WEEK 19 of the Women's SBL set up a fascinating final round of the 2016 season with the Joondalup Wolves and Willetton Tigers impressing, the Perry Lakes Hawks upsetting the Rockingham Flames and the race in the bottom half of the top eight not becoming much clearer.

The Lady Wolfpack locked away the minor premiership through a combination of beating the Perth Redbacks and the Hawks downing the Flames, while the Tigers returned to some ominous form with big wins over the Lakeside Lightning and Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

The Lightning missed two chances to move into fifth spot and now they sit out the final round awaiting their finishing position with the Magic looking safe in fifth, but the Redbacks, Eastern Suns, Cockburn Cougars and Stirling Senators in a battle over seventh and eighth.

Week 19 began with three matches on Friday with the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars beating the Mandurah Magic 58-55, the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves downing the Texture WA Perth Redbacks 80-53 and the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers defeating the Lakeside Lightning 72-66.

Then on Saturday night, the Perry Lakes Hawks defeated the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 75-62, the Bethanie Stirling Senators beat the Schweigen Home Appliances East Perth Eagles 64-50 and the Texture WA Perth Redbacks downed the Lakeside Lightning 69-42.

The Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers also defeated the P&J Financial Solutions Kalamunda Eastern Suns 92-62 and the Mandurah Magic beat the Print Sync South West Slammers 78-52.

With one round of the regular season remaining, the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves (18-3) are safe atop the standings followed by the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames (17-4) and Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers (16-5).

The Perry Lakes Hawks (14-7) are guaranteed of finishing fourth and that's where it really gets interesting.

The Mandurah Magic (11-10) currently sit fifth ahead of the Lakeside Lightning (11-11), Texture WA Perth Redbacks (10-11) and P&J Financial Solutions Kalamunda Eastern Suns (9-12) who currently make up the remaining places in the top eight.

The Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars (9-12) and Bethanie Stirling Senators (8-13) are just outside the playoff positions ahead of the Schweigen Home Appliances East Perth Eagles (2-19) and Print Sync South West Slammers (2-20).

Week 19 Saturday night SBL wrap 
Schwagmeyer, Alexander heroics not quite enough for Lightning 
Tigers escape against Lightning, turn focus to Suns 
Week 19 Friday night SBL wrap 

The results were ultimately what mattered most on the weekend but there were some standout individual performances as well starting on Friday night with Alison Schwagmeyer lightning up the Tigers in the first quarter with 19 points for the Lightning.

She finished the game with 28 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals with Devanny King contributing 13 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, and Ashleigh Grant 12 points and 11 boards.

The Cougars scored a crucial win over the Magic on Friday with Candace Williams finishing with 16 points and 17 rebounds. Chelsea Evans added 10 points and four boards and Isabelle Miotti eight points, four rebounds and two assists.

Annette Davis top-scored for Mandurah with 14 points and nine rebounds with Casey Mihovilovich contributing 10 points, 10 boards, four assists and three steals.

The Lady Wolfpack also beat the Redbacks on Friday with Klara Wischer leading the way with 23 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals. Ellyce Ironmonger also had 15 points, 12 boards, five assists and two blocks for the Wolves and Shani Amos 10 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Ajay Jones top-scored for the Redbacks with 18 points while Rebecca Benson finished with 16 points.

Then on Saturday night, the Hawks scored an impressive win over the Flames with Deanna Smith leading the way with 19 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. Lauren Jeffers added 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Perry Lakes, Sarah Donovan 14 points and five boards, and Antonia Edmondson 12 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

The Flames were without Darcee Garbin and Jacinta Bourne with Ifunanya Ibekwe terrific with 25 points, 10 rebounds and five steals while Sami Whitcomb finished with 15 points, seven boards, four steals, three assists and two blocked shots.

The Senators also scored an important victory over the Eagles with Amber Land the standout with 23 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Brianna Fisher also had 11 points for Stirling and Hannah Throns seven points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Amy Chinnery top-scored for East Perth with 12 points with Gemma Houghton adding 11 points and six rebounds.

The Redbacks bounced back from losing to Joondalup on Friday beating the Lightning on Saturday with Rebecca Benson the star of the night with 27 points, six rebounds and three assists. Ajay Jones added 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals for Perth, and Bianca Donovan eight points, five boards, three steals and two assists.

Devanny King finished up with 14 points and seven rebounds for Lakeside and Alison Schwagmeyer 11 points and eight boards.

The Tigers delivered a dominant 30-point win over the Eastern Suns with Louella Tomlinson unstoppable with 35 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots.

Kate Malpass added 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for Willetton, Zoe Harper 13 points and seven boards, and Desiree Kelley 10 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Melissa Moyle had a good night for the Suns with 19 points on hitting 5-of-9 of her three-point attempts while Stacey Barr contributed 13 points and six rebounds, and Sarah-Jane McMahon 10 points.

The Magic bounced back from losing on Friday to beat the Slammers on Saturday with Casey Mihovilovich having another big performance with 19 points and six rebounds. Bree Klasztorny came into the starting line-up for 18 points and 11 boards with Emma Klasztorny adding 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Annette Davis five points, 10 boards, four assists and two steals.

Courtney Bayliss top-scored for the Slammers in their last game of 2016 with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Georgia Denehey added 11 points, four rebounds and three steals, and Dena English 10 points.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Mandurah Magic 55 lost to Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars 58
Texture WA Perth Redbacks 53 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 80
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 72 defeated Lakeside Lightning 66

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perry Lakes Hawks 75 defeated Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 62
Bethanie Stirling Senators 64 defeated Schweigen Home Appliances East Perth Eagles 50
Texture WA Perth Redbacks 69 defeated Lakeside Lightning 42
P&J Financial Solutions Kalamunda Eastern Suns 62 lost to Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 92
Mandurah Magic 78 defeated Print Sync South West Slammers 52

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Sebpix Photography