Weekly WABL Wrap – Round 15

The Weekly WABL Wrap is proudly sponsored by Woods Insurance Brokers.

Here’s the Round 15 wrap-up of how all our teams went, including comments from coaches:

12-1 Girls – Marcia Dowling (sponsored by National Geotech)

Won against Joondalup 47-28

Coach comments (Dahney Chamberlain)

The girls started off a bit rocky – the curse of the late afternoon game! However, the second half of the game was definitely our game; the girls started to play better as a team and individually! We definitely let the other team get to our heads but held our own towards the end! Great game, looking forward to finals.
Elsey Lohman white is an amazing player who always contributes with scores as well as great team work. Elsey continuously shows great sportsmanship and helps out her teammates.
Zara Flynn has shown amazing improvement throughout this season! She has played amazing defence and gained so much confidence on the court!! Congratulations on her 50th game!! An amazing achievement

12-2 Girls – Paul Philpott (sponsored by Infinity Designed)

Lost to Lakeside 34-48

Coach comments

Another tough game for our girls, but despite the challenge from Lakeside Lightning, we demonstrated some excellent with our denial of Lightning scoring opportunities through strong rebounding and steals, along with our ducks lining up with many transitions. We just need to work on our finishing touches to make a solid difference. Yes, we can still almost taste that beautiful day in our Redbacks neighbourhood!
Jade McPherson came alive again today with her offensive drives and availability around the goal.
Megan Ling was also very noticeable in defence today, being able to tag her player along the full length of the court.
Madeleine Marshall, despite illness, worked really hard both under the ring and in her mid-court positioning to create and finish off our transitions with a big score of 11 points.
Emily Cakar continues to be a flash on court, with her speed often causing many turnovers for Lakeside.

12-3 Girls – Khalid Elmi

Lost to East Perth 30-54

Coach comments (Paul Philpott)

The East Perth Eagles performed very well today. Similarly, our 12-3 girls played an equally strong game, demonstrating some key team skills.
Anja Petrovic, despite a high foul count, was a menace for the Eagles with her excellent court positioning and exceptional long shots.
Welcome back Shay Olowoyo who was tall today with both body and hands, often outmatching the Eagles and intercepting their passes.
Lillian Inkster demonstrated her speed and court coverage today proving to be a powerful offensive standout.
Well done girls.

12-1 Boys – Ofir Ben Dror (sponsored by Pivot Project Consulting)

Lost to Joondalup 70-75

Coach comments

This game saw us up against the second-best team in the league. For most of the game, we were the better team, and for the third week in a row, the final score does not do us justice.
Only some foul trouble and a few easy misses in the last couple of minutes cost us the game. Well done, boys.
Noah Mucjanki and Victor Muyna were best on court, relentlessly defending and driving through the middle to score layups.
Big congrats to Noah who played his 50th WABL game for Redbacks. As did Eli Mancini.

12-2 Boys – Dom Pitchen (sponsored by Sushi Wawa)

Won against Joondalup 64-44

Coach comments

The boys started strong, trapping in the full-court press and forcing many turnovers. They were also dominant on the rebounds, which set the tempo for the whole game and made for a great game for the team.
Noah Ouwendyk was great defensively, getting a lot of steals or forcing turnovers, which led to many easy buckets for us. He also made great passes, which led to open shots. Great job, Noah.
Talin McCullough was another strong presence defensively, getting a lot of steals. He also made strong drives to the basket and provided the team with a good pace of play. Good job, Talin.
Ned Tierney was strong in the trap press, which assisted Noah and Talin with their steals. His rebounding and drives to the basket were also strong contributions to the game. Well done, Ned.

12-3 Boys – Craig Dropulich (sponsored by Profusion Planning)

Lost to Lakeside 55-69

Coach comments

Late game at Lakeside this week. Our boy started quite well, and things looked promising. We controlled the first 4 minutes of the game, then let turnovers and fouling give them back control. Trailing by 4 at quarter time, we switched on and had a great second quarter. We brought energy and enthusiasm to the game, and our players responded despite the 17 to 10 foul count. In the second half, some early fouls caused 5 of my boys to be on edge, and our pressure dropped off as we second-guessed what defensive contact was going to be called. We just let them score too many points and made it really tuff for ourselves. We learned a few things from this game and will take it to our next meeting with them. We will have a few tricks up our sleeves to use on them.
Elijah Devitt had a good all-around game. He kept out of foul trouble and was strong under the basket at both ends. His shooting was on, and he knocked down three three-pointers and just missed three other attempts.
Aiden Morgan was back to his menacing self, terrorising the ball carrier and creating numerous steals, which led to all eight of his points. The pressure this kid puts on the ball is a joy to watch. Keep doing what you do so well.

12-4 Boys – Wayne Dropulich (sponsored by Playa Coffee)

Won against Warwick 47-42

Coach comments

Firstly, thanks to Petar Lackovic for filling in as assistant coach in Luke’s absence.
Senators were second on the ladder, and after playing them twice this season, we hadn’t managed to beat them yet. Fortunately, we had a full team for the second week in a row.
Senators came out hard early, but by the end of the first, scores were tied at 12 apiece.
Some great full-court pressure in the second saw us generate 6 turnovers. We also owned the boards and got momentum on our side to take a 20-15 lead, before some late buckets saw the Senators bring the halftime score back to 23-25.
The third quarter was a similar affair. Our pressure, rebounding, and attack on the basket extended our lead before a late run from the Senators brought the score back to 33-37 in their favour.
At three-quarter-time, we decided defence, and turning defence into offence was going to win us this game. In the fourth, we forced the Senators into pressure-based, rushed shots and our bigs were then swallowing up the rebounds with some of the best blocking out we had done for the season. Frankie Etter had 8 rebounds for the quarter just by himself. A 10-0 run saw us go 6 points up, but Senators weren’t giving up and they cut our lead back to just 1.
Time out Redbacks and the theme for the last few minutes of the game was “Finish It!” and that’s exactly what the boys did by holding the Senators scoreless for the rest of the game.
This was a complete team game with every player hitting the scoreboard, every player creating immense pressure, forcing turnovers and for first game of the season. We only had one quarter where we were in team fouls, testament to playing defence with our feet and not our hands. Great job boys on not allowing any cheap points from the stripe which as we know is critical in close games.
Special thanks goes out to all the parents who made the noise of a Wildcats game when the boys came out from time outs … the boys did notice!
Standout performances from our 4 big men Braxton Lackovic, Miles McColl, Franklin Etter and Ioane Ivala-Kotua who dominated the game today. All 4 players finished the game with 10+ rebounds, leading with Braxton who had a double-double, having 10 points and 15 rebounds, followed closely by Ioane with 9 pts and 11 rebounds while Frankie’s 11 and Miles 10 rebounds really showed what our big men are capable of.

14-1 Girls – Simon Daff (sponsored by Australian Financial Planners)

Won against Hills Raiders 64-41

Coach comments

Having lost at Hills Raiders earlier in the season,, I felt the girls were ready this time. We have really adjusted well to the physicality in the last four weeks, and this week was no different.
We jumped out of the gates in the first quarter and never looked back. The Raiders attempted to make some runs, to their credit, but the girls are doing a great job of not panicking in those situations.
Our ability to generate turnovers has really helped in games when we get outrebounded.
Jacinta Wladyka is having an MVP season. It gets overlooked sometimes because we just expect it every week now. Her speed and ball control allow her to change the tempo of any game. Anytime we get stagnant, she pops back up and provides a spark.
After second-guessing herself the last few weeks, Siena Mouttet bounced back to her aggressive self. What I loved in this game was that she attacked the basket and didn’t pick up her dribble too early and was rewarded. She is also getting good position and using her length on her rebounds.

14-2 Girls – Reid Ballantine (sponsored by Fish Boss)

Won against Mandurah Gold 44-34

Coach comments

We enjoyed our basketball this week and had improved composure when the heat was on.
We knew the Mandurah guard would give us a tough time, initiating contact on and off the ball and pestering us like a Norris nut on Red Bull, but the team did a great job of absorbing it and playing strong help defence to contain her. In the first half, our shots in the paint were very rushed and sometimes way off target, but we saved some face by winning rebounds only to rush a few more shots, and rebound again etc, so we missed out on some reward for effort, but had Mandurah under quite some pressure.
Although we felt like we were in control, when Mandurah did win ball, their transition was quite fast and they kept the game tight, but we built a small margin in the 3rd and shared the ball nicely in the 4th to bring it home.
Ella Fair was brilliantly fast, getting out in front on transition fast breaks all day and finishing with 14 points.
Gracie Dillon was strong in offence, getting a bag of rebounds and finishing a few sharp shots giving the team a huge lift when needed.
Nora Herring-Ostermeyer ran hard today and was a super strong presence defending on ball.
Saachi Ti’en played another confident game and is becoming a great two-way player, impacting the game at both ends of the court.

14-3 Girls – Helen Pardini (sponsored by Access Hire)

Won against Wolves 33-23

Coach comments

This week’s game was a fantastic win, especially given that we were down a couple of players due to injury and illness. The girls made adjustments and stepped up to play different roles, showing great versatility and teamwork. Our defence was particularly strong, holding the Wolves to just 23 points. We hustled and ran hard, disrupting their transition while effectively limiting their second-chance opportunities by securing rebounds. Offensively, we looked dangerous in transition and made some excellent reads, leading to great teamwork and scoring opportunities.
Overall, it was a great team effort, and the girls should be proud of their performance and adaptability.
Mia Exeter had an outstanding game on both ends of the court, recording a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Her presence was felt throughout the game.
Eva Blyth also stepped up, showing incredible hustle on defence and running the floor with pace. She proved to be a real threat in transition, contributing 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
Isabel Nesa was a force in defence and on the boards, pulling down 13 rebounds and adding 3 blocks to her stat line, along with 5 points.

14-4 Girls – Rori Roberts (sponsored by Habitat Finance)

Won against Perry Lakes 33-32

Coach comments

What can I say – these girls just love a heart-stopping game. This was another come-from-behind win for us to the second-place team. Perry Lakes had all the momentum in the first half and managed to get up 9 at half time. After a good halftime chat, our girls came out hot with a 17-6 quarter to put us up 2 at the final break. The fourth went basket for basket, and we just managed to get the last bucket by Saige Deeks with 30 seconds left to get us a 1-point win.
Winnie Devitt’s shooting was on point today. She went 5/6 from the free-throw line and finished her layups to finish the game with 11 points.
Stevie Brehaut had her best defensive game this season able to stick with her player and stop her from scoring.

14-1 Boys – Ben Hamilton (sponsored by Geist Consulting)

Won against Hills Raiders 49-89

Coach comments

This week, we headed up the hill with a very undermanned side. Despite this, we still came back down with a good win. A couple of our goals for this game were playing professionally and getting more experience with some new plays we learned at training.
The Hills team have improved a lot since our previous matchups, and they were able to take advantage of our defensive lapses with quick ball movement and impressive long-range shooting.
After being inserted into the starting five, Erik Davies played a very important role for us. He controlled the boards and the pace of the game well. His help defense was critical in the first quarter, stopping many would-be easy looks for the Hills. He was aggressive in looking for his shot and creating opportunities out of play action, and he was rewarded with his season-high 16 points in his 50th WABL game for Redbacks.
Zeke Brian set a great tone for us to start the game, leading us out in transition as we built our early lead. His composure with the ball in his hands was also key to our success in halfcourt offense.
Tex Tierney’s speed in the fast break has been a great asset to the team all season, and he punished the defence in the first half with it. Tex also bounced back well after picking up 2 very early fouls- showing his composure and defensive IQ.
Toby Deshon’s ability to withstand constant pressure from the defense was on full display, as he kept his turnovers to a minimum despite making a lot of impressive passes. His intensity at the top of our halfcourt trap was also inspiring to see.

14-2 Boys – Fletcher Clemmence (sponsored by Ponosh Vascular)

Lost to Joondalup 61-68

Coach comments

It was a tough loss as this is the team we will be playing in the finals, but we now know our sets work against this team, and we can compete with them. We now have to continue four quarters of intensity and not dig a big hole we have to get out of.
Elliot Birch stepped up again on the defensive end showing the effort that really helped us get back into the game
Ethan Kingsbury has come on leaps and bounds with his rebounding and defensive presence.

14-3 Boys – Brad Holyoak (sponsored by Westbeck Capital)

Won against Suns Orange 47-74

Coach comments

The last time we played Suns Orange, they handed us our biggest loss as a team. Which was something I reminded the team of during the week. We came out and met their intensity in the first and went in at quarter time down by 1 point. Into the second, we lifted our intensity again, and the cracks started to show for the Suns. We ended the half 6 points up. The Suns started the 3rd trying to force their will upon us to get back into the game. The boys lifted their work ethic to another level and ran on a 29-point quarter while still playing the tough defensive game that we are starting to be known for: NOTHING EASY.
Into the 4th, they simply couldn’t match our run. We simply outworked them.
Beyond proud of our performance going into the finals. We aren’t the biggest side, but we simply work harder than other teams. It’s this work ethic that pays off big when the intensity of finals starts. Keep it up.
Beau Morgan ran all day and created mayhem for their point guard, locking up and giving him a miserable game.
Will Ryan again sliced and diced the Suns’ offence
Nathan Jetajobe was rock solid all day, slashing to the rim and rebounding like a beast.

14-4 Boys – Ethan Saliacus (sponsored by Skyward Roof Plumbing)

Lost to Hills Raiders 59-66

Coach comments

It wasn’t the result we wanted, but the second half was positive. We just started slow, so we need to work on how we start games. At times the boys looked really good on offence, moving the ball and attacking the basket – they just couldn’t finish off their hard work with the made basket
Kruz Viesca was great at pressuring the ball and really got the team up and about, which sparked the comeback with his buckets
Leo Burton was great this week, bringing his usual energy on both ends but definitely had his best shooting game with 3 made threes

16-1 Girls – Sam Fox (sponsored by Sushi Wawa)

Won against Slammers 95-58

Coach comments

This was a great team win for us. Everyone locked in on defence. Our half-court D was stifling, and our traps created opportunities to get out in transition. Every player contributed to our points tally. Slammers made the choice to only run a zone in the half-court, and, though it’s not something we face often, we executed our zone-busting principles excellently and scored from inside and out. It was a great day at the office.
Ella Welsh got off to a blazing start, draining back-to-back 3’s, and didn’t relent, putting up 32 points and playing hard all game.
Niamh Murphy found her spots busting the zone, knocking down some sweet elbow jumpers while playing tough D against the Slammers’ very big centre.
Millie Stancil was excellent in the passing lanes and making reads on O. Her ability to make high IQ passes out of the on-ball screen is a major asset to our team.

16-2 Girls – Vance Karimi (sponsored by Packaging Perth)

Lost to Senators Green 36-62

Coach comments

Our girls had another tough battle this week. We were slow to get going in the first quarter but challenged really well in the second and third. It’s great to see how well the girls can break the defensive press with smart quick ball movement, using their team mates. Unfortunately, this week our layups and shots just wouldn’t fall. The girls were passing really well when they transitioned from wide rather than force passes through the middle. There were moments when the girls were amazing to hold their patience, work their set offense, swinging the ball, open up the gaps and attack them to find uncontested shots. Hope they see how they can take a simple advantage and domino the advantages to find the easy buckets. It’s lovely to see this group never gives up regardless of the outcome.
Liv Weddikkara was great in D, especially with her box-outs after shots. She saw space and attacked the gaps to take the advantage. She also found second-chance opportunities after chasing offensive rebounds. She was also loud on and off the court.
Bella Kahl found good angles inside the paint to finish off the boards. Senators realised pretty quickly they couldn’t leave her open. She had some great offensive rebounds.
Sam Morgan was strong in defence, stepping up to the challenge of taking a key Senators player, containing, denying, contesting and bumping all over the court.
Charlie Foster was great in defence to contain the primary ball handler and contain the aggressive Senators player. I was excited when Charlie vocalised her frustrations to me because she’s a quiet achiever.

16-3 Girls – Dave Ogden (sponsored by Kai Rho Consulting)

Lost to Warwick 52-71

Coach comments

It was a tough game away from home. Due to illness, we had to deal with a smaller squad, and some of the players who played had been sick all week.
We had issues for the first time all season getting the ball over the halfway line late in the first and fell behind by double digits at 1/4 time.
To the girls’ credit, we came back and got it to 1 point at 3/4 time. The shorter squad, fouls, and disrupted preparation were too much to overcome in the end, and we will regroup during the week.
Paige Ogden top-scored and worked as hard as she could after a week off school.
Abbie Leslie showed she has been working on her shooting with a couple of 3s. Her passing was a feature of the game.
Halle Griffiths finished some tough shots driving at the basket and hit a couple of free throws after some work during the week.

16-4 Girls – Marcia Dowling (sponsored by Professional Web Solutions)

Lost to Lightning White 65-68

Coach comments

We started well in this game and remained strong in the first quarter. However, Lightning White made more shots and were stronger than the last encounter. As usual, the girls fought to the very end with such heart and determination
Maddie McKibbin was on fire today; keeping her pace high and taking time with her shots
Ella Djurasovic once again ran the floor, and her defence was a threat to Lakeside.
Trinity Doulis and Meg White ran fantastic offensive play
Nadia Slee, whom we miss so much on the court, is such a vital part of our team spirit and play. The bench is always enthusiastic when she’s with us. Her stats-taking is phenomenal, too!

16-1 Boys – Mitch Jesson (sponsored by DLA Piper)

Won against East Perth 84-44

Coach comments

Our first quarter of basketball was very likely our best of the season. The ball moved freely, we passed out of double teams and looked for post entries. Defensively we held our opposition to 6 points for the quarter (and 44 points for the game).
Even though we went on to record our biggest win of the season, we have to consider that there is certainly room for improvement. We met our targets in most categories, and we will continue to focus on playing team basketball and making great decisions with the ball in hand.
Cooper Hewer continues to deliver offensively with 23 points (@50%, including 2x3s), 5 boards, a block, and 7 steals. Coops’ game is almost complete—with only assists needing to rise to the same level. Finals will give him that opportunity to shine.
Flynn Hamilton is our X factor, he hits the boards hard (7 boards) and it is no surprise that the team has a consistently high + points when he is on the court. Instant energy aside, Flynn also possesses a high post spin move that he can hit on demand and it is the best in the league.
Mark Sunkar is renowned for his rebounding, one-on-one defense, and passing. The team (coaches included) was desperate that Mark hit the scoreboard, which we are pleased to say he did, and the bench went up as one. He is a very popular member of our squad.

16-2 Boys – Dan Cartwright (sponsored by Triple Seven)

Won against Cockburn 116-80

Coach comments

The 16-2’s headed down the long road to Wally Hagan Stadium to play Cockburn. It was a game we were expected to win, and the 36-point margin would suggest that we had things our own way for most of the game. Although we won comfortably, there were periods in the game where we weren’t playing anywhere near our best, struggling with our offensive sets. Our superior size and strength helped us win the rebound count against our shorter opponents, who fielded four bottom-agers, and this advantage resulted in many transition baskets and second-chance points.
As you would expect when a team puts up 116 points, many of the boys had good stat lines.
Hunter Mettam had 23 points, which included three 3’s
Jalen Dunstan had 20 points on an incredible 81% shooting with 8 rebounds
Tom Lindegger continued his good form with 14 points and 8 boards
It was also pleasing that the guys who work hardest defensively each week got some scoreboard reward.
Seina Pirmorady had 15 points and 7 rebounds
Riley Thill had 13 points and 9 boards
Cooper Poustie, who was playing his 100th game, had a season-high 15 points on 6-9 shooting
Harvey Wishart rounded out the group who put up double figure points, scoring 11 to go with his 9 rebounds.
Season highs in assists (27) and rebounds (69) were pleasing in this game, but there were a few too many turnovers and a few chinks in the offence that need to be ironed out. There is a lot to work on with finals around the corner, but plenty to be pleased about, too.

16-3 Boys – Francis Crawshaw (sponsored by Teqar IT Consulting)

Won against Perry Lakes 67-65

16-4 Boys – Cheyne Kerp (sponsored by Perth Safety Deposit Boxes)

Won against South West Slammers 67-71

Coach comments

Fantastic game on Sunday by the boys. This win is a huge boost, especially with one game left in the season. It’s a testament to their hard work and perseverance through ups and downs. Let’s carry this momentum into our final game and finish strong. Keep supporting each other, playing as a team and end the season on a high note.
Over the last few weeks, the boys have played phenomenally as a team. WELL DONE

18-1 Girls – Kelly Webb (sponsored by Aussie Fencing)

Lost to Rockingham 60-95

Coach comments

Rockingham Flames did a great job for most of the game, beating us on penetration and going for every offensive rebound, which gave them greater opportunities for extra shots. In the second half, they added more pressure by moving into a full-court press, which led us into some turnovers. In the end, our inability to get back in defense in time gave them some easy layups, increasing the gap towards their win.
Kate Anderson’s and Matilda Thomson’s defensive intensity really disrupted the opposing team’s offence.
Ella Ferris’s poise gave her some good opportunities to shoot the ball and created smart offences.
Mikayla Deshon’s and Blaise Stancil’s ability to shoot the ball and consistency were excellent.

18-2 Girls – Steve Herring (sponsored by MD Building Maintenance)

Won over East Perth 89-69

Coach comments

We had a cracking start and first half, dropping one of our best first halves yet with no second-quarter slump. Alas, we saved it for the third, though, where we left the door open, and the Eagles comfortably took the quarter. An unexpected conversion slump didn’t help either. We regrouped to play our standard solid game for the fourth and chalked up the “W.”
Harriet Woods’s relentless pressure and drive for the ball really rattled the Eagles.
Sealing the paint we had – Amina Handule, Theory Snooks-Holding and Grace Almond.

18-3 Girls – Andy Zell (sponsored by High Octane Automotive Services)

Lost to East Perth 54-70

Coach comments

This week, we played our final home game against a competitive and physical Eastern Suns.
We started off strongly, with great two-way running and strong defence. In the second quarter, the Suns’ bigs started to dominate and find scores in the paint. We defended strongly in the second half and slowed down their scoring, causing turnovers and creating chances in transition.
While we didn’t get the ‘W’, I felt like this was the girls’ most complete performance this season. We played positively for four quarters, and the bench supported the girls loudly for the whole game.
Em Swann had a really good game, especially in the first half. She injured herself early, played through the injury and made a positive contribution on both ends of the court.
Em Strika also had a solid game. She defended very strongly and found her way to the basket finishing with nine points.
Meiling Wang also had a great game as a starter. Mei finished with nine points, created some wonderful opportunities with her gut running and passing and showcased her lovely shooting form.

18-1 Boys – Andrew Logan

Lost to Warwick 77-94

Coach comments

We got outrebounded, outworked, and our finishing wasn’t quite there. We looked flat for most of the game, with the odd stretch where we played our style and outscored them. We need to be hungrier and more aggressive. Hopefully, we get another look at them in the finals.
Tavian Griffiths ran hard today and looked like a weapon down low. Great to have Tavian back in the side heading into the finals.
David Moore had 18 points in his 50th game for Redbacks – congrats David!

18-2 Boys – Marshall Robinson (sponsored by Integrity Fencing and Gates)

Lost to Slammers 127-76

Coach comments

A big loss to a very physical team. Good to see the boys fight it out regardless of the outcome
Ethan Harders once again put his body on the line and fought hard.
Cameron Todorovic played his best game so far scoring 18 points
Isaiah Robinson played great defence applying everything we have put forward in the team

18-3 Boys – Louis Timms (sponsored by Icon Plumbing Solutions)

Won against Perry Lakes 77-73

Coach comments

Perry Lakes are a physical team that likes to push the ball and go for rebounds. Their best guard did a great job at taking advantage of our late transition defence, where he was able to penetrate for scores and assists.
The boys did a great job at adjusting to this in the second half, and we were able to limit their effectiveness. Our rebounding was much better in this game as well.
Levi Hewett was excellent on the boards
Hamish Gibson had a good game on both ends of the floor with 13 points and a solid effort to cut off angles of Perry Lakes’ guards.

18-4 Boys – Nick D’Elia (sponsored by Mortgage Choice – Emma Tyler)

Won against East Perth 84-80

Coach comments

This week we came out of the gate a little slow again. Our defensive intensity was down and our shots were not falling in the first half. As always Eagles seemed to match up very well with our team and we seemed to be going point for point most of the game.
Zayde Parriman, however, got his offense going from hard drives and long 3 pointers for a season-high 29 points. From there, everyone started to settle in offensively.
Great rebounding from Curtis Carroll gave us much-needed opportunities
As the game went down to the wire, a tough drive from Zayde gave us an advantage in the final seconds, but then they answered.
Then Jack D’Amico got fouled shooting a jump shot and made a free throw to ice the game. It was a nail-biter!

21-1 Girls – John Care’ (sponsored by Fine Food WA)

Lost to Joondalup 55-78

Coach comments

The goal of the game was to be competitive against a tough Joondalup side and ensure we played and executed our game, considering our injuries.
We had a slow start, which made it hard and lacked effort at times, but our third quarter was our best. Executing, scoring well, and applying defensive pressure, which caused turnovers, we managed to win the quarter. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and our legs were too tired to get us close.
Thank you to Miki Deshon and Blaise Stancil for filling in for injuries.
Hannah Saliacus played a great game attacking the ring and scoring 9 pts.
Ainsleigh Passi’s communication on court has been a stand out week after week and her physicality to box out and get rebounds was great.

20-1 Boys – Graham Jones (sponsored by Bendigo Bank Community Bank North Perth)

Won against Slammers 94-89

Coach comments

This game was a see-sawing affair that saw Slammers come home hard in the fourth quarter to erase the 12-point lead we’d built to three quarter time. From there, the lead changed a few times and the margin each way never got out by more than three until Slammers were forced to foul us at the end and four made free throws from Luke Ogden iced the game for us.
In his 100th game for Redbacks, Aiden Cannington led the way on the scoreboard with 25 points.
Cooper Deshon contributed 21 while Luke Ogden and Ethan Saliacus had 17 each.

20-2 Boys – James Elder (sponsored by Bendigo Bank Community Bank North Perth)

Lost to Warwick Senators 63-108

Coach comments

We started well again this week, focusing on some key matchups. We finished the first quarter even against the top-placed Warwick team. Unfortunately, we were overpowered in the next three quarters and ultimately suffered a pretty heavy loss. Despite this, our guys repeatedly created good scoring opportunities throughout the game, but we just couldn’t convert when needed.