REIGNING women's SBL MVP Sami Whitcomb had a stunning weekend for the league-leading Rockingham Flames but the Willetton Tigers aren’t giving up on taking that top spot off them with three rounds remaining.

Whitcomb delivered a combined 79 points in Rockingham's wins in Week 17 over the Stirling Senators and East Perth Eagles but the Tigers kept winning also by beating the Mandurah Magic as the battle over the women's SBL top remains a tight one.

The two women's matches on Friday night saw the Schweigen East Perth Eagles defeat the Lakeside Lightning 69-48 at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre, and the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars beat the Perth Redbacks 70-61 at Curtin Stadium.

The two women's matches on Saturday night saw the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers beat the Mandurah Magic 74-51 at Willetton Basketball Stadium, and the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames defeat the Stirling Senators 117-67 at Warwick Leisure Centre.

The three women's matches on Sunday afternoon saw the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames beat the Schweigen East Perth Eagles 91-58 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex, the Stirling Senators down the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 66-60 at Ray Owen Sports Centre and the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers defeat the Lakeside Lightning 77-55 at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

The weekend's results leave the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames (18-1) on top of the standings remaining narrowly ahead of the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers (17-2).

The Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves (15-4) sit in third position with the Mandurah Magic (13-5) fourth and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns (12-7) fifth.

The Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars (9-11), Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers (8-10) and the Perry Lakes Hawks (7-11) then round out the top eight with the Schweigen East Perth Eagles (6-13) the only team on the outside remaining in playoff contention.

The Stirling Senators (4-15), Perth Redbacks (4-15) and the Lakeside Lightning (1-20) then make up the bottom three placings.

While Sami Whitcomb's performances for the Flames were the individual highlight of the weekend, there were a host of other tremendous efforts.

Starting on Friday night, Nicole Jorre St Jorre top-scored for the Eagles in the low-scoring victory with 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Stephanie Jones was the only other East Perth player to score in double-figures in the absence of Kelsey Maffin, finishing with 11 points and five rebounds.

They did get plenty of support, though, with Melissa Winfield adding nine points (six rebounds), Haylee DeSousa eight, Dannielle Devenny eight (five boards, three assists), Elainah Coffin seven (six assists), Denielle Lipscombe six and Jodee Sontay six.

In contrast, Courtney Byrnes top-scored for the Lightning with 19 points with Ashleigh Grant adding 15 (12 rebounds) and Tia Ucich eight but no other Lightning player managed more than two points.

Katie Loberg had a tremendous night for the Cougars finishing with 27 points and 16 rebounds while shooting 11-of-19 from the field.

Playing-coach Deanna Smith also had a strong influence for Cockburn putting together a triple-double with 22 points, 16 rebounds, 11 assists and two steals.

Taryn Priestly finished with nine points, three boards and three assists with Kristen Everard contributing four points, seven rebounds and two assists off the bench.

Jess Jakens worked hard for the Redbacks with 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots with Gaby Clayton adding 12 points, 10 boards, five assists and three steals.

Meike Elkington also had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists for Perth with Gabby O'Sullivan finishing with nine points, three boards, two assists and two steals.

Then on Saturday night, all five starters for the Tigers scored in double-figures with Desiree Kelley leading the way with 16 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Ebony Antonio added 14 points and five boards for Willetton while Louella Tomlinson was again outstanding at both ends of the floor with 13 points, eight rebounds, eight blocked shots and four assists.

Zoe Harper also finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, and Kate Malpass 10 points, nine assists, eight boards and three steals.

Peyton Davis tried hard for the Magic with a double-double made up of 13 points and 12 rebounds to go with five assists while Ashlee Sidebottom added 10 points, four boards and three assists, and Casey Mihovilovich seven points, seven rebounds, six steals, three assists and two blocked shots.

Whitcomb continued her dominant form for the Flames with another 30 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals on the back of shooting 12-of-24 from the field, 4-of-12 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

Jacinta Bourne also added 21 points, seven boards and seven assists while having a terrific shooting night with 8-of-13 from the floor, and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Elyse O'Dea also added 16 points off the bench for Rockingham with Kate Williams contributing 14 points and three assists, and Talisia Bourne 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Amber Land top-scored for the Senators with 22 points, 18 rebounds and three assists with Lyndal Gardner finishing with 11 points and five boards, and Cassie Bates 10 points and four rebounds.

Then on Sunday, Whitcomb delivered a simply phenomenal performance for the Flames finishing with 49 points on the back of shooting 15-of-27 from the field, 13-of-21 from three-point territory and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Jacinta Bourne added 15 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists as well for Rockingham while Talisia Bourne finished with seven points, four boards and three assists, and Vanessa Michael six points and six rebounds.

Kelsey Maffin tried hard for the Eagles with 16 points and six rebounds while Denielle Lipscombe contributed 12 points and Nicole Jorre St Jorre 12 points.

Lyndal Gardner led the way in the win for the Senators with 19 points while hitting 5-of-13 from three-point territory.

Cassie Bates also contributed 17 points, six boards and three steals in the win with Hannah Throns contributing 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists, and Amber Land eight points, 12 boards and five assists.

Jessie Edwards top-scored for the Eastern Suns with 25 points and a massive 20 rebounds to go with three blocked shots and two assists while shooting 9-of-19 from the field.

Abbey Duinker added a double-double as well for Kalamunda with 16 points and 11 rebounds but they didn’t receive enough help to get over the Senators.

Patricia Bright top-scored for the Slammers with 25 points and 12 assists on the back of shooting 9-of-17 from the field while Deonica McCormick contributed 15 points, six boards, six assists and two steals.

Bianca Donovan also added 14 points, four assists and three rebounds for South West, and Kate Fielding nine points, nine boards and three assists.

Courtney Byrnes top-scored for the Lightning with 17 points, six rebounds and three steals with Ashleigh Grant adding 11 points, six boards and three blocked shots.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Schweigen East Perth Eagles 69 defeated Lakeside Lightning 48
Perth Redbacks 61 lost to Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars 70

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 74 defeated Mandurah Magic 51
Stirling Senators 67 lost to Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 117

SUNDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 91 defeated Schweigen East Perth Eagles 58
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 60 lost to Stirling Senators 66
Lakeside Lightning 55 lost to Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 77

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by VIP