THE last of the playoff positions was decided on Saturday night to close the SBL season with the Stirling Senators missing out on a berth in the Women's post-season with a loss to the Mandurah Magic leaving the Cockburn Cougars to claim eighth position.

The eight teams to take part in the Men's playoffs was decided on Friday night when the Perry Lakes Hawks secured eighth spot with a win over the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

However, with the Eastern Suns and Cougars Women both losing, the chance was there for the Bethanie Stirling Senators to snatch eighth spot with a win over Magic at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

But they weren’t able to pull it off meaning the Cougars finish in eighth spot joining the Joondalup Wolves, Rockingham Flames, Willetton Tigers, Mandurah Magic, Lakeside Lightning and Perth Redbacks in the playoffs.

The Men's playoff teams are the Cockburn Cougars, Joondalup Wolves, Willetton Tigers, Geraldton Buccaneers, Rockingham Flames, Stirling Senators, Perth Redbacks and Perry Lakes Hawks.

The three Saturday night matches to close the Women's season saw the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames defeat the Schweigen Home Appliances East Perth Eagles 97-59, the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers beat the Texture WA Perth Redbacks 77-65 and the Mandurah Magic down the Bethanie Stirling Senators 84-63.

There were then five Men's matches to close the regular season with the Print Sync South West Slammers beating the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 129-123 and the S&K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers defeating the Lakeside Lightning 104-95.

The Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames also defeated the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 113-79, the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers beat the Texture WA Perth Redbacks 113-102 and the Bethanie Stirling Senators downed the Mandurah Magic 117-93.

Starting with Saturday night's Women's action, the Flames secured second position with a dominant 38-point win over the Eagles at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

The Flames finish the season at 18-4 as they chase a championship three-peat with the Eagles ending 2016 at 2-20 but avoiding bottom spot.

Sami Whitcomb delivered a dominant showing for Rockingham finishing with 32 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and three assists while Darcee Garbin returned to contribute 21 points and five boards.

Ifunanya Ibekwe added 18 points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists for the Flames with Ashlee Sidebottom delivering 11 points, six boards, two assists and two blocked shots.

Nicole Jorre St Jorre battled hard for the Eagles finishing the evening and the season with 25 points, four rebounds and four steals on shooting 9-of-14 from the field, 2-of-3 from deep and 5-of-6 from the foul line.

Gemma Houghton added 15 points for East Perth shooting 4-of-5 from three-point territory.

The Tigers geared up for the playoffs with a solid 12-point win at home over the Redbacks to finish the season at 17-5 in third and Perth ends at 10-12 in seventh.

Louella Tomlinson was another dominant presence for Willetton with 19 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots with Kate Malpass contributing 19 points, five boards and five assists.

Zoe Harper had a terrific night in her 201st game with 15 points, 12 rebounds and three assists while Lara Napier contributed 10 points, four boards and three assists for the Tigers, and Desiree Kelley eight points and seven rebounds in the absence of Ebony Antonio.

Ajay Jones led the way for the Redbacks with 17 points with Lisa Wallbutton contributing 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Gabby O'Sullivan eight points and five assists but Perth missed the inside presence of Ashley Gilmore.

The Senators had to beat the Magic to grab eighth spot but Mandurah proved too strong at Mike Barnett Sports Complex even without the suspended Adijat Adams. The Magic pulled away to win by 21 points to finish in fifth position at 12-10 while the Senators finish 10th at 8-14.

The Magic got off to a flying start with 29 points to eight in the first quarter and while the Senators fought hard to come back, they could never make up the deficit and fell away in the final term.

The Magic shot well at 32-of-61 from the field at 52 per cent with Annette Davis standing up in the absence of Adams for 25 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals shooting 11-of-19 from the field.

Casey Mihovilovich added 18 points and seven assists for Mandurah, Rachel Halleen 15 points, Bree Klasztorny five points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Emma Klasztorny four points, 12 boards, six steals and three assists.

The Senators struggled shooting just 21-of-73 from the floor at 28 per cent with Kara van Dyke top-scoring with 15 points. Amber Land added 11 points and nine rebounds for Stirling and Lyndal Gardner 11 points and three assists.

Then in Saturday night's Men's contests, the Slammers finished their season on a high beating the Giants at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium by six points. That sees South West end up in 10th spot at 8-18 with Goldfields in 12th at 7-19.

Tre Nichols had a remarkable night for the Slammers to end his second SBL season in some style piling on 60 points to go with nine assists, five rebounds and three steals on the back of shooting 20-of-33 from the field, 11-of-18 from three-point range and 9-of-9 from the foul line.

Corey Easley added 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for South West, Teny Puot 15 points, four boards and four assists, Josh England 13 points and five rebounds, and Wade Hitchcock 11 points. Clive Weeden also had five points, 12 rebounds and three assists.

Jacob Holmen tried to lift the Giants to a season-ending victory finishing with 46 points and 19 rebounds.

Kenny Manigault added 24 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and five steals for Goldfields with Russell Hurst contributing 17 points, 17 boards and four assists, and Edin Zunic eight points and 12 rebounds.

The Buccaneers had to work hard but prevailed over the Lightning to win by nine points at Active West Stadium to secure fourth position with an 18-8 record. Lakeside might miss the playoffs at 7-19 in 11th spot but have every right to feel as though they are the most dangerous team out of the eight.

Matthew Adekponya had another standout performance for the Buccs with 37 points, five rebounds and two steals on shooting 12-of-23 from the floor and 12-of-18 from the charity stripe.

Maurice Barrow contributed 23 points, 14 rebounds and four steals for Geraldton, Aaron Ralph 15 points and 11 boards, Carter Cook 15 points and Jackson Hussey 14 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Daniel Alexander finished his outstanding first season in the SBL season with 29 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Lighting shooting 10-of-20 from the floor, 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and 5-of-5 at the free-throw line.

Tom Parkinson contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds for Lakeside, TJ Hallice 11 points, eight boards and five assists, Nick Palleschi 10 points and Matthew Vinci nine.

The Eagles could no longer make the playoffs after the Hawks beat the Eastern Suns on Friday night, and that lost motivation saw the Flames take full advantage running out 34-point winners. Rockingham finishes the season fifth at 17-9 while East Perth is ninth at 10-16.

Cooper Land had another big night for the Flames with 31 points and nine rebounds shooting 13-of-22 from the field.

Chudier Pal contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds for Rockingham, Jarryd Griffin 10 points and four boards, Taylor Land 10 points, seven assists, four steals and three rebounds, Ryan Jeffrey 10 points and six boards, and Ryan Godfrey nine points, three steals, two rebounds and two assists.

Thomas Korf top-scored for the Eagles with 26 points, five rebounds and four steals but it was a very different East Perth team than the one that was a playoff contender without Tom Jervis and Sunday Dech, and with Drew Williamson playing his first game back from a European holiday.

Nikola Donlagic also had 14 points and four rebounds for East Perth, Amen Osayande 13 points and 11 boards, and Rhys Vague nine points, five rebounds and two assists.

The Tigers secured third position with a hard fought 11-point win over the Redbacks at Willetton Basketball Stadium. Willetton finishes third at 18-8 while Perth ends up in seventh at 15-11.

Jay Bowie had a night out for the Tigers in a fascinating battle with Jourdan DeMuynck. Bowie finished with 34 points and 13 rebounds for Willetton on 15-of-26 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from downtown.

Nic Cody finished with 20 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Tigers, Kyle Armour 16 points, five boards and five assists, Damien Scott 16 points and four assists, and Josh Johnson seven points to go with eight assists and five rebounds.

DeMuynck had a big performance for the Redbacks with 37 points, 11 rebounds and six assists but they again sorely missed big man Michael Vigor.

Ben Smith contributed 21 points for Perth nailing 4-of-9 from long range with Lewis Thomas adding 19 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, and Joel Wagner nine points and seven assists.

The Senators didn’t improve from sixth position but still had a solid showing beating the Magic by 24 points at Mike Barnett Sports Complex. Stirling enters the playoffs from sixth spot at 17-9 while the Magic finish the season in last place with a 5-21 record.

Cody Ellis had another strong night for the Senators finishing with 28 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots with AJ Majstrovich contributing 24 points, 12 boards and two assists while nailing five of his seven three-point attempts.

Kyle Lindbergh added 18 points, 13 rebounds and four assists for Stirling, Jayden Coburn 12 points and three boards, and Jay Thwaites nine points and three rebounds off the bench.

Ben Smith finished off another solid season with 27 points, 18 rebounds, six blocked shots, four assists and three steals for the Magic on the back of shooting 10-of-12 from the floor.

Trevor Setty added 15 points and eight rebounds for Mandurah, Daniel Florance 12 points, six boards and three assists, Ryan Curtis 10 points and Tom Remmerswaal eight points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Mandurah Magic 84 defeated Bethanie Stirling Senators 63
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 77 defeated Texture WA Perth Redbacks 65
Schweigen Home Appliances East Perth Eagles 59 lost to Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 97

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
S&K Electrical Geraldton Buccaneers 104 defeated Lakeside Lightning 95
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 123 lost to Print Sync South West Slammers 129
Mandurah Magic 93 lost to Bethanie Stirling Senators 117
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers 113 defeated Texture WA Perth Redbacks 102
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 79 lost to Nags Head Tavern & Bistro Rockingham Flames 113

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene-Elise Photography