West Spotlight | Forster leads Senators to statement response

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Chloe Forster put up 35 points and led the charge for the Warwick Senators as they hit back from their two losses in 24 hours last weekend to hammer the Willetton Tigers 106-59 at Warwick Stadium.

The Senators had lost just once in the opening five rounds of the season but then lost away to the East Perth Eagles last Friday night and then at home to the Rockingham Flames on Saturday.

That had them highly motivated to hit back on their home floor once again hosting the Tigers on Friday night to open Round 7 with Willetton coming off a loss in Kalgoorlie having won three straight prior to that.

The Senators were on a mission from the start with 30 points to seven in the first quarter and then to lead 65-31 by half-time while shooting a scorching 63 per cent to just 30 from the Tigers who also had 13 turnovers.

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Warwick continued to dominate from there for the 47-point victory to improve to a 5-3 record with the Tigers now 3-5 as their rollercoaster ride under new coach, and 512-game playing veteran, Sue Williams continues.

The Senators ended up shooting 54 per cent from the field for the game to 30 from the Tigers while also forcing Willetton into 27 turnovers from which they scored 19 points from.

Chloe Forster had a standout performance despite being guarded by defensive menace Emma Gandini and delivered 35 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals with shooting 11/18 from the floor, 5/11 from downtown and 8/9 at the foul line.

Jayda Clark also provided 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard 12 points, 12 boards, six assists and four steals, and Kyana Weir 11 points all of which came in the first half.

Katie Cummins also had 10 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks, and Kiara Waite nine points on 4/6 shooting from the floor.

It was a tough night for the Tigers with just the 59 points on 30 per cent field goal shooting and going 7/28 from downtown with the 27 turnovers.

Ruby Porter top-scored with 15 points and two rebounds on 5/18 shooting with Emma Gandini ending up with 11 points, six boards, six steals and five assists against one of her former teams, and Remy Hearn 10 points and four assists.

The Senators were back home trying to bounce back from two losses last weekend and they couldn’t have been more dominant from the outset and by quarter-time they were already leading 30-7.

Chloe Forster already had 12 points to her name by quarter-time while her team shot 68 per cent from the field and the Tigers went just 2/17 at 12 per cent for only the seven points of which five were scored by Grand Final MVP Ruby Porter.

There was more dominance through the second quarter for Warwick too and the lead grew to as much as 36 points with them racking up another 35 points with Forster adding nine more with them shooting another 11/19 from the field and 10/12 at the foul line for the term.

Willetton did manage 24 points themselves but still it was the Senators well in command with the 65-31 lead with the Tigers 13 turnovers proving costly.

The scoring didn’t quite maintain the pace in the third quarter with just 17 points to Warwick and 16 to Willetton, but then the Senators took control further in the last term.

Warwick piled on another 24 points to 12 to end up winning by 47 and bounce back from the losses to East Perth and Rockingham in the best possible fashion.

The Senators now have a week to enjoy the big win before playing the Perry Lakes Hawks next Friday night with the Tigers looking to bounce back next Saturday against the Rockingham Flames at home.

NBL1 WEST 2026 SEASON | ROUND 7

WARWICK SENATORS 106 (Forster 35, Clark 13, Clinch Hoycard 12)

WILLETTON TIGERS 59 (Porter 15, Gandini 11, Hearn 10)