Round 17 Eagles Wrap – Women/Men

The East Perth Eagles had the perfect finish to the NBL1 West regular season for 2024 with two big wins at home on Saturday against the Goldfields Giants.

It was the last day of the regular season in the NBL1 West with the Eagles playing host to the Giants on Saturday at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

The action got underway with the women finishing their season with a 94-67 victory before the men won 102-71 and that winning margin was enough to move up into sixth spot and to earn a home elimination final this coming Saturday night against the Rockingham Flames.

WOMEN

The season for the East Perth Eagles might not quite have gone to play but they finished on a high note with a dominant 94-67 win against the Goldfields Giants including Bri Bailey catching fire with five three-pointers in the first half.

While the Eagles had slipped from playoff contention having lost the previous five matches heading into the Saturday match up with the Giants at Peter Campbell Basketball Arena, it didn’t stop them finishing off in terrific fashion.

East Perth were also looking to remain undefeated in five attempts since the Giants returned to the competition for the 2022 season.

The Eagles had won all four previous meetings with the Giants and that looked on track to continue with the hot start as East Perth piled on 37 points to 16 in the opening quarter.

That set the tone for the rest of the contest even with the Eagles losing Mary Baskerville in the first half.

East Perth still managed another 26 points to nine in the second quarter to end up leading by as much as 38 points and going on to lead 63-25 at the half-time break with Bri Bailey hitting all five of her three-point attempts.

The result was beyond doubt heading into the second half with East Perth eventually ending up scoring the 27-point victory to finish the season with a 6-14 record on the back of a second win at Peter Campbell Basketball Arena in 2024.

Bri Bailey hit her first five three-point attempts in the first half and finished the game with 20 points on 6/8 shooting from beyond the three-point line.

Laci Hawthorne finished her first season with East Perth with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists with Sam Lubcke stepping up for 16 points, seven boards, five assists and two steals.

Captain Tessa Morrison ended up with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists with Mary Goulding contributing 11 points, eight boards, six assists and two steals, and Mary Baskerville seven points and five rebounds in just eight minutes before her game ended early.

Taylor Roberts also chimed in with six points and four rebounds for the Eagles with Aleka Kabugua adding three points and two boards, Hannah Swarbrick two points and three rebounds, and Sarah Allen two points, seven assists, four boards and two steals.

MEN

The East Perth Eagles men were already locked into a return to the playoffs for 2024 but earning a home final looked potentially a bridge too far up against the fourth ranked Goldfields Giants.

The Eagles came into the Saturday match up at Peter Campbell Basketball Arena needing a minor miracle to leap above the Rockingham Flames to finish in sixth spot and earn home court advantage for an elimination final.

The first job just to beat the Giants was a significant challenge on its own given Goldfields arrived needing to win themselves to lock away a fourth place finish and to earn a finals double chance.

So both teams had plenty to play for in the last game of the regular season and it was a flying start from East Perth going back to the huge starting five with Taylor Young joined by Sharif Watson, David Okwera, Lukas Milner and Lee Roberts, and they scored the game's first seven points.

However, the Giants led by Randy Bell fired back and had drawn level again at 19-19 by quarter-time before the second term followed a similar trend.

The Eagles got out to a 10-point lead again in the second period but the Giants hit back and scores were all square at 48-48 by half-time.

Everything was still up for grabs by half-time but it was domination from the Eagles in the second half starting with 21 points to 13 in the third quarter.

As the fourth quarter unfolded, suddenly a home final was on the line for the Eagles and they needed to win by 26 points to leapfrog Rockingham into sixth spot on percentage.

In the end, the Eagles forced the Giants into a couple of late turnovers and an offensive rebound and putback from David Okwera got them the margin they needed. They then made sure of it thanks to Taylor Young and a triple from Okwera for the 31-point victory.

The result means that the Eagles finish the season with a 13-9 record in sixth position to now be hosting the Rockingham Flames in an elimination final.

The win was so significant from East Perth that had the game gone any longer then even moving up to fifth spot ahead of the Giants was a possibility, but now the challenge is to try and beat Rockingham for the first time since 2014 this coming Saturday night.

Sebit Reath hit back emphatically with a standout showing for East Perth finishing with 33 points and 10 rebounds with 5/10 shooting from three-point range.

Taylor Young also made 5/13 from downtown on his way to 22 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and three steals with David Okwera contributing 15 points, nine boards and four assists.

Lukas Milner also produced 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists with Lee Roberts adding eight points, five boards, four assists and three blocked shots, and Sharif Watson seven points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Elijah Pawson also added five points and two assists for the Eagles with Nick Filpo finishing with four rebounds and three assists.