Cougars men keep winning; double for Senators (Week 13 Friday night SBL wrap)

IT WAS a huge night of SBL action on Friday with four men's and women's matches apiece to open Week 13 with both Stirling Senators teams and the Cockburn Cougars' men particularly impressive.

In the four women's matches on Friday night to open Week 13 SBL action, the Mandurah Magic beat the Perth Redbacks 83-51 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre and the Perry Lakes Hawks won a 69-65 thriller over the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers at the WA Basketball Centre.

The other two matches of the night saw the Soprano Lady Cougars return to the winner's list beating the Willetton tigers 69-56 at Wally Hagan Stadium and the Stirling Senators defeating the Schweigen East Perth Eagles 80-71 at Warwick Leisure Centre.

The Magic maintained their hold on third position with a 32-point thumping at home of the Redbacks who now remain winless this women's SBL season after 15 matches.

Mandurah, meanwhile, improved to a 10-4 record to remain a game behind the second-placed Lakeside Lightning but a game ahead of the fourth-placed Stirling Senators.

Casey Mihovilovich top-scored for the Magic with 23 points, five blocked shots and four rebounds with Hailey Dunham contributing 17 points and eight boards. Gemma Thomas also scored 10 points to go with nine rebounds and three assists for Mandurah.

Alix Hayward worked hard for the Redbacks and ended up with 16 points and 15 rebounds with Jessica Hughes also scoring 12 points.

The Hawks broke their losing run at home to the Slammers on Friday with Perry Lakes remaining in the playoffs hunt with the four-point victory.

The Hawks improved to a 5-8 record on the season with the win to now sit on the same record as the Slammers who had been on a three-game winning streak.

Kate Anthony led the way for the Hawks with 19 points while Megan McKay finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Lauren Jeffers finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Slammers with Amy Patton adding 19 points and five boards.

The Cougars also settled their ship which had been flagging with three consecutive losses by beating the struggling Tigers at home by 13 points.

The result improves Cockburn to a 7-7 record on the season and up to sixth position in the standings while Willetton's playoff hopes took another hit with last year's minor premiers slipping to a 4-10 record in 10th spot.

Taryn Priestly finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Cougars with Emma Pass adding 19 points, five boards and three assists, and Marita Payne 16 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots.

Lisa Wallbutton led the way for the Tigers with 18 points and five rebounds with Melissa Marsh adding 13 points.

The Senators also continued their impressive run of recent form beating the Eagles at home by nine points on Friday with Stirling improving to a 9-4 record in fourth position with East Perth still battling towards the bottom of the standings at 2-13.

Taylor Wild ended up scoring 22 points for the Senators with Tegan Walker adding 12 points and six rebounds, and Emma Berryman 11 points to go with six assists.

Stephanie Jones had a huge night for the Eagles with 28 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Dannielle Devenny also had 12 points for East Perth.

Then in the four men's matches on Friday night, the Perth Redbacks beat the Mandurah Magic 119-113, the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers downed the Perry Lakes Hawks 103-87, the Raw Nutrition Cockburn Cougars defeated the Willetton Tigers 115-105 and the Stirling Senators won over the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 111-91.

The Redbacks scored a six-point road win over the Magic on Friday which saw Perth end a two-game losing run to improve to a 10-8 record in fifth position while the loss for Mandurah saw it fall outside of the top-eight and slip to a 8-8 record.

Lee Roberts came up big for the Redbacks in just his second weekend with the team finishing with 36 points and 15 rebounds on the back of shooting 14-of-23 from the field.

He formed a fearsome import duo with Stan Okoye who also finished with 35 points and five boards while shooting 13-of-22 from the floor and 3-of-5 from long range.

Dennis Tawhiti scored 14 points as well for Perth with Jarrad Prior ending up with 13.

Magic captain Taylor Mullenax did all he could for his team with 32 points and 10 rebounds with Rhett Della Maddalena scoring 22 points, Paul Hafford 20 (10 assists, seven rebounds) and Ben Smith 20.

The Slammers scored an impressive 16-point road win over the Hawks which saw South West improve to a 9-7 record and up into fourth position in the standings while Perry Lakes' playoff hopes hit another snag with it now sitting in 11th spot on just 6-10.

Markus Monroe made an immediate impact with the Slammers top-scoring with 24 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 10-of-17 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range.

Clive Weeden continued his strong form with 23 points and 11 boards as well for South West with Wade Hitchcock adding 12 points and Ty Harrelson 11 to go with nine assists and six rebounds.

Justin Cecil top-scored for the Hawks with 26 points with Corey Easley adding 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Garlepp 18 points and nine boards.

The Cougars continued their tremendous recent form with a fourth straight win beating the Tigers at home by 10 points on Friday.

Cockburn continues to close in on a top-eight spot now with the winning run to improve to an 8-9 record to sit in 10th spot while Willetton is all but out of playoff calculations now at 5-10.

Gavin Field once again led the way for the Cougars with 29 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four blocked shots and four steals.

Anthony Borden is also continuing to build some strong form with another 24 points and nine rebounds with Damien Scott adding 20 points and 10 assists, Seva Chan 16 points and Steven Van Lit 16.

Quinn McDowell top-scored for Willetton with 30 points, 17 rebounds and six assists with John Dickson contributing 21 points and seven boards.

Nick Kody also had 19 points for the Tigers while Jake Burston scored 12.

The Senators and Eagles had both been in good form coming into Friday's clash at Warwick and it was Stirling who prevailed by 20 points in an impressive performance.

The victory improves the Senators to an 8-7 record on the season in sixth spot while East Perth is seventh at 9-9.

Josh Throns was the star of the night for the Senators finishing with 35 points and 10 rebounds on the back of shooting 12-of-20 from the field and 7-of-14 from three-point territory.

Cody Ellis also worked hard for 20 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots with Jordan Wild contributing 14 points and 13 boards, Austin Bruton 14 points and Cory Cooperwood 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Kyle Armour did all he could for the Eagles with 29 points while Nikola Donlagic added 15 points, Joe-Alan Tupaea 14 and Sunday Dech 11 to go with 10 rebounds.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Mandurah Magic 83 defeated Perth Redbacks 51
Perry Lakes Hawks 69 defeated Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 65
Soprano Lady Cougars 69 defeated Willetton Tigers 56
Stirling Senators 80 defeated Schweigen East Perth Eagles 71

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Mandurah Magic 113 lost to Perth Redbacks 119
Perry Lakes Hawks 87 lost to Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 103
Raw Nutrition Cockburn Cougars 115 defeated Willetton Tigers 105
Stirling Senators 111 defeated Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 91

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin




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