THE Willetton Tigers and Rockingham Flames again flexed their muscles in the Women's SBL on Saturday night as did the Joondalup Wolves, Cockburn Cougars and Geraldton Buccaneers in the Men's competition.

The four Women's matches on Saturday night saw the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars beat the Schweigen Home Appliances East Perth Eagles 80-65, the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers down the Perry Lakes Hawks 75-34, the Bethanie Stirling Senators down the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 90-69 and the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames prevail over the Mandurah Magic 63-56.

There were six Men's matches on Saturday night starting with two regional fixtures that saw the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves beat the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 115-95 at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium, and the S&K Electrical Contracting Geraldton Buccaneers down the Print Sync South West Slammers 118-102 at Active West Stadium.

Then in the metro area, the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars beat the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 110-94, the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers won a thriller 92-91 over the Perry Lakes Hawks, the Bethanie Stirling Senators defeated the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 102-96 and the Mandurah Magic prevailed over the Nags Head Tavern Rockingham Flames 86-83.

Starting with the Women's contests, the two-time defending champion Flames scored a ninth consecutive win to remain on top of the standings beating the Magic by seven points at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

The Magic started strongly and led 36-27 at half-time, but the Flames took over from there with 22 points to 14 in the third quarter, and 14 to six in the fourth to win by seven.

Sami Whitcomb led the way for Rockingham with 29 points, five steals, four rebounds and two assists while hitting five three-pointers.

Jacinta Bourne also had 10 points and six boards for the Flames and Ashlee Sidebottom nine points and four rebounds.

Rachel Halleen top-scored for Mandurah with 21 points and six rebounds while nailing 5-of-10 from three-point territory.

Adijat Adams added 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Magic and Emma Klasztorny seven points, eight boards, three assists and two steals.

The Cougars scored a third straight win to improve to 5-5 on the season after beating the Eagles by 15 points at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

East Perth collected just 26 rebounds for the game to Cockburn's 44 with the Cougars shooting 43 per cent from the field and hitting 6-of-14 from three-point range.

Candace Williams was the star for the Cougars finishing the night with 38 points and 14 rebounds shooting 16-of-25 from the floor, and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Cherridy Thornton added 13 points and six boards.

Jodee Sontay top-scored for the Eagles with 19 points and four rebounds along with 19 points from Elainah Coffin.

The Tigers maintained pace with the Flames on top of the standings improving to 8-1 following a dominant 41-point victory over the Hawks at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

It caps an especially outstanding defensive weekend for Willetton who held the Senators to 45 points on Friday night and then Perry Lakes to 34 on Saturday. After Stirling failed to score in the fourth quarter on Friday, the Hawks managed just two points in the first period on Saturday, and four in the fourth.

The Tigers forced the Hawks into 24 turnovers where they scored 20 points from while limiting them to shooting 14-of-72 from the field at 19 per cent.

Louella Tomlinson was the main reason for that finishing with 21 points, 12 rebounds, nine blocks, five assists and four steals in a remarkable performance for the Tigers.

Kate Malpass added 17 points, five assists and two steals, Zoe Harper 11 points, eight boards and two blocked shots, Lara Napier 10 points and three assists, and Ebony Antonio seven points, six rebounds and four assists.

Mia Satie scored 10 points to go with four rebounds and three assists for the Hawks with Brieana Nolan contributing nine points and eight boards, and Sarah Donovan seven points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

The Senators did well to bounce back from a tough loss to the Tigers on Friday night beating the Eastern Suns on Saturday by 21 points at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

While the Senators had 24 turnovers again themselves, they forced the Suns into 29 and were able to score 37 off them while shooting 41 per cent from floor compared to 31 per cent by Kalamunda.

Amber Land again led the way for Stirling with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists with Kara van Dyke contributing 14 points, 11 boards, three steals and two assists.

Taylor Bestry added 13 points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds for the Senators, Lyndal Gardner 12 points, six boards, five assists and two steals, and Fiona Madden eight points, five rebounds and three assists.

Then in the Men's battles, the Wolves continued their winning form on the road in Kalgoorlie beating the Giants by 20 points to improve to 7-1 and remain on top of the standings while Goldfields slips to 6-5.

The Giants started strongly at home to the Wolfpack with 32 first quarter points to 23 but the visitors took over from there to lead two points at half-time, nine at three quarter-time and 20 by the final buzzer.

The Giants lost despite collecting 53 rebounds to 43, but the Wolves did force them into 17 turnovers which they scored 26 points from. The Wolves also nailed 39-of-87 at 44 per cent from the field and 15-of-35 from three-point range at 42 per cent.

Trian Iliadis had a monster night for the Wolves with 39 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals nailing 11-of-22 from the field, 7-of-15 from deep and 10-of-12 from the foul line.

Kevin Davis lined up for the Wolves with Greg Hire not making the trip and he contributed with 26 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and three blocks on 11-of-15 shooting.

Rob Huntington added 16 points for Joondalup and Ben Ironmonger 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Jacob Holmen had another impressive night for Goldfields with 28 points and 13 rebounds with Kenny Manigault contributing 23 points, 13 boards and seven assists.

Ezra Nikora also had 14 points and five assists for the Giants and Edin Zunic 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Buccaneers kept pressure on the top two teams also on Saturday night with a solid 16-point win at home over the Slammers. Geraldton remains third at 8-3 with South West slipping to 4-6.

Matthew Adekponya continued his outstanding form for the Buccs with another 31 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and four steals with Maurice Barrow adding 27 points, 11 boards, three assists and two steals.

Carter Cook also had 21 points, five rebounds and three assists for Geraldton, and Aaron Ralph 23 points, six boards and three steals. Mat Wundenberg pulled in another 12 rebounds to go with four points and three assists.

The Slammers' imports both did all they could to try and come away from Geraldton with the win. Tre Nichols finished with 34 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Royal Crouch 30 points, six boards, five assists and two steals.

Trent Worthington contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for South West with Wade Hitchcock finishing with 13 points and four boards.

The Cougars maintained second position with a solid 16-point road win over the Eagles on the back of a strong second half of 57 points to 45.

Cockburn shot well going 43-of-95 from the floor at 45 per cent while outrebounding East Perth by 13, scoring 52 points to 30 in the paint and 21 points off just 13 turnovers by the Eagles.

It was a big night for three of the Cougars' stars with Najee Lane finishing with 31 points, nine rebounds, five steals and four assists, Marcus Goode 29 points, 15 boards and three blocked shots, and Gavin Field 27 points and six rebounds.

Thomas Korf top-scored for the Eagles with 32 points while nailing a supremely impressive 8-of-11 from three-point territory.

Rhys Vague contributed 22 points and 14 rebounds for East Perth and Amen Osayande 12 points, nine boards, two steals and two blocked shots.

The thriller of the night took place at Willetton Basketball Stadium with the Tigers coming back from a seven-point half-time deficit to beat the Hawks by a solitary point.

The win sees Willetton rebound from a loss on the road to Stirling on Friday night and improve to 7-4 while Perry Lakes slips to 5-6 with the defeat.

The Tigers might have shot just 29-of-75 at 38 per cent, but got to the line 33 times making 24 shots and also forced the Hawks into 21 turnovers which they were able to score 23 points from.

Jay Bowie had a big night for Willetton with 34 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots hitting 14-of-24 from the field, and 5-of-10 from deep.

Damien Scott added 19 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Tigers, Kyle Armour 14 points, Josh Johnson 12 points, four boards and two steals, and new import Charles Funches six points, 11 rebounds and four assists. He missed all 10 field goal attempts but didn’t miss at the line.

Ben Purser top-scored for the Hawks with 31 points and five assists shooting 12-of-22 from the floor and a perfect 4-from-4 from three-point territory.

Brian Carlwell added 15 points and 16 rebounds for Perry Lakes, Ben Dixon 12 points, seven boards and six assists, and Matthew Sellers 12 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.

The Senators scored their second win of the weekend to improve to an 8-4 record backing up Friday's win over the Tigers by beating the Eastern Suns by six points on Saturday. Kalamunda was again improved but has still lost all 10 games in 2016 and its last 25 matches overall.

Stirling did appear in control much of the evening at Ray Owen Sports Centre and led 83-68 heading into the fourth quarter, but Kalamunda came flying home with 28 points in the final stanza to just fall six points short.

There were plenty of rebounds to go around with Stirling pulling in 60 to Kalamunda's 52 while both teams coughed up plenty of turnovers with the Senators turning it over 25 times, and the Suns 23 times.

Both teams were happy to jack up plenty of threes with Stirling hitting 13-of-32, and Kalamunda 16-of-48 from beyond the arc.

Cody Ellis again was the star for the Senators with 30 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and two assists hitting 5-of-11 from three-point range.

AJ Majstrovich contributed 21 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists for Stirling nailing 7-of-11 from the floor, and 5-of-7 from downtown.

Kyle Lindbergh also had 12 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals for the Senators, Corban Wroe 10 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Ashley Litterick seven points and 10 boards.

Jacopo Marsili top-scored for the Eastern Suns with 25 points, nine rebounds and four steals with Brandon McGill contributing 20 points, eight boards, six assists and six steals.

In the battle of the Mike Barnett Sports Complex co-tenants for this year, the Magic made it a two-win weekend backing up their win over the Lightning on Friday by beating the Flames by three points. It is Rockingham's second loss of the weekend after losing to Perth on Friday.

The Magic had a better shooting night than the Flames going 33-of-76 at 43 per cent while Rockingham hit 28-of-82 at 34 per cent.

Trevor Setty again top-scored for the Magic with 30 points and 11 rebounds hitting 12-of-23 along with 5-of-9 from three-point territory.

Taylor Mullenax contributed 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals shooting 7-of-10 from the floor.

Jarrad Jackson added 10 points, five boards and three assists for Mandurah, Ben Smith 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Tom Remmerswaal eight points and seven boards.

Cooper Land top-scored for the Flames with 25 points and 11 rebounds with Matthew Honey adding 20 points, six boards and four steals nailing 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Ryan Godfrey also contributed 17 points for Rockingham and Chudier Pal 11 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Schweigen Home Appliances East Perth Eagles 65 lost to Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars 80
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 75 defeated Perry Lakes Hawks 34
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 69 lost to Bethanie Stirling Senators 90
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 63 defeated Mandurah Magic 56

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 95 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves 115
S&K Electrical Contracting Geraldton Buccaneers 118 defeated Print Sync South West Slammers 102
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 94 lost to Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars 110
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 92 defeated Perry Lakes Hawks 91
Kalamunda Eastern Suns 96 lost to Bethanie Stirling Senators 102
Nags Head Tavern Rockingham Flames 83 lost to Mandurah Magic 86

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by June Halliday