The opening match of round 12 saw the 5th placed Hawks take on the 14th placed Magic, the Hawks ran out 113- 95 winners in front of the Perry Lakes crowd. The Hawks led at every change, but blew the game open in the third quarter when they piled on 34 points and were extremely efficient from the field, shooting at 64% in general play and an impressive 67% from down town. Tom Garlepp’s return ensured that the Hawks had ample fire power at the offensive end, but it was Daniel Hawkins who was most dominant, continuing on from his stellar form last round he netted himself a team high 30 points and also pulled down 12 boards, perhaps more impressively was the fact that he only spent 31 minutes on court. Tom Garlepp continued his dazzling season with another double- double night, 24 points and 11 rebounds. The back court pairing of Dixon (17 points) and Vahalla (13) continues to deliver on the scorer’s sheet, contributing 30 points to the team’s total, showing the Hawks myriad of options when getting to the basket. Ex NBL great Aaron Trahair had game high figures with 34 points, while Tom Remmerswaal had 29 points and 8 rebounds.

The ninth placed Flames dealt the Eastern Suns a crushing blow in a high scoring encounter at the Ray Owen Sports Centre, the Flames eventually held on to win in double overtime 130- 121. The Flames delivered the knockout blow in the second period of extra play when they poured in 17 points to 8. Joseph Harrell Jr had some amazing figures with a game high 38 points and 17 rebounds in 52 minutes of game time. He was given exemplary support by Ryan Godfrey, 29 points and 8 assists, and Rhett Della Maddalena 27 points and 13 rebounds. Joseph Nixon was the best for the Eastern Suns; he went close to a triple- double night with 35 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Adrian Majstrovich was also up and about with 27 points, 18 rebounds and 4 steals. In the end the Flames dominance in the paint was too great for the Suns to overcome.

The match of the round saw the top two teams face off, and the contest did not disappoint. League leaders Lakeside showed their class and poise under fire and ran out victors by 3 points over Geraldton, 95- 92. The Lakeside faithful were treated to a fantastic battle between the premier teams in the domestic competition, with the big names for both teams making their mark on the contest. Jarrad Prue was colossal for Lakeside with a 20- 20 game, to go with 4 assists. Luke Payne had 20 points and 5 assists, while Jason Faulknor had 19 and 4. Michael Le Blanc had a game high 32 points for the Buccaneers, Luke Meyer notched 31 points and 8 rebounds, but no other Geraldton player was able to surpass double figures on the scorer’s sheet. Lakesides massive 38 point second term put them in good stead to post another victory in an already impressive season, but the Buccaneers stifling defence in the 3rd and 4th periods held the flashy Lakeside offence to only 33 points for the half.

The Mandurah Magic were dealt their ninth straight defeat when they were downed by the Goldfields Giants by 20 points at the Mandurah Rec Centre on Saturday. The Giants put themselves in a wining position from early on, throwing down 63 points in the first half. Michael Haney had a game high 20 points for the Giants, Alonzo Hird posted another double- double night, 18 points and 11 boards, Russell Hurst also came to the party with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Todd Earle and Ryan Hume were both good at the offensive end, with 19 and 18 points respectively. Andrew Bowman was the best for the Magic, with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Aaron Trahair backed upped from the previous night with 17 points. The Giants were dominant in the paint, with 48 points and also shot at a good clip from down town, 52%.

The tenth placed Tigers caused an upset when they bested the 4th placed Wolves at the Joondalup Basketball stadium on Saturday night. The Tigers had a Sublime second half, were they netted 61 points, 40 of which came in the last quarter. Wanneroo started strongly but couldn’t stay with the determined Willetton outfit down the stretch. Wanneroo shot at a lowly 34% from the field for the night, in stark contrast to the Tigers with 53%. The big names for Willetton got the job done, with the Great Dane, Chris Christoferssen going close to a triple- double in what was a stellar performance with a game high 37 points, 22 rebounds and 8 blocks. Robert Epps was solid with 24 points and falling a solitary rebound short of a double- double night. Jacob Reed was also excellent with 19 points. Jeffrey Dowdell was left to play a lone hand as the dominant player for the Wolves, in the absence of Loughton. Dowdell was the only Wanneroo player to score more than 20 points, an indication of the ferocity of the Tigers defence. He finished with 32 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Marcus Moore was the next best with 19 points and 5 rebounds. The Tigers had an amazing 70 points in the paint, more than double that of the Wolves, and their extended defensive pressure resulted in more points off turnovers.

The Flames downed the Redbacks in a high scoring encounter at the Mike Barnett Sports Complex on Saturday night, 134- 114. Rockingham put down some huge numbers, particularly in the opening quarter where they set the tone for the match with a 42 point opening. This was supplemented with a 70 point second half that spring boarded the Flames into a winning position. David Clarkson netted himself a game high 36 points and Rhett Della Maddalena was tremendous with 26 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assist. Aaron Christopher Lynch was trying singly handedly to carry the Redbacks with a phenomenal night; he finished with 33 points, 21 boards and 3 assists. Jarrad Prior also had an impact with 23 points and 4 assists. The Flames shot well from the field, at 54% and were at 48% from down town for the night.

The Eagles upset the Senators, who have now lost 6 on the trot, 112- 97. The East Perth fans were given some solace, which was only the clubs fifth win for the season. The Eagles had a good spread of scorers, Ben Thompson was the pick of the bunch going agonizingly close to a triple- double night, he finished with 33 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Tom Jervis had a good night with 21 points and 15 boards. Edward Morris Jr tried gallantly to outdo Thompson, and nearly did so registering comparable figures, with a team high 32 points, 15 boards, 7 blocks and 5 assists. Chris Dodd imposed himself on the contest with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. The Eagles offensive execution in the paint, and overall field goal percentage was enough to see them claim victory in the end.

Neighbours on the ladder Perry Lakes, 5th place, and Cockburn, 6th placed, clashed on Saturday night at Wally Hagan Stadium. Both teams went into the contest with diminished rosters, but the Cougars ran away with the chocolates 106- 92. The Hawks were woeful from 3 point land, connecting on only 3 of 16 attempts; they also struggled in general play with only 39% from the field compared with 45% for the Cougars. Cockburn finished strongly in the last quarter posting 27 points while managing to restrict the Hawks to only 17. The Hawks chances of victory were crippled with the absence of swingmen Martin Vahalla and Peter PC Crawford. The bulk of the scoring was again carried by Tom Garlepp, 25 points, Daniel Hawkins, 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Joe-Alan Tupaea contributed a valuable 24 points. Douglas Mclaughlin-Williams had a game high 29 points for the Cougars, Mark Jones had 19 while Andrew Musulin and Adam Becis both posted 16 points.

The Geraldton Buccaneers crushed the Tigers by 33 points, 112- 79. The Buccaneers posted their 15 win for the season to cement their second position after coming off a loss to the league leaders Lakeside 24 hours earlier. Willetton, currently in tenth, were brought back to earth after causing an upset with their victory of the Wolf pack. Michael Le Blanc was back to his best with 29 points and 13 rebounds, Daniel Thomas had 22 points while Aaron Ralph posted 21. The Buccaneers managed to curtail the Tigers big names, with Chris Christoferssen still managing a double- double, 22 points and 12 boards, while Rob Epps had one of his quietest games for the season, by his lofty standards, only posting 14 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. The Buccaneers simply shot the ball better, showing their nous from down town, connecting o 17 of 36.

The Giants continued a solid weekend, posting successive wins, this time over the South West Slammers, running out victors 100- 77. With the victory the Giants now firm to fourth position, while the Slammers sit in the middle of the pack in eighth place. Goldfields shot the ball solidly, 49.4% from the field and 42% from beyond the arc. Ryan Hulme had a game high 20 points, Alonzo Hird attained another double- double, 19 points and 12 boards. John Smith was the most damaging for the Slammers with 18 and 11. Cameron Gliddon had 17 and 4.

The Giants continued on their winning ways to bring round 12 to a close, posting their third win from as many games. The Giants sent the Redbacks packing with a 10 point victory, 96- 86. Michael Haney had a monster game with 30 point and 14 rebounds, Alonzo Hird made it 3 double- doubles for the weekend with 13 and 13. Aaron Christopher Lynch battled gallantly to keep his side in it, posting another set of huge numbers, 38 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists. Joel Wagner was a solid contributor with 10 points, 8 boards and 8 assists. In the end the Giants edged out Perth through their offensive pressure in the paint, 48 points to 38, the difference being the final margin.

WSBL

Round 12 began with an upset, when the 8th placed Magic toppled the league leading Hawks, 67- 56. The Hawks were dealt only their 5th loss for the season. Shelley Boston was terrific for Mandurah with 22 points and 18 rebounds.

The Eastern Suns were too good for the Flames, netting victory by 21 points; the Suns are now on a 4 game winning streak. Brittany Morgan was impressive for Suns with 13 points and 8 rebounds.

The Wolves downed the Tigers by 14 points, 70- 56, at the Joondalup Basketball Stadium on Saturday night. The 4th placed Tigers were dealt their second successive loss, while the Wolves are now two on the trot. Jodie Wallace netted a game high 22 points.

The Flames backed up for a double header weekend, this time beating the Redbacks by 12 points, 68- 56. Kaye Tucker had a solid double- double night with 20 points and 10 boards.
The East Perth Eagles saw off the Senators in a narrow 6 point win, 72- 66. Kelsey Maffin was a standout for the Eagles with 21 points.

The Hawks levelled their weekend with a 7 point win over the Cougars, 69- 62. Ella Buckley had a game high 20 points and11 rebounds for the Cougars. Lyndal Gardner had a team high 16 points for the Hawks

Article from Perth Wildcats