Perth Redbacks Women's Wrap – Round 6

By Chris Pike for Perth Redbacks

The Perth Redbacks celebrated the 200th game of captain Jess Jakens in style on Friday and Bri Bailey went ever so close to shooting them to a win in a thriller in Rockingham on Saturday night.

It was a road double-header for the Redbacks in Round 6 of the NBL1 West Women's Division season and it got off to a perfect start on Friday night against East Perth with the 82-71 victory at Herb Graham Recreation Centre as Jakens celebrated her 200-game milestone.

A tantalising battle was always going to take place in Rockingham on Friday especially with Maddie Allen coming up against a Flames team she won the Grand Final MVP with back in 2019.

The game certainly didn’t disappoint and it was Bri Bailey who caught fire with seven three-pointers that almost proved the match-winner for the Redbacks, but the Flames just managed to hold on 88-87 in the end.

Building on their momentum from last Friday night, the Redbacks started strongly holding the Eagles to just eight points in the opening quarter while managing to put up 18 themselves away from home.

Perth continued to pull away further in the second term with another 20 points to 11 and that saw them head into half-time in control leading 38-19.

It was an especially strong defensive effort from the Redbacks anchored by Maddie Allen to hold the Eagles just the 19 points the entire opening half.

Neither team really got rolling in the third quarter with just the combined 22 points but the Redbacks extended their lead by two more points before the Eagles at least took something from the game, winning the fourth term 22 points to 18.

But the Redbacks still proved too good to win 68-51 to improve to a 3-1 record while the Eagles are now 2-3.

In her milestone game, Jess Jakens put up 18 points on 9 of 11 shooting from the field with the Redbacks captain continuing to lead her club admirably having now been captain ever since 2014.

Her frontcourt partner Maddie Allen was superb all-round too with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists, four blocked shots and three steals.

Shenae Hartree also had 15 points and five rebounds for the Redbacks, Makailah Dyer 12 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and three assists, and Denielle Ashworth six points and six boards.

On to Saturday night and on their home floor, the Flames started the better to lead by seven at quarter-time. But the Redbacks were able to work their back into the contest in the second term to close the deficit to just three by the half-time break.

Rockingham pushed its advantage back out to four by three-quarter-time but Bri Bailey caught fire in spectacular fashion to knockdown three three-pointers in the opening four minutes of the fourth quarter to suddenly tie scores up and set things up for a cracking finish.

In her 201st game, Jess Jakens scored a couple of baskets to put the Redbacks in front soon after before Friday night's Rockingham hero Alex Ciabattoni connected on another three-pointer.

Jorjah Smith then got rolling and hit another triple to keep Rockingham up two but that lead soon disappeared thanks to a three-ball from Makailah Dyer, basket to Denielle Ashworth and yet another three from Bailey to see Redbacks lead 87-82 with under a minute on the clock.

Rockingham were far from finished, though, and it was Smith who was the hero as she quickly turned herself into a fan favourite for the Flames having joined coach Tom Knowles in making the move from Kalamunda for 2021.

She drained two threes in the space of 20 seconds, the first to bring the margin back to two and the second to put Rockingham back in front.

The Redbacks still had time to go but the Flames had plenty of fouls to give, and they used them to good effect in winding down the clock. In the end, Perth still got a good look for three from Bailey who had gone 7/9 from downtown for the game, but it didn’t quite go and Rockingham won 88-87.

Bri Bailey showed what a prodigious talent she is for the Redbacks with the 21 points on 7/10 three-point shooting while her backcourt partner and 50-gamer Makailah Dyer finished with 21 points, six boards, three assists and two steals.

Shenae Hartree had 17 points, Denielle Ashworth 11 and Jess Jakens 10 while Maddie Allen had four points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists in a terrific all-round performance against the team she helped lead to the 2019 championship where she was named Grand Final MVP.