THE Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Lakeside Lightning and Stirling Senators women were among the big SBL winners on Saturday night with the East Perth, Mandurah, Joondalup, Perth and South West men all recording crucial victories.

There were five crucial women's matches on Saturday night highlighted by the Kalamunda Eastern Suns continuing to win, the Willetton Tigers keeping their playoff hopes alive and the Rockingham Flames bouncing back emphatically from their first loss of the season last Friday night.

The big winners were the Lakeside Lightning and Stirling Senators, though, as they remain in second and fourth position respectively following wins over the Joondalup Wolves and Mandurah Magic.

It was also a huge night of men's action with the East Perth Eagles showing it is still a championship force beating the Rockingham Flames while the Mandurah Magic, Joondalup Wolves, Perth Redbacks and South West Slammers were among the important winners.

It was an especially special night for the Wolves as they celebrated Doug Gates' 350th SBL appearance.

The women's action on Saturday night saw the Kalamunda Eastern Suns beat the Perth Redbacks 98-85 at Belmont Oasis, the Willetton Tigers thrash the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 76-48 at Eaton Recreation Centre and the Lakeside Lightning down the Joondalup Wolves 78-64 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium.

The Stirling Senators also recorded a crucial 84-74 victory over the Mandurah Magic at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre and the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames had a big 100-74 win over the Schweigen East Perth Eagles.

The Eastern Suns were outstanding last weekend recording wins over Rockingham and Cockburn, and backed that up on Saturday night with a comfortable win over the winless Redbacks.

The Suns now sit in fifth position in the standings with a 12-7 record and remain a good chance to end up finishing third while the Redbacks remain without a victory after 18 matches now.

Alison Schwagmeyer was once again outstanding for the Eastern Suns with 22 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists while shooting 9-of-16 from the floor.

Jennie Rintala was also terrific for the Suns with 22 points and 10 boards with Adrienne Jones adding 16 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Jessie Edwards 16 points and 10 boards.

Gabby O'Sullivan worked hard for the Redbacks with 18 points and five rebounds with Jessica Jakens adding 15 points.

The Tigers recorded a comprehensive 28-point win over the Slammers in Eaton with Willetton improving to a 6-11 record as a result to be closing in on South West's eighth position in the standings. The Slammers are now just on a 7-12 record in that eighth spot.

Ebony Antonio led the way for the Tigers with 20 points while shooting 9-of-17 from the floor with Melissa Marsh contributing 15 points, Desiree Kelly 10, Mikayla Pirini 10, Antonia Edmondson 10 and Lisa Wallbutton eight to go with 14 rebounds.

Lauren Jeffers worked hard for the Slammers with 17 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals with Amy Patton finishing with 11 points, 12 boards and three assists.

The clash with perhaps the most riding on the result on Saturday night was between the second-placed Lightning and third-placed Wolves, and it was Lakeside who prevailed at Joondalup by 14 points.

The results sees the Lightning move three games clear in second position with a 15-3 record while the Wolves remain third but only just ahead of Stirling, Kalamunda and Mandurah.

Kari Pickens again top-scored for the Lightning with 23 points, 10 rebounds and four assists on the back of shooting 9-of-18 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point territory.

Courtney Byrnes also contributed 18 points and eight rebounds for Lakeside while Emily Fielding had 16 points, six boards and six steals, and Krystal Stoneking 16 points.

Shani Amos top-scored for the Wolves with 13 points and five assists while Amanda Frontino contributed 10 points.

Another contest with plenty at stake was between the Magic and Senators, and it was again the visitors getting the result with Stirling scoring the 10-point victory in Mandurah.

The result means that the Senators sit in fourth position on an 11-6 record just ahead of the now 11-7 Magic who are in sixth.

Amber Land led the way for the victorious Senators with 19 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals with Tegan Walker adding 17 points, Taylor Wild 16 and Emma Berryman 14.

Hailey Dunham was outstanding for the Magic with 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists with Casey Mihovilovich adding 14 points, five boards, three steals and two assists.

Briana Klasztorny added 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks as well for Mandurah while Jorjah Smith scored 12 points.

The Flames suffered their first defeat of the season last Friday night against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns, but bounced back emphatically on Saturday beating the struggling Eagles at Morley by 26 points.

Rockingham now improves to an 18-1 record to be three games clear on top of the standings while East Perth slips to 2-17 now on a 13-game losing streak.

Darcee Garbin continued her outstanding form for the Flames with another 24 points and six rebounds on the back of shooting 10-of-16 from the field.

Samantha Whitcomb was also terrific with 23 points, six boards, three steals and two assists with Kaye Tucker adding 14 points, Talisia Bourne 12 and Jacinta Bourne 11.

Brienna Nolan led the way for the Eagles with 17 points and six rebounds with Stephanie Jones adding 10 points and eight boards, and Haylee DeSousa 10 points.

The men's action then saw the Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers take out a 95-91 thriller against the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants at Neils Hansen Basketball Stadium, the Perth Redbacks down the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 102-95 at Belmont Oasis and the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers had a big 119-98 win over the Willetton Tigers at Eaton Recreation Centre.

The Joondalup Wolves then thumped the Lakeside Lightning 120-91 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium, the Mandurah Magic downed the Stirling Senators 112-81 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre and the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles defeated the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 112-95 at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

The Buccaneers clash with the Giants might have pitted top against bottom in the men's SBL but the encounter in Kalgoorlie was a terrific one with Geraldton eventually prevailing by just the four points.

As a result, the Buccaneers remain clear on top of the standings with a 17-4 record while the Giants stay last on 3-18.

Aaron Ralph top-scored for the Buccaneers with 26 points and seven rebounds while hitting 5-of-11 from three-point territory.

New import Jerrah Young contributed 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Buccs on the back of shooting 8-of-15 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line.

Bennie Lewis also contributed 15 points, five assists, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks for Geraldton with Carter Cook adding 12 points and Matt Wundenberg 11 to go with 19 rebounds.

Adrian Majstrovich had a huge night for the Giants finishing with 36 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and four steals while hitting 5-of-8 from three-point range and 13-of-14 from the free-throw line.

Duran Blue also worked hard for Goldfields with 26 points and 10 rebounds with Matthew Leske adding 15 points and Miles Tierney 12 before fouling out.

The Redbacks consolidated fourth position with a seven-point win over an Eastern Suns team coming off two impressive wins last weekend.

Perth improved to a 9-12 record as a result while Kalamunda remain second last with a 5-16 record.

Stan Okoye led the way for the Redbacks with 26 points and 19 rebounds with Joel Wagner scoring 25 points and Lee Roberts 16 to go with 10 rebounds and four assists. Jarrad Jackson and Dennis Tawhiti both scored 14 points apiece as well.

Luke Nevill was instrumental in Kalamunda's impressive wins last weekend over Rockingham and Cockburn, but he wasn’t there on Saturday night. However, Ben Smith worked hard for 20 points while Louis Timms did well with 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Adhar Mayen also scored 18 points for the Eastern Suns with Kerrod Horn adding 15.

The Slammers began their weekend impressively with a one-point win over the Cougars on Friday night and then scored an emphatic 21-point win over the Tigers on Saturday at home.

As a result, South West has now improved to seventh position in the standings with a 12-10 record while Willetton's disappointing season continues in 12th position with a 7-12 record.

New import Markus Monroe was again terrific for the Slammers with 33 points, nine assists and seven rebounds while shooting 11-of-17 from the floor, 3-of-6 from downtown and 8-of-9 from the foul line.

Clive Weeden added 28 points, 21 rebounds, three assists and three blocks in a massive night also for the Slammers with Wade Hitchcock adding 19 points and Ty Harrelson 12.

Quinn McDowell scored 27 points and pulled in 13 rebounds for the Tigers with Jacob Reed scoring 12 points and Mitch Clarke 10.

The Wolves and Lightning played out a rematch of last year's grand final and it was the runner-up who made a statement as Joondalup recorded a thumping 120-91 victory over the defending champion Lakeside.

As a result, the Wolfpack return to the top eight after slipping out following a one-point loss to Stirling on Friday while the Lightning remain third on 14-8.

Seb Salinas had another remarkable night for the Wolves continuing his terrific season finishing with 37 points, eight rebounds and six assists on the back of shooting 13-of-22 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.

Trian Iliadis added 23 points for the Wolves, Ephrem Davis 19 and Rob Huntington 16.

Brad Tinsley top-scored for the Lightning with 24 points and seven assists with Caleb Palkert contributing 19 points and 13 boards, Jarrad Prue 14 points and 24 rebounds, and Chris Sofoulis 10 points.

The Magic then hammered the Senators by 31 points at home with Mandurah improving to a 12-9 record as a result to sit in fifth position while Stirling slipped back to ninth on 11-10 after briefly sitting in eighth after beating the Wolves on Friday.

Paul Hafford finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and four steals for the Magic with Rhett Della Maddalena contributing 24 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Captain Taylor Mullenax added 23 points and seven boards for the Magic as well with Trent Gerovich finishing with 15 points.

Cory Cooperwood top-scored for the Senators with 19 points with Cody Ellis adding 15.

The weekend concluded with the Eagles scoring an impressive 17-point win over the Flames at home.

The win sees East Perth improve to a 12-10 record and into sixth position while Rockingham stays second on 15-7.

Tom Jervis had a big night for the Eagles with 30 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and three assists while shooting 10-of-18 from the field including hitting a rare three.

His Perth Wildcats NBL teammate Mathiang Muo was also impressive with 22 points and nine rebounds on the back of shooting 8-of-18 from the floor.

Kyle Armour also contributed 19 points and 10 boards for the Eagles with Nikola Donlagic scoring 12 points and Drew Williamson 11.

Cooper Land finished with 22 points and eight rebounds for the Flames with Ryan Godfrey contributing 22 points, Andrew Bowman 15 and Tom Remmerswaal 10.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perth Redbacks 65 lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns 98
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 48 lost to Willetton Tigers 76
Joondalup Wolves 64 lost to Lakeside Lightning 78
Mandurah Magic 74 lost to Stirling Senators 84
Schweigen East Perth Eagles 74 lost to Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 100

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 91 lost to Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers 95
Perth Redbacks 102 defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns 95
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 119 defeated Willetton Tigers 98
Joondalup Wolves 120 defeated Lakeside Lightning 91
Mandurah Magic 112 defeated Stirling Senators 81
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 112 defeated Orange Autos Rockingham Flames 95

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene Maisey