Sarah Mozley

The Willetton Tigers WSBL kicked off the long weekend with a dominant win over the Perry Lakes Hawks on Thursday night.

The Tigers defeated the Hawks 80-68 at Bendat Basketball Centre for last week’s Easter round.

Willetton WSBL head coach Simon Parker said he is proud of the way his team fought back the lead after a sluggish start.

“We had a slow start… mentally I didn’t feel the girls were switched on early which made us play a bit of catch up basketball which can be very difficult, once we got focused on our game plan the girls were again really good,” Parker said.

The team debuted the newest, and final, addition to the team on the night - American import Wendi Bibbins.

She finished with an impressive 17 points in her first outing as a Tiger.

Parker said Bibbins has plenty to offer the team on-court, as well as being a great person to have around the club.

“Wendi had a great game for her first outing as a tiger, she brings a different look to the position she plays in, very athletic, good defender on the perimeter and post and has the ability to make buckets,” Parker said.

“She’s a really great person who compliments the team well and looking forward to her progress as the season goes.”

Fellow US import Laina Snyder backed up her WSBL Player of the Week nod from last round with another outstanding performance against the Hawks.

She racked up a game high 21 points and 12 rebounds.

However, Parker is most impressed with the even spread of contribution from his team week-to-week.

“For our team to be good we need to have an even spread of contribution, we aren’t a team who relies solely on dominant players,” Parker said.

“Not everyone can be a scorer each week but it’s other roles people play within the team and the impact they have that’s been important.”

With the arrival of Bibbins, the Tigers have an exciting mix of local and import players, a strong combination which Parker sees a lot of potential in.

“I’m really happy with the team’s progress so early in the season, the local girls have been doing an outstanding job for the team and I’m hoping that continues moving forward,” Parker said.

“It’ll take a couple of more weeks until we totally put it all together, the good thing about this group is the trust and support they have for each other and they work extremely hard.”

The Tigers will take on the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Ray Owen Sports Centre this Friday for the ANZAC round.