IN between claiming the Perth Lynx MVP award over Easter, Sami Whitcomb shot the Rockingham Flames to two Women's SBL victories with the Willetton Tigers and Perry Lakes Hawks among the other teams to send a message over Week 2 action.

Coming off helping to lead the Lynx to the WNBL grand final where they lost to her Flames teammate Darcee Garbin and the Townsville Fire, Whitcomb was back in style over Easter helping Rockingham to wins over the Joondalup Wolves and East Perth Eagles.

The first one on Thursday was a cracking contest against a Lady Wolfpack team who had a monster 39-point Week 1 win over the South West Slammers.

The Flames were coming off a 29-point defeat themselves at the hands of the Tigers and it was a thriller all evening at Joondalup Basketball. But it was Whitcomb who led the way with a remarkable step back three falling out of bounds as time run down to give the Flames the stunning 80-79 win.

She then went on to be named the MVP of the Lynx for the 2015/16 season on Saturday night before backing up Easter Monday leading Rockingham to a commanding 78-45 win over the Eagles at Mike Barnett Sports Complex in the home opener for the two-time defending champs.

The other two Women's SBL matches on Thursday night saw Perry Lakes Hawks record a big 96-56 win over the Mandurah Magic while the Willetton Tigers hammered the Stirling Senators 98-48.

Then on Saturday evening, the Lakeside Lightning beat the South West Slammers 85-59 and the Cockburn Cougars defeated the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 71-70 in another nail-biter.

Following Week 2 of the competition, the Willetton Tigers (3-0), Perth Redbacks (2-0) and Perry Lakes Hawks (1-0) are the three unbeaten teams. The Rockingham Flames (2-1) are the other above 500.

The Joondalup Wolves, Lakeside Lightning, Cockburn Cougars and Stirling Senators are all 1-1 with the Kalamunda Eastern Suns (0-2), East Perth Eagles (0-2), South West Slammers (0-2) and Mandurah (0-1) yet to record a win.

There were five new players named in the Team of the Week with it made up of not only Whitcomb, but Alison Schwagmeyer, Antonia Edmondson, Cherridy Thornton and Louella Tomlinson.

After hitting the game-winner on her return for the Flames against the Wolves on Thursday, Whitcomb backed up with 25 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots in Monday's big win over the Eagles.

She hit 9-of-16 from the field and 5-of-10 from beyond the three-point arc.

Schwagmeyer put in an outstanding performance on the road in the Lightning's 26-point win over the Slammers on Saturday with 21 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. She shot 10-of-16 from the field.

Edmondson also made her return after a strong season in the WNBL with the Lynx and was tremendous for the Hawks leading them to a big win over the Magic with 23 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals while shooting 9-of-14 from the field and 4-of-7 from downtown.

Thornton had a big night for the Cougars in their one-point home win over the Eastern Suns. She finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and two assists while shooting 9-of-20 from the floor, and 2-of-3 from three-point territory.

Tomlinson returned to the Tigers line-up after her time with the Lynx and following Kate Malpass and Ebony Antonio both named in the Team of the Week after the opening round, she got the nod for Week 2.

Tomlinson had 18 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots in a stunning performance as Willetton beat Stirling.

They weren’t the only standout performers from the long weekend though.

Going back to Thursday, Tomlinson had plenty of help in Willetton's big win with Ebony Antonio contributing 17 points (four assists, three rebounds, three steals), Zoe Harper 16 (six boards), Kate Malpass 15 (nine assists, six boards) and Desiree Kelley 14 (five steals, three rebounds, three assists).

Fiona Madden, Kara van Dyke and Lyndal Gardner all scored 10 points for the Senators.

Edmondson also had plenty of help in Perry Lakes' win over Mandurah with Kate Anthony scoring 18 points, Mia Satie 16 (six rebounds, four rebounds) and Deanna Smith 11 (five assists, five boards, three steals, three blocks).

Brianna Klasztorny top-scored for the Magic with 18 points to go with five rebounds. Adijat Adams added 12 points and 11 boards.

Schwagmeyer wasn’t the only player with Lakeside to have a big night in the win over South West with Tia Ucich contributing 16 points, Courtney Byrnes 13 and Devanny King 11 to go with eight rebounds.

It was a second heavy home loss to start the season for the Slammers but Dena English and Raya Thompson did score 13 points apiece.

Also on Saturday night, Nicole Roberts contributed 19 points and four assists for Cockburn in the thrilling win over Kalamunda. Taryn Priestly also had 10 points and four assists off the bench.

Sabrina Jeridore had a strong game for the Eastern Suns with 22 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots while Rebecca Motroni had 12 points and Jorjah Smith 10 to go with five rebounds and three assists. Sarah-Jane MacMahon also pulled in 13 rebounds.

Then on Monday as well as Whitcomb's 25 points for Rockingham, Tarsha Fletcher, Ashlee Sidebottom and Darcee Garbin all scored 10 points apiece.

Kelsey DeWitt scored 10 points for the Eagles.

WEEK 2 WOMEN'S TEAM OF THE WEEK
Alison Schwagmeyer (Lakeside Lightning)
Sami Whitcomb (Rockingham Flames)
Antonia Edmondson (Perry Lakes Hawks)
Cherridy Thornton (Cockburn Cougars)
Louella Tomlinson (Willetton Tigers)

THURSDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Willetton Tigers 98 defeated Stirling Senators 48
Perry Lakes Hawks 96 defeated Mandurah Magic 56
Joondalup Wolves 79 lost to Rockingham Flames 80

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
South West Slammers 59 lost to Lakeside Lightning 85
Cockburn Cougars 71 defeated Kalamunda Eastern Suns 70

MONDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Rockingham Flames 78 defeated East Perth Eagles 45

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin