Imports make mark for Slammers women, Wolves men (Week 1 Sunday SBL wrap)
THE opening round of the 2015 SBL season concluded on Sunday afternoon with Willetton and South West's women, and the men from Geraldton, Kalamunda, Joondalup and the Slammers all recording impressive victories.
The two Sunday women's SBL fixtures saw the Willetton Tigers beat the Joondalup Wolves 75-60 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium while the South West Slammers defeated the Lakeside Lightning 77-56 at Eaton Recreation Centre.
There were then four men's matches on Sunday with the Geraldton Buccaneers beating the Mandurah Magic 105-103 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre while the Kalamunda Eastern Suns beat the Goldfields Giants 92-87 at Ray Owen Sports Centre.
The Joondalup Wolves then recorded an impressive 102-79 win over the Willetton Tigers at Joondalup Basketball Stadium and the South West Slammers downed the Lakeside Lightning 115-95 at Eaton Recreation Centre.
The Tigers' women opened their 2015 win a win over the Wolves with Kate Malpass leading the way on her return to the SBL with 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting.
Ebony Antonio had 21 points, four rebounds and three assists for Willetton with Zoe Harper finishing with 12 points and seven boards, Lisa Wallbutton six points and 14 rebounds, and Melissa Marsh seven points and six boards.
Rebecca Mercer was outstanding with 26 points and four rebounds while shooting 10-of-16 from the field, and 4-of-9 from three-point territory on her return to the SBL with the Wolves.
She was the only Joondalup player to score in double-figures, though, with Nikita-Lee Martin scoring eight points, Amy Kidner eight and Chelsea Burns six to go with eight rebounds, five steals and four assists.
The Slammers women opened their 2015 season with an impressive 21-point win over the losing grand finalists from last year with the Lightning now having lost their opening two matches of the year.
Patricia Bright was the star of the afternoon for South West with 23 points and 10 rebounds in her SBL debut while Kelly Bastow added 16 points and Deanica McCormick 15 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and two assists.
Ashleigh Grant top-scored for the Lightning for the second straight game to open the season finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Tia Ucich contributed 13 points and seven boards off the bench while captain Courtney Byrnes finished with 11 points, five boards, three assists and two steals.
The Slammers started their season with a strong 118-112 win over the Buccaneers on Saturday, and then backed up beating the Lightning at home by 20 points on Sunday.
Once again it was playing-coach Ty Harrelson who led the way with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four assists while Tre Nichols added 26 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Clive Weeden also had 17 points for South West with import Brian Voelkel impressing with 19 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists.
Jordan Swing did all he could for the Lightning with 35 points and 10 rebounds while Tom Parkinson finished with 18 points and seven boards, Corey Martin 10 points, Brad Jackson nine and Jarrad Prue eight to go with nine rebounds and three assists.
The Wolves opened their 2015 season with an impressive 23-point win over a Tigers team who has recruited well in the off-season under new coach Alan Black, and who started off with a big win over the Giants at home on Saturday.
Joondalup started with a 33 to 17 opening quarter and were never threatened from there by Willetton sewing up the win in the third period, and then cruising to the big win.
The Wolves' new import Kevin Davis had a remarkable triple-double in his SBL debut with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocked shots to go along with five assists and shooting 8-of-12 from the field.
Seb Salinas top-scored for Joondalup with 24 points and five rebounds while Rob Huntington contributed 14 points and nine rebounds, and Ben Ironmonger 16 points, five boards and three assists.
Corey Easley had 15 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for the Tigers while Damien Scott added 15 points and seven boards, Hayden Noordhoek 12 points, nine rebounds and five steals, Ephrem Davis 10 points and 11 boards, and Kyle Armour 10 points.
The Eastern Suns and Giants were battling over the wooden spoon in 2014 with Kalamunda eventually finishing in last position, but they got an early win on the board in 2015 beating Goldfields by five points at home on Sunday.
Kevin Anthony had a terrific game for the Eastern Suns with 28 points and five rebounds while playing all 48 minutes.
Lien Phillip also contributed 26 points in a 17 rebounds in a strong showing while Seva Chan had 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals, and Jaarod Holmes 10 points and 11 boards.
Goldfields' imports again did their best with Jay Bowie finishing with 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Jacob Holmen 21 points and 11 boards, but they didn’t receive much support.
Russell Hurst was the only other Giants player to score in double-figures with 13 points off the bench while Lordan Franich had nine points and eight boards.
The Magic and Buccaneers are expected to be in the mix near the top of the table this men's SBL season, and they played out a tremendous battle on Sunday with Geraldton ending up prevailing by two points to leave both with a win and a loss from the opening weekend.
Carter Cook top-scored for the Buccs with 25 points with Quincy Hankins-Cole adding 21 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, Aaron Ralph 21 points, Bennie Lewis 18 and 11 boards, and captain Matt Wundenberg 13 points and nine rebounds.
Ben Smith led the way for the Magic as he did on Friday against Kalamunda with another 25 points and nine rebounds while Rhett Della finished with 15 points, 11 boards and six assists.
Captain Taylor Mullenax ended up with 13 points and 11 rebounds with Daniel Florance scoring 14 points, Jarrad Jackson 12, Paul Hafford 11 and Travis McIlroy 11.
SUNDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Joondalup Wolves 60 lost to Willetton Tigers 75
South West Slammers 77 defeated Lakeside Lightning 56
SUNDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Mandurah Magic 103 lost to Geraldton Buccaneers 105
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 92 defeated Goldfields Giants 87
Joondalup Wolves 102 defeated Willetton Tigers 79
South West Slammers 115 defeated Lakeside Lightning 95
Article by Chris Pike
Photo by HoopShots (www.hoopshots.com.au)
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