THE Kalamunda Eastern Suns returned to the Women's top eight with a Saturday night Week 17 victory as the Lakeside Lightning won again while the Lady Mandurah Magic sent a message beating the Joondalup Wolves with the battle over top four Men's spots continuing to heat up.

The Mandurah Magic have now won four straight Women's matches after beating the Lady Wolfpack on Saturday while the Eastern Suns replaced the Cougars again in eighth position and the Lightning made it a double win weekend after a three-game losing run.

The Men's action saw the top two teams Cockburn and Joondalup continuing to win while the Geraldton Buccaneers and Rockingham Flames enhanced their top four hopes after a loss for the Stirling Senators with the Willetton Tigers also losing on Friday.

The four Women's matches saw teams all in the playoff race winning with the P&J Financial Solutions Kalamunda Eastern Suns defeating the Print Sync South West Slammers 84-52 while the Bethanie Stirling Senators beat the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars 85-82.

The Lakeside Lightning also beat the Texture WA Perth Redbacks 88-79 and the Mandurah Magic sent a message beating the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 81-73.

The Men's action began with the S&K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers beating the Perry Lakes Hawks 119-97 while the Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames won on the road against the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 96-82.

The Kalamunda Eastern Suns also defeated the Print Sync South West Slammers 119-106, the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars beat the Bethanie Stirling Senators 110-104 in overtime, the Lakeside Lightning downed the Texture WA Perth Redbacks 99-91 and the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves thrashed the Mandurah Magic 130-78.

Starting with the Women's contests, the Eastern Suns bounced back from a loss at home to the Lightning on Friday by beating the Slammers at Eaton Recreation Centre to return to eighth position with a 7-10 record.

The Senators kept their playoff hopes alive with a three-point win at Warwick Stadium over the Cougars. Cockburn was coming off a win over South West on Friday that put them back in eighth position, but couldn’t back it up with Stirling improving to 7-12 as a result and the Cougars slipping to 8-11.

The Cougars dominated the first half going into the half-time break leading 49-38 but the Senators were able to turn things around in the second half impressively with 25 points to 17 in the third quarter, and 22 to 16 in the fourth to record the crucial three-point win.

Amber Land top-scored for the Senators with 25 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals with Lyndal Gardner contributing 19 points, five boards and two steals.

Kara van Dyke also finished with 16 points and five rebounds for Stirling and Rebekah Throns 16 points, five boards and three steals.

Cherridy Thornton had a big game for the Cougars with 31 points, 12 rebounds and three assists on the back of shooting 13-of-18 from the field and she played every second of the 40 minutes.

Candace Williams also finished with 26 points and 19 rebounds for Cockburn.

The Lightning backed up their victory over the Eastern Suns on Friday by beating the Redbacks by nine points at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

The Lightning had lost three straight coming into the weekend but the two wins steady them in the top eight at 10-9 while the loss sees Perth slip to an 8-10 record having lost three on the trot.

Alison Schwagmeyer was the standout performer on the night for Lakeside with 30 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals shooting 12-of-22 from the floor, 2-of-3 from three-point territory and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Ashleigh Grant added 25 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists for the Lightning with Courtney Byrnes contributing 15 points, six boards and three assists, and Devanny King 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Ajay Jones top-scored for the Redbacks with 27 points while Ashley Gilmore contributed 16 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, Bianca Donovan 13 points and Rebecca Benson 11 to go with five assists and four boards.

The Magic then continued their outstanding form beating the league-leading Lady Wolfpack by eight points at Mike Barnett Sports Complex. Mandurah has now won five straight and eight of its last 10 matches to improve to 10-8 to be a chance still of top four while Joondalup slips to 16-3 but remains on top.

It was a tight first half with the Wolves leading 41-38 at the break before the Magic put together a strong second half with 18 points to 13 in the third period, and 25 to 19 in the fourth to end up winning by eight.

Mandurah shot well for the night going 28-of-57 from the field at 49 per cent while Joondalup shot 26-of-69 at 37 per cent.

Annette Davis finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Magic with Casey Mihovilovich contributing another 20 points and four assists while shooting 8-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-6 from downtown.

Emma Klasztorny contributed 17 points and five rebounds for the Magic, and Adijat Adams 14 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

Nikita-Lee Martin again top-scored for the Lady Wolfpack with 18 points while Amy Kidner contributed 16 points and eight rebounds, Shani Amos 14 points, seven assists and six boards, and Klara Wischer nine points, six rebounds and three assists.

The Men's night began at Active West Stadium with the Buccaneers bouncing back from a rare home loss to the Tigers last weekend beating the Hawks by 22 points.

The win keeps the Buccs in the top four hunt with a 15-8 record while the Hawks again slip out of the top eight with the loss falling to a 9-14 record behind the 10-13 East Perth Eagles.

The Giants also hosted the Flames and it was Rockingham getting an important road win by 14 points to also keep them in the top four race. The Flames improved to a 13-9 record with the win while the Giants slipped further from the top eight at 7-15.

Cooper Land was again the star for the Flames with 25 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots while hitting four of his eight three-point attempts.

Taylor Land added 18 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and three steals for Rockingham, Matthew Honey 12 points, Justin Beard 12 points and seven rebounds, Jarryd Griffin 11 points, five boards and four assists, and Kyle Beard 10 points.

Kenny Manigault top-scored for the Giants with 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots with Jerome Reid adding 16 points and Daniel Goodluck 11 while Jacob Holmen contributed 13 points, 18 rebounds and six assists.

The Buccs were on top all evening determined to make up for last week's loss to the Tigers and they hit 32 points to 22 to set up the advantage. They then went away with it further with 40 points to 22 in the third but the Hawks kept fighting winning the fourth quarter to cut the final margin to 22.

Matthew Adekponya had a huge night for the Buccaneers with 41 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots on the back of a remarkable shooting performance going 17-of-18 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 5-of-8 from the foul line.

Maurice Barrow contributed 29 points and 13 rebounds for Geraldton while Jackson Hussey added 13 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists.

Bryton Hobbs had his best game since returning for the Hawks with 28 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals while Ben Purser contributed 15 points, eight boards, four assists and three steals, Josh Garlepp 15 points and Ryan Smith 11.

The Wolves continued their recent dominant form celebrating the 350th SBL appearance of Seb Salinas by thrashing the Magic by 52 points.

That comes after they beat the Tigers by 23 points on Friday, the Eagles by 20 last Sunday, the Suns by 68 last Saturday and by 37 over the Giants the previous Saturday following two straight Friday night defeats.

The Wolves were in control all evening but the Magic were managing to be competitive trailing by 30 at three quarter-time, but the defending champions really put their foot down in the fourth period with 41 points to 18.

Salinas celebrated his 350th match with 23 points, four rebounds and two assists shooting 8-of-15 from the field and 5-of-10 from downtown.

Kevin Davis contributed 23 points, 12 rebounds and three steals for the Wolves while Trian Iliadis finished with 17 points, Jordan Wellsteed 12, Damian Matacz 12 and Rob Huntington eight to go with eight rebounds.

Trevor Setty top-scored for the Magic with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists with Ben Smith adding 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, and James Paringatai 14 points and four boards.

The Lightning had lost their last 13 matches coming into the weekend but won for a second time in 24 hours beating the Redbacks by eight points on the back of a win over the Eastern Suns on Friday. The loss dents Perth's top four hopes with the Redbacks slipping to a 12-9 record.

The Lightning built on their momentum from Friday with a 26-point to 18 opening quarter and while scores were all level heading into the fourth, Lakeside pulled away with 26 points to 18 again to win by eight.

Daniel Alexander was the star of the night for the Lightning with a huge triple-double made up of 35 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocked shots while shooting 13-of-21 from the field, 3-of-6 from deep and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Daniel Grida added another 19 points for Lakeside, Tom Parkinson 12 points and seven rebounds, TJ Hallice 11 points, seven boards and three assists, and Hayden Bell 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Redbacks again sorely missed Michael Vigor and Joel Wagner, and Lewis Thomas couldn’t replicate his heroics of last week finishing with 12 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and four assists but shooting just 3-of-24 from the floor.

Jourdan DeMuynck top-scored for Perth with 26 points to go with nine assists, seven rebounds and five steals with Ben Smith contributing 22 points and Reed McConnell 20 (eight rebounds, six assists).

The Cougars won their 10th straight match to remain a game clear on top at 19-3 with a thrilling six-point win over the Senators at Warwick Stadium that needed overtime for it to be decided. The loss puts Stirling in a real fight for a top four spot now at 15-8.

The Cougars managed 14 points in the overtime period to end up winning by six with Marcus Goode delivering another big night with 30 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots shooting 12-of-22 from the field and 6-of-8 at the charity stripe.

Najee Lane contributed 27 points, 15 rebounds and two steals for Cockburn, Julian Pesava 16 points, 12 boards and eight assists, Steven Van Lit 15 points and five rebounds, Rhett Della 12 points and six boards, and Jaarod Holmes 10 points and five rebounds.

Cody Ellis top-scored for the Senators with 28 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots with AJ Majstrovich contributing 19 points, five boards and five assists and Ashley Litterick 14 points and five rebounds.

Kyle Lindbergh also had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Stirling, Corban Wroe 12 points, six assists, six rebounds and two steals, and Austin Bruton 12 points.

The Eastern Suns scored their fifth win of the season beating the Slammers by 13 points at Eaton Recreation Centre.

Both teams were coming off Friday night losses but it was the Suns who pulled away in the second and third quarters setting up the eventual 13-point win.

Courtney Belger led the way for the Eastern Suns off the bench with 27 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals shooting 10-of-16 from the field and 4-of-6 from downtown.

Brandon McGill contributed 23 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals for Kalamunda, Ryan Blanchett 17 points and five boards, and Travis McIlroy 10 points. Jarrad Prior also had nine points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Trent Worthington top-scored for the Slammers with 23 points and 12 rebounds with Clive Weeden adding 20 points, 13 boards, three blocked shots and two assists.

Corey Easley contributed 15 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three assists, Wade Hitchcock 13 points, five boards and four assists, Teny Puot 13 points and Travis Durnin 13 points and seven rebounds.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Print Sync South West Slammers 52 lost to P&J Financial Solutions Kalamunda Eastern Suns 84
Bethanie Stirling Senators 85 defeated Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars 82
Lakeside Lightning 88 defeated Texture WA Perth Redbacks 79
Mandurah Magic 81 defeated Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 73

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
S&K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 119 defeated Perry Lakes Hawks 97
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 82 lost to Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 96
Print Sync South West Slammers 106 lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns 119
Bethanie Stirling Senators 104 lost to Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars 110
Lakeside Lightning 99 defeated Texture WA Perth Redbacks 91
Mandurah Magic 78 lost to Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 130

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin