The four women's matches on Friday night were highlighted by the Kalamunda Eastern Suns upsetting the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 84-78 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

The other three matches saw the Lakeside Lightning beat the Perth Redbacks 79-63 at Belmont Oasis, the Mandurah Magic defeat the Schweigen East Perth Eagles 75-40 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre and the Stirling Senators down the Soprano Lady Cougars 71-65 at Wally Hagan Stadium.

The Eastern Suns confirmed that they are still a team to be reckoned with in calculations for this year's championship coming off making last year's grand final with their five-point win over the Flames.

It was Rockingham's first loss of the season after 17 straight matches to open the 2014 women's SBL campaign.

However, the Flames remain four games clear on top of the standings but it was a big win for the Suns improving them to a 10-7 record in sixth position to be equal on wins with the third-placed Joondalup Wolves, and two games clear of the seventh-placed Cougars.

Alison Schwagmeyer again led the way for the Eastern Suns with 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals with Jennie Rintala contributing 20 points and five boards as well.

Adrienne Jones also had 15 points, four assists and three rebounds for the Suns with Chelsea Armstrong contributing 13 points, six boards and five assists.

Darcee Garbin continued her stunning form for the Flames with another 24 points and 14 rebounds while Samantha Whitcomb added 22 points and six boards.

Kaye Tucker also had 13 points and five boards for Rockingham with Jacinta Bourne contributing 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

The Magic comfortably took care of the Eagles winning by 35 points with the win improving Mandurah to an 11-6 record in fifth position while East Perth slipped to 2-15.

Hailey Dunham was outstanding for the Magic with 28 points, 11 rebounds and six assists on the back of shooting 12-of-20 from the floor.

Briana Klasztorny added 13 points and eight boards for Mandurah as well with Casey Mihovilovich outstanding with 11 points, 10 steals, eight rebounds, seven assists and six blocked shots. It might have ended up as a double-double, but she threatened double-figures in five categories.

Nicole Jorre St Jorre and Stephanie Jones scored 11 points apiece for the Eagles.

The winless Redbacks put in a competitive showing at home to the Lightning on Friday but ultimately fell by 16 points to remain without a victory after 17 games this season.

The win improved Lakeside to a 13-3 record on the season and to continue to be secure in second position.

Emily Fielding was the star of the night for the Lightning with 21 points and nine rebounds while shooting 9-of-16 from the field.

Krystal Stoneking added 16 points, six boards and four assists for Lakeside with Kari Pickens contributing 15 points and eight rebounds.

Gabby O'Sullivan tried hard for the Redbacks with 19 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists with Jessica Hughes adding 15 points.

The final women's match of the night saw the Senators score a crucial 71-65 win over the Cougars.

The six-point win improves the Senators to a 10-5 record in fourth position while the loss puts Cockburn back to 8-8 in seventh spot.

Tegan Walker led the way for the Senators with 18 points and seven rebounds with Taylor Wild adding 15 points and seven assists, Amber Land 13 points, Emma Berryman 11 and Lyndal Gardner 10.

Marita Payne worked hard for the Cougars finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds with Sam Richards contributing 14 points, five boards and four assists, and Taryn Priestly 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

It was the Kalamunda Eastern Suns who pulled off the surprise of the night in men's action as well getting off the bottom of the ladder with a 111-75 thrashing of the second-placed Orange Autos Rockingham Flames at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

The Lakeside Lightning also defeated the Perth Redbacks 117-108 at Belmont Oasis, the Mandurah Magic beat the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 115-110 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre and the Stirling Senators downed the Raw Nutrition Cockburn Cougars 121-111 at Wally Hagan Stadium.

The Eastern Suns came into their clash with the Flames as the last-placed team coming up against the team in second spot, but the Suns had a stunning night winning by 36 points.

The win improves Kalamunda to a 4-15 record to move off the bottom at the expense of the Goldfields Giants while Rockingham slips to 15-6 with the loss but remains two games clear in second position.

Luke Nevill was the star for the Eastern Suns with 33 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots on the back of shooting 13-of-25 from the field, 2-of-3 from downtown and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Ben Smith contributed 22 points and five rebounds as well for the Suns with Louis Timms adding 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks, Teny Puot 11 points and Joel Questel 10 to go with 12 assists.

Cooper Land led the way for the Flames with 25 points, six rebounds and four assists with Tom Remmerswaal adding 14 points, Andrew Bowman 11 and Luke Roberts 11.

The Magic beat the Eagles by five points at home to see Mandurah improve to a 10-9 record in fifth spot while East Perth slips to seventh on 10-10.

Captain Taylor Mullenax led the way for the Magic with 23 points and 13 rebounds with Rhett Della Maddalena adding 23 points and seven boards.

Paul Hafford also scored 20 points to go with six assists and five rebounds for Mandurah while Ben Smith finished with 19 points and 12 boards.

Tom Jervis did all he could for the Eagles with 24 points, 13 rebounds, three blocked shots and three assists with Mathiang Muo adding 21 points, Austin Kisselev 14, Drew Williamson 12 and Joe-Alan Tupaea 11.

The Lightning scored a crucial nine-point win away to the Redbacks to see the defending champions move clear in third position with a 13-7 record while Perth slipped to 11-9 with the loss but remained fourth.

Brad Tinsley had another big night for the Lightning finishing with 30 points and 12 rebounds on the back of shooting 10-of-16 from the field and a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line.

Jesse Dixon also scored 23 points for the Lightning with Caleb Palkert adding 23 points and eight rebounds, Jarrad Prue 18 points and 16 boards, and Brad Jackson 11 points.

Lee Roberts led the way for the Redbacks with 34 points and 13 rebounds with fellow import Stan Okoye contributing 29 points and nine boards.

Dennis Tawhiti also scored 17 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists for Perth with Joel Wagner contributing 12 points and 12 assists on his return.

The Senators also kept their playoff hopes alive with a 10-point win away to the Cougars with Stirling improving to 9-9 in ninth spot and Cockburn slipping to 9-11 in 10th.

Cody Ellis led the way for the Senators with 27 points and six rebounds while Jordan Wild was outstanding with 23 points and 20 boards.

Cory Cooperwood also scored 18 points to go with eight assists with Austin Bruton scoring 18 points, Josh Throns 16 and Tom Witts 14.

Damien Scott did all he could for the Cougars with 37 points, 12 rebounds and five assists with Gavin Field contributing 29 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

FRIDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perth Redbacks 63 lost to Lakeside Lightning 79
Mandurah Magic 75 defeated Schweigen East Perth Eagles 40
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 78 lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns 84
Soprano Lady Cougars 65 lost to Stirling Senators 71

FRIDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perth Redbacks 108 lost to Lakeside Lightning 117
Mandurah Magic 115 defeated Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 110
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 75 lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns 111
Raw Nutrition Cockburn Cougars 111 lost to Stirling Senators 121

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Steve Brooks