THE final SBL matches before the WA Day All-Star Games at the Bendat Basketball Centre took place on Sunday with the South West Slammers men and women both beating the Stirling Senators while the Joondalup Wolves men maintained top position with a win over the Goldfields Giants.

There was just the one women's SBL match on Sunday and it was a thriller with the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers ending up narrowly prevailing 75-73 over the Stirling Senators at Eaton Recreation Centre.

There were two men's matches on Sunday that saw the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves beating the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 122-90 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium and the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers beating the Bethanie Stirling Senators 123-109 at Eaton Recreation Centre.

The women's round concluded with the Slammers and Senators playing out a thriller and in the end it came down to some big plays in the dying stages.

The Senators were playing catch up the entire final period but never gave up and got to within a point with 16 seconds remaining thanks to a free-throw by Cassie Bates.

Patricia Bright then found herself at the line twice within five seconds for the Slammers either side of a missed attempt for the Senators from Amber Land.

While Bright only made one of the four, that proved enough for the win with Tegan Walker missing a desperation game-winning buzzer-beating three-point attempt for Stirling.

The win improves the Slammers to a 6-7 record in eighth position while the Senators are now 2-11 in 11th spot heading into the WA Day All-Star Game at Bendat Basketball Centre.

Deonica McCormick ended up top-scoring for the Slammers with 21 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocked shots while shooting 10-of-14 from the floor, and 1-of-1 from three-point territory.

Bright ended up with 15 points, nine boards and three steals for South West as well while Rebecca Preston finished with 13 points, four boards and three steals with Kelly Bastow contributing 11 points and Kate Fielding four points, six assists, four rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.

Land top-scored in the end for the Senators with 23 points, 18 rebounds, five assists and two steals while Walker contributed 22 points, 11 boards, three assists and two steals.

Lyndal Gardner added 11 points as well for Stirling while Bates contributed nine points and 10 rebounds.

And in the men's action on Sunday, the Wolves maintained top position narrowly ahead of the Geraldton Buccaneers with the 32-point victory at home over the Giants.

The win is the Wolfpack's second of the weekend backing up the 40-point victory over the Perth Redbacks on Saturday night while the Giants have now slipped to a 5-11 record having lost to both the Lakeside Lightning and Joondalup in Perth this weekend.

Rob Huntington had a huge game for the Wolves finishing with 30 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 14-of-21 from the field.

Kevin Davis contributed 17 points and 17 rebounds as well for the Wolfpack with Trian Iliadis contributing 14 points and six assists, Seb Salinas 13 points and six assists, and Louis Timms 12 points and eight rebounds. Joel Questel also added nine points and six assists.

The Giants were without Mathiang Muo and couldn’t quite replace his production but still had some good performers led by 21 points and nine rebounds from Jay Bowie.

Jacob Holmen also finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Giants with Russell Hurst contributing 15 points and six boards, Brandon Hewitt-Holloway 12 points and five assists, and Edin Zunic 11 pints and eight rebounds.

The final match leading into the WA Day All-Star Game on Monday at the Bendat Basketball Centre saw the Slammers record a 14-point win at home over the Senators.

The result sees the Slammers maintain third position in the standings with a 13-3 record while the Senators slipped to 5-10 in 11th spot.

Tre Nichols top-scored for the Slammers with 25 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals on the back of shooting 9-of-16 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.

Brian Voelkel had another strong all-round game with 22 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and five steals for South West with Ty Harrelson finishing with 22 points, eight boards, eight assists and three steals and Clive Weeden 15 points and eight rebounds.

The Slammers also got some good service off the bench with Jordan Hickert scoring nine points, Wade Hitchcock nine and Patrick Phillips eight.

Tom Witts top-scored for the Senators with 21 points and five rebounds with Ashley Litterick adding 17 points and nine boards, Austin Bruton 16 points, Nikolas Iliadis 10 points, Jordan Wild 10 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Kyle Lindbergh 10 points and 10 boards.

SUNDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 75 defeated Stirling Senators 73

SUNDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves 122 defeated Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 90
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 123 defeated Bethanie Stirling Senators 109

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Ashley Pearce