 while the Slammers slipped to 4-8.

The Flames dominated the rebounding count 67 to 39 to help set up the win while scoring 54 points inside to 32 with the help of 22 offensive boards.

Cooper Land top-scored for Rockingham with 29 points and nine rebounds with Ryan Godfrey contributing 18 points and five boards, Chudier Pal 17 points and 25 rebounds, and Taylor Land 11 points, nine boards and three assists.

Tre Nichols once again top-scored for the Slammers with 28 points, five assists and four steals with Royal Crouch adding 21 points, 15 boards, four assists and two steals.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves 71 defeated Bethanie Stirling Senators 47
Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars 64 lost to Mandurah Magic 73
Lakeside Lightning 100 defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns 85
Print Sync South West Slammers 78 lost to Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 88

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves 109 defeated Bethanie Stirling Senators 91
Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars 115 defeated Mandurah Magic 77
Lakeside Lightning 123 lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns 128
Print Sync South West Slammers 89 lost to Nags Head Tavern Rockingham Flames 96

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin