Round 2

Perry Lakes (0-1) at Rockingham - 13-point win by Rockingham. A fairly even contest until Rockingham pulled away in the fourth quarter. Exceptional 3-point shooting by both teams. Rockingham; played tough defence with 15 steals and 7 blocks. Perry Lakes; rebounded nearly 40% of their missed shots but had +10 TOs.

Lakeside (1-0) at Willetton (0-1) – 7-point win by Lakeside. Lakeside always in control, leading by as many as 16 points late in the second quarter. Lakeside (out – T. Flynn, in – Beavis); 22 assists on 25 made FGAs, more than 50% of their FGAs came from long-range but they made only 22% of them. Willetton; +13 points from the bench but rebounded less than 24% of their missed FGAs.

Cockburn (1-0) at East Perth (0-1) – 32-point win by Cockburn. An even first quarter but Cockburn powered away in the second. Cockburn (out – Michael and De Souza, in – Dunhill); 32 points from fast breaks (+29). East Perth; rebounded more than 42% of their missed FGAs but three of their starters fouled out and +8 TOs.

Warwick (1-0) at Joondalup (1-0) – 21-point win by Joondalup. Joondalup took control from about the halfway mark of the first quarter. Joondalup (out – Denehey, in – Tavelli); had an incredible 35 more FGAs than Warwick on the back of 16 steals and 25 offensive rebounds for the game. Warwick (in – Harding); very good from the foul stripe, making 80% of their 30 attempts, but +18 TOs.

Mandurah (1-1) at Kalamunda (0-1) – 1-point win by Mandurah. Essentially a repeat of last week's game between these teams. Kalamunda with the upper hand for most of the game, leading by as many as 12 points in the second quarter. Mandurah edged ahead in the last quarter. Another last gasp shot to win the game by Kalamunda was unsuccessful. Mandurah (out – B. Klasztorny and Bassett-Scarfe, in – Halleen and Palusna); +11 points from fast beaks but made only 51% of their FTAs. Kalamunda (out – King, in – Crugnale); very good from the foul stripe, making 88% of their 25 attempts, but 29% accuracy from the field not enough in a close contest (even with 15 more FGAs than Mandurah).

Round 3

Perth (0-1) at Lakeside (2-0) - 23-point win by Lakeside. A fairly even contest until Lakeside pulled away in the fourth quarter. Lakeside (out - Grant, in – T. Flynn); 19 more FGAs than Perth on the back of 14 steals for the game, 40 FGAs from long-range but only made 12% of them. Perth (out – Williams, in – R. Allen); two starters fouled out, +19 TOs combined with poor shooting (making only 17% from deep and 56% from the foul line).

Joondalup (2-0) at East Perth (0-2) – 41-point win by Joondalup. East Perth never in front, scoring only 16 points in the second half of the game. Joondalup (out – Miotti, in – Odude); rebounded nearly 48% of their missed shots and more than 81% of East Perth's misses, shot well from deep (making 40% of their attempts) but turned the ball over 31 times. East Perth (out – Flynn, Heart and Lakay, in – Symons and Dimanlig); won the second quarter but only four second chance points for the game and missed all eight of their FGAs from long-range.

Kalamunda (0-2) at Willetton (0-2) – 18-point win by Willetton. An even game apart from the second and third quarters, during which, Kalamunda only scored 14 points. Willetton (out – Martin); played tough defence with 16 steals and 6 blocks for the game, exceptional shooting from the foul stripe (making 94%). Kalamunda; 14 assists on 16 made FGAs but made only 12% of the FGAs from three-point range.

Perry Lakes (0-2) at Perth (0-2) – 14-point win by Perry Lakes. Perth had a strong third quarter to take the lead, but Perry Lakes powered away in the fourth. Perry Lakes (out – Ashby); +30 points from the bench but allowed a 13-0 run in the third quarter. Perth; rebounded more than 46% of their missed shots but +12 TOs.

East Perth (0-3) at Mandurah (2-1) – 36-point win by Mandurah. Mandurah took control after the first couple of minutes of the game, going on a 15-0 run. Mandurah (out – Bailey, Sidebottom and Palusna, in – Bassett-Scarfe, Barker and Britton); 20 steals for the game and rebounded more than 47% of their missed shots. East Perth (in – Flynn); 17 steals for the game but long-range shooting remained a problem (making only two shots, at 15%).

Willetton (1-2) at South West (1-0) – 7-point win by Willetton. An arm-wrestle of a game. Scores tied with less than two minutes left before Willetton went on a 7-0 run to come storming home. Willetton (in – Martin); 22 assists on 28 made FGAs. South West (out – Donovan and Parsons, in – Harris, Bastow and Luff); +10 second chance points but made only one of their 22 attempts from long-range.

Rockingham (1-0) at Cockburn (2-0) – 43-point win by Rockingham. Rockingham took control early with a 14-0 run. Rockingham (out – Jolly, in – Napolitano); impressive shooting (54% from inside the arc, 48% from outside and 71% from the foul stripe), protected the rim well with seven blocked shots, dominant inside the paint (+24 points) and rebounded nearly 77% of Cockburn’s missed shots. Cockburn (out – Taylor, in – De Souza); won the third quarter but their 25 TOs resulted in 21 points.

Round 4

East Perth (0-4) at Willetton (2-2) - 32-point win by Willetton. A fairly even contest until about halfway through the second quarter when Willetton powered away. Willetton (out – Gandini and Martin, in – Snyder); every player scored, 29 more FGAs than East Perth, 34 assists on 37 made FGAs and 18 steals for the game. East Perth (out – McCallum-Smith, Jackson and Symons, in – Heart, Lakay and M. Dimanlig); started out well but +15 TOs resulted in 28 points.

Mandurah (3-1) at Perry Lakes (1-2) – 9-point win by Perry Lakes. Mandurah in control in the first quarter, getting out to a 13-point lead, but Perry Lakes turned it on for the next two quarters, scoring 58 points to go up by 21. Perry Lakes (out – McCarthy and Morgan, in – Ashby and Valentine); +20 bench points and shot well from three-point range (hitting 40%). Mandurah (out – Gatti, Bassett-Scarfe and Barker, in – Bailey, B. Klasztorny); didn't give up and had a strong last quarter, +12 points in the paint but long-range accuracy not enough (making only 18%).

South West (1-1) at Kalamunda (0-3) – 7-point win by Kalamunda. A tight contest that Kalamunda broke open with a 18-5 run in the last half of the first quarter. Kalamunda (out – Jeffers, in – King and Swarbrick); +12 points from the bench and good transition defence (conceding no fast break points for the game). South West (out – East, Bastow and Luff, in – Donovan and Parsons); +7 TOs and inefficient shooting from long-range (making only 15%) were costly.

Joondalup (3-0) at Lakeside (3-0) – 20-point win by Lakeside. Lakeside in control, getting out to a 21-point lead early in the third quarter, before a strong fight-back by Joondalup (cutting the deficit to 5 points). Lakeside; nearly 55% of their FGAs came from three-point range (making 35% of them). Joondalup (out – Horne, Geel and Odude, in – Denehey and Miotti); impressive shooting from the foul stripe (missing only once, to finish at 92%), +10 bench points but +7 TOs and 16% accuracy from long-range (left them -36 points from beyond the arc).

Rockingham (2-0) at Perth (0-3) – 13-point win by Rockingham. Rockingham with the upper hand, getting out to a 20-point lead midway through the last quarter. This followed a stalemate in the third quarter where both teams combined for 12 points. Rockingham; +20 points from the bench but poor shooting from long-range (18%) and the free-throw line (50%). Perth (out – Deegan, in – Williams); fought back to halve the deficit in the last five minutes of the game but +10 TOs were costly as was making only 15% of their FGAs from beyond the arc.

Perth (0-4) at South West (1-2) – 7-point win by South West. A tight game controlled mostly by Perth, until South West finished strong with 30 points in the fourth quarter. South West; 31 FTAs and +22 points from the bench but only four second chance points for the game. Perth (in – Deegan); 24 more FGAs than South West but making only 17% from deep and 58% from the foul stripe was not enough in a close game.

Willetton (3-2) at Warwick (1-1) – 10-point win by Warwick. Willetton never in front, trailing by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter. Warwick (out – Massey and Duncan, in – Barr and Howard); +10 points in the paint but +7 TOs and made only two shots from long-range (at 14%). Willetton (out – Miotti); won the last quarter but poor shooting overall, including 31% from two-point range and 57% from the free-throw line.

Round 5

South West (2-2) at East Perth (0-5) - 35-point win by South West. East Perth did well until late in the first quarter when South West powered away. South West (in – East); +30 points in the paint and +22 bench points but they missed all 12 of their three-point attempts. East Perth (out – Munrowd-Harris, in – Symons); two starters fouled out and their scoring dried up, culminating in just 5 points in the last quarter and the lowest total points by any team for the season so far (43).

Willetton (3-3) at Lakeside (4-0) – 9-point win by Willetton. An arm-wrestle early, broken open by Willetton going +29 points in the second and third quarters combined. Willetton (out – L. Gandini and Martin, in – Miotti); +16 points in the paint, shot well from long-range (37%) but not so from the foul-line (46%). Lakeside (out – Ironmonger, in – Grant); strong last quarter but field goal accuracy not enough (especially just 32% from two-point range).

Kalamunda (1-3) at Cockburn (2-1) – 10-point win by Kalamunda. Cockburn in control early but Kalamunda gained the ascendancy in the second half. Kalamunda (out – Malone and Strelein, in – Jeffers); +10 points in the paint, shot well enough from deep (32%) and the free-throw line (75%) to get the win. Cockburn (in – Michael); started out well but 19% accuracy from three-point range not enough in a tight game.

Perry Lakes (2-2) at Joondalup (3-1) – 10-point win by Joondalup. An even first half but Joondalup pulled away in the third quarter. Very little separating these two teams on the night. Joondalup; +7 points from TOs and +6 points in the paint. Perry Lakes; making only two shots from long-range (at 16%) hurt in a close game.

Cockburn (2-2) at South West (3-2) – 7-point win by South West. South West with the upper hand for most of the game but Cockburn did level the scores late in the third quarter. South West; went on a 19-2 run in the first quarter but made only 19% of their long-range attempts for the game. Cockburn; +13 points from TOs and +11 bench points but making only 47% of their free-throws (leaving them -12 from the stripe) was significant in the end.

Mandurah (3-2) at Warwick (2-1) – 13-point win by Warwick. Mandurah never in front but did level the scores late in the third quarter. Warwick (out – Rebel and Heissenbuttel); 29 FTAs (making 79% of them) and +23 points from the bench. Mandurah (out - B. Klasztorny and Britton, in – Gatti and Sidebottom); 10 more FGAs than Warwick but did not make enough from deep (22%) or the foul-stripe (58%).

Joondalup (4-1) at Kalamunda (2-3) – 14-point win by Joondalup. A fairly even game for the first half until Joondalup blew it open with a +17 point third quarter. Joondalup; 24 assists on 29 made FGAs, good shooting apart from foul shots (only 45%). Kalamunda; strong last quarter but 34% accuracy from two-point range not enough.

Standings after five rounds - The top half

1. Rockingham; statistically, Rockingham is the star performer, despite having played only three games after five rounds. They are the highest scoring team in the WSBL (averaging 86 points per game, about one point per offensive possession), whilst also having the stingiest defence in the League (conceding just 63 points per game on average, about 0.7 points per defensive possession). Rockingham's roster depth is second to none, with more scoring production from their bench than any other team (averaging 35 points per game). There is no better field-goal shooting team in the WSBL. Rockingham have the equal highest accuracy from two-point range (at 47%) and they are also the best three-point shooting team (at an impressive 36% accuracy). They are equally good on defence, when they generate the equal most steals in the League (15 per game), contributing to the greatest number of points from turnovers (19 per game). Rockingham easily achieves the most blocks per game (7, more than double the League average).

2. Joondalup; the quiet achiever of the WSBL is Joondalup. Statistically, they have been sneaking under the radar, quite solid across the board but rarely standing out from the crowd. The exception being that they lead the League in second-chance points (averaging 13 per game). Joondalup enjoy a stable roster (unchanged over the previous three games, with the same starting line-up for nearly 70% of their games). Their roster is also deep, with a healthy average of 26 points per game coming from their bench players.

3. Lakeside; in terms of shot selection and shot efficiency, Lakeside are very interesting. They take the least amount of two-point shots in the WSBL (just 38 per game, about 11 less than the average), despite having the equal best accuracy from that range (at 47%, a return of 0.94 points per shot taken). Alternatively, they take the most three-point shots (36 per game, about 13 more than the average, and nearly 49% of their total shots), while not quite making the League average from that distance (at 25%, or 0.75 points per attempt). Lakeside average the highest number of assists in the League (21 per game), generating 77% of their made baskets from passing (the most of any team). They also look after the ball better than any other team, averaging just 15 turnovers per game.

4. Warwick; at the offensive end of the court, Warwick are spoilt for choices. They are one of the strongest teams for scoring in the paint (averaging 38 points per game, the third-best in the League). They get to the foul-line more than any other team (averaging 27 attempts per game) and make 73% of those shots. Perhaps given their strength inside, Warwick take the second-least amount of three-point shots in the WSBL (averaging 16 per game) despite making a healthy 31% of them (the third-highest in the League). Defensively, they are not a high-pressure team, averaging the second-lowest number of steals in the League (8 per game), contributing to the second-lowest points scored from turnovers (11 per game).

5. South West; there is plenty of upside for South West if they play even more to their strength inside the arc. They have the equal highest accuracy from two-point range in the League (at 47%) but are the worst three-point shooting team (at 18%, a return of just 0.54 points per shot, making their average of 22 attempts per game look excessive). In fact, more than half of South West’s points typically come from shots inside the paint (52%), so it can be said; the closer to the basket the better for this team. Indeed, they average the highest number of total rebounds in the League (53 per game) and they commit the least number of fouls in the League (16 per game). As such, they present as a tough defensive team.

6. Willetton; a well-rounded team, Willetton have played the most games after five rounds (7) and have earned a winning record, despite playing more teams above them on the ladder than below. They have benefited from a stable roster, with the same starters for the first six games of their season. Willetton generate the equal most steals in the League (15 per game), making them a strong defensive team, combined with an average of 4 blocks per game. At the other end of the court, they pass well (assisting on about 75% of their made baskets) and run the floor (averaging 12 fast-break points per game).

Standings after five rounds - The bottom half

7. Mandurah; many teams claim to be "up-tempo" without the statistics to back it up. However, with an equal-best average of about 89 possessions per game, combined with scoring the most points from fast-breaks in the WSBL (15 per game), Mandurah are the prime candidate for the League's fastest team. They also generate the third-highest number of steals (averaging 14 per game). Mandurah rebound the ball well (averaging 52 per game) and are adept at converting second-chance points (averaging 12 per game). However, their shooting accuracy often lets them down, particularly from long-range and the foul-line. They did not have the benefit of a stable roster over the first five rounds, with a different starting line-up for every game, and suiting up 16 players in total.

8. Perry lakes; at the other end of the pace spectrum, Perry Lakes play the slowest of any team in the WSBL (averaging about 81 possessions per game and scoring just 7 points from fast-breaks). They only attempt 18 three-point shots per game, despite being the second-most accurate team from that distance (at 34%). They also don’t get to the free-throw line as much as most other teams (averaging 19 FTAs per game), even though they make an efficient 71% from there. Rather, Perry Lakes take the second-most two-point shots in the League (averaging 52 per game), appearing to favour a mid-range game. They get good scoring production from their bench, averaging 28 points per game (the second-highest in the League).

9. Cockburn; one of the most stable WSBL rosters is enjoyed by Cockburn. 80% of their first-five started every game over the first quarter of the season. When they shoot well from long-range, they give themselves a chance to win games. However, they don’t have a strong inside game, with only about 36% of their points coming from shots in the paint (the lowest in the League). Cockburn also averages the second-highest number of turnovers per game (22). Their issues are not limited to when they have the ball, as they concede the third-highest number of points per game (77).

10. Kalamunda; another team that relies heavily on making shots from long-range is Kalamunda. They take the second-most three-point shots in the League (averaging 28 attempts per game). They get a slightly better return from deep because they have the equal lowest accuracy from two-point range of any team (at just 36%). Indeed, they have struggled to put enough points on the board, averaging the second-lowest total points in the League (67 per game). Kalamunda earn the equal least number of free-throws in the WSBL (averaging 18 per game), despite being the most accurate from there (at 74%). Defensively, they commit the most fouls in the League (averaging 23 per game).

11. Perth; the roster that struggles the most from a lack of depth belongs to Perth. They have by far the least scoring production from their bench (averaging just 8 points per game, about 13 points less than the League average). Perth average the second-lowest number of assists in the WSBL (13 per game), with only 50% of their made baskets being immediately preceded by a pass (the least of any team). They also steal the ball less than any other team (an average of 7 times per game), contributing to the least number of points from turnovers (averaging 10 per game).

12. East Perth; the statistics do not bode well for East Perth. They are the lowest scoring team in the WSBL (averaging 55 points per game, about 0.6 points per offensive possession), while conceding the most points (on average 88 points per game, about one point per defensive possession). They attempt the most two-point shots in the League (averaging 55 per game) but have the equal lowest accuracy from that range (at 36%). East Perth take the least amount of three-point shots in the League (12 per game, about 11 less than the average, and just 18% of their total shots). They also attempt the equal least number of foul-shots (averaging 18 per game) and have the lowest accuracy from there (at 46%). They average the lowest number of total rebounds in the League (42 per game), contributing to the lowest number of second-chance points of any team (7 per game). East Perth also averages the lowest number of assists in the League (12 per game). They average the highest number of turnovers in the WSBL (27 per game) and generate the fewest points from fast-breaks (averaging 5 per game).

Round 6

Perth (0-5) at Warwick (3-1) - 36-point win by Warwick. A tight contest until Warwick blew it open with a +21 point second quarter. Warwick (out - Forster, in – Rebel, Duncan and Heissenbuttel); +28 points in the paint, made 74% of their 31 FTAs. Perth; won the third quarter but were held to just 7 points in the last, attempted 31 shots from three-point range, made only 24% of their total FGAs.

South West (4-2) at Mandurah (3-3) – 11-point win by Mandurah. South West never in front. Mandurah (out – M. Pettit and Norman, in – B. Klasztorny and Boag); rebounded about 77% of South West's missed shots, +10 bench points and conceded only two fast-break points for the game. South West (in - Luff); won the third quarter (holding Mandurah to 8 points), but two starters fouled out.

Lakeside (4-1) at Cockburn (2-3) – 19-point win by Lakeside. Cockburn started out well, but Lakeside seized control in the third quarter. Lakeside; very efficient from two-point range (making 58% of those shots, and ending up +20 points in the paint), took 42 shots from long-range (around 58% of their total FGAs, making 28% of them). Cockburn (out – Lee); shot more than twice as many foul-shots as Lakeside (making 78% of them, to be +15 points from the stripe), but only made 21% of their shots from two-point range, and +6 TOs were costly.

Rockingham (3-0) at Joondalup (5-1) – 30-point win by Joondalup. An even game until early in the second quarter, when Joondalup powered away and held Rockingham to just 5 points. Joondalup (in – Horne); rebounded more than 45% of their missed shots and nearly 78% of Rockingham’s misses, +15 points from their bench players. Rockingham (out – Allen, in – Lee); won the first quarter, but only 9 assists for the game and 27% accuracy from the field.

Willetton (4-3) at Perry Lakes (2-3) – 12-point win by Willetton. Perry Lakes with the upper-hand for most of the game, until Willetton came storming home from near the mid-way mark of the last quarter. Willetton (out - Thomson, in – Martin and Bibbins); very efficient shooting from all locations, +10 points in the paint and +11 second-chance points. Perry Lakes (in – O’Sullivan); +10 bench points, shot well from three-point range (36%), but not so from the foul-line (54%).

Kalamunda (2-4) at East Perth (0-6) – 52-point win by Kalamunda. East Perth held their own for the first quarter, before being on the wrong side of 48 points to 12 over the next two quarters. Kalamunda; 26 more FGAs than East Perth (44% more shots), 29 assists, 24 steals, +36 points in the paint. East Perth (out – Symons and M. Dimanlig, in – Munrowd-Harris); made only one of their 12 attempts from three-point range, turned the ball over 41 times (+18, leading to 35 points from TOs).

Round 7

Warwick (4-1) at Perry Lakes (4-3) - 8-point win by Warwick. An arm-wrestle, going into overtime thanks to a strong finish by Perry Lakes. Warwick (out – Rebel, in – Forster); made an impressive 46% of their 13 attempts for three points, +10 points in the paint, took 45 FTAs (+20, but made only 60% of them). Perry Lakes (out – Valentine, in – McCarthy); 11 blocks, +16 bench points, took 32 shots from long-range (+19, making 31% of them), +8 TOs were costly in a close game and three front-line players fouled out.

Willetton (5-3) at Kalamunda (3-4) – 6-point win by Willetton. Kalamunda started well (leading by as many as 8 points) but Willetton went on a 15-0 run to start the second quarter and turn the tide. Willetton (out – Counsel and Martin, in – Thomson); 14 more FGAs than Kalamunda due largely to rebounding more than 47% of their misses, +18 points in the paint, made all but one of their 9 FTAs but struggled from deep (at 17%). Kalamunda (out – Adams, in – Malone and Strelein); finished the first quarter with an 8-0 run, but -16 second-chance points and -16 points from TOs (despite committing fewer TOs).

Perth (0-6) at Mandurah (3-4) – 6-point win by Perth. An even first quarter, before Perth broke away with a 16-0 run in the second. Perth up by as many as 24 points late in the last quarter and survived an 18-0 run home by Mandurah before they ran out of time. Perth (out – R. Allen, in – Mansfield); shot very well from the field (making 48% from two-point range and 35% from deep), got to the free-throw line enough (22 attempts) to win the game but turned the ball over 27 times. Mandurah (out – Sidebottom, in – M. Pettit); 14 steals, +13 bench points, 22 more FGAs than Perth but only made 30% of them.

East Perth (0-7) at Joondalup (6-1) – 72-point win by Joondalup. A whitewash by Joondalup, holding East Perth to just two points in the third quarter and the lowest score to date by a long way. Joondalup (in – Horne); 50 more FGAs than East Perth (more than twice as many shots), rebounded about 55% of their missed shots, 23 steals, +38 points in the paint. East Perth (out – Johnson, in – Symons); more TOs (36) than total points (27), missed all six of their three-point attempts, rebounded just 9% of their missed shots leading to no second-chance points.

Rockingham (3-1) at Lakeside (5-1) – 24-point win by Lakeside. Rockingham never in front. Lakeside (out – Waight, in – Ironmonger); shot far too well to be beaten (including 60% from two-point range and 42% from deep), 13 steals. Rockingham (out – Cooper and Lee, in – Allen and Wheki); won the last quarter, 5 more FGAs than Lakeside but -30 points from long-range (making 21%) and assisted on just 47% of their made baskets.

Perry Lakes (4-4) at East Perth (0-8) – 57-point win by Perry Lakes. East Perth never in front for their third 50+ point blow-out in a row. Perry Lakes; 35 assists on 39 made baskets, shot well from three-point range (making 37%), 37 steals. East Perth; competitive in the third quarter (holding Perry Lakes to 14 points), rebounded about 44% of their missed shots leading to +3 second-chance points, but more TOs (50) than total points (43) for the second time in two days and missed all six of their three-point attempts again.

Cockburn (2-4) at Rockingham (3-2) – 19-point win by Rockingham. Rockingham in control after an even first quarter. Rockingham; 21 offensive rebounds contributing to 12 more FGAs than Cockburn and +11 second-chance points, +12 points in the paint. Cockburn (in – Lee); did well getting to the foul-line (+9 FTAs, making 75%), but did not shoot well enough from the field (36% from two-point range and just 18% from deep), -19 points from TOs was the difference in the end.

Lakeside (6-1) at South West (4-3) – 12-point win by Lakeside. South West on top early before Lakeside pulled away in the second quarter. South West back in front late in the third quarter and early in the fourth, but Lakeside finished strong. Lakeside (out – Beavis, in – Waight); shot well from three-point range (making 37%, to see them +12 points from deep). South West (out – Luff, in – Palmer); no second-chance points (despite 13 OBs) and no points from their bench players (despite nearly 38 minutes of playing time), making 24% from long-range not enough in this one.

Mandurah (3-5) at Willetton (6-3) – 12-point win by Willetton. Mandurah never in front despite winning the third quarter. Willetton; shot very well from three-point range (42%) and the foul-line (87%), but only made 28% from two-point range. Mandurah; +19 bench points, +10 points from TOs, but shot poorly from deep (16%) and only made 40% of their free-throws (not enough to match Willetton in this one).

Strength of schedule after seven rounds - The top half

Joondalup (7-1); on a streak of 4 wins with the best percentage in the WSBL (136%), have played half their games at home and just one double-header, 5 of their games have been against top-8 teams with their only loss to their highest ranked opponent (Lakeside, by 20 points), they hold the head-to-head with sweeps against Perry Lakes and East Perth.

Lakeside (7-1); on a 3-game winning streak, have played away 3 times and just one double-header, 6 of their games have been against top-8 teams with their only loss to Willetton (who holds the head-to-head over them by 2 points), they are a genuine contender for best team in the WSBL.

Warwick (5-1); have played the equal least number of games so far, on a streak of 4 wins, have played half their games at home and no double-headers, 4 of their games have been against top-8 teams with their only loss to the top-of-the-table Joondalup (by 11 points), they hold the head-to-head with a sweep against Perth.

Willetton (7-3); have played the most games of any team to date (including 3 double-headers) and won their last 4 in-a-row, have played 4 games at home, 6 of their games have been against top-8 teams (of which, they won 4), they lost their first 2 games of the season but have since steadied – losing only to Warwick (by 10 points), they hold the head-to-head with a sweep against Kalamunda and by 2 points against Lakeside.

Rockingham (4-2); have played the equal least number of games to date, on a 1-game winning streak, have played 2 games at home and no double-headers, half of their games have been against top-8 teams but they lost to the top-2 teams on the ladder by 30 points and 24 points respectively, they are yet to be tested by teams ranked 3 to 7 on the ladder to see where they really sit, they hold the head-to-head with a sweep against Cockburn.

South West (4-4); the last team with a .500 or better record so far, on a 2-game losing streak, have played 5 games at home and two double-headers, 3 of their games have been against top-8 teams and they lost them all (albeit by a combined 30 points), they have only beaten the bottom three teams on the ladder, they hold the head-to-head with a sweep against East Perth.

Will all these teams make up the NBL1-West competition next year?

Strength of schedule after seven rounds - The bottom half

Mandurah (4-5); on a streak of 2 losses (but have lost 4 of their last 5 games), have played 4 games at home and two double-headers, 5 of their games have been against top-8 teams and they lost 4 of them (although the only heavy loss was to Lakeside by 26 points), they hold the head-to-head with a sweep against Kalamunda.

Perry Lakes (3-5); on a 1-game winning streak, have played half of their games at home and one double-header, 6 of their games have been against top-8 teams and they lost all but one of them (against Mandurah, the team just ahead of them on the ladder), they have not suffered any heavy losses to date and have a positive percentage (106%) despite a losing record, but their other wins have been against the bottom two teams on the ladder, Joondalup swept them and hold the head-to-head.

Kalamunda (3-5); very similar resume to Perry Lakes, on a 1-game losing streak, have played half of their games at home and one double-header, 6 of their games have been against top-8 teams and they lost all but one of them (against South West), they have suffered just one heavy loss and have a positive percentage (105%) despite a losing record, but their other wins have been against two of the bottom three teams on the ladder, Willetton and Mandurah swept them and hold the head-to-head.

Cockburn (2-5); have lost their last 5 in-a-row, have played 4 games at home and one double-header, 5 of their games have been against top-8 teams (of which, they lost 4), started out well by winning their first two games (including a quality win against Willetton) but have not won since, Rockingham swept them and hold the head-to-head.

Perth (1-6); on a 1-game winning streak, have played 3 games at home and two double-headers, all of their games have been against top-8 teams so they can claim the toughest draw to date, Warwick swept them and hold the head-to-head.

East Perth (0-9); on a streak of 9 losses, have played 5 games at home and two double-headers, 7 of their games have been against top-8 teams, have a percentage of just 54%, Joondalup and South West swept them and hold the head-to-head.

Advanced Statistics

As at going into their last game, this is how the teams stood in terms of the two most important factors for basketball success according to Dean Oliver:

Effective Field Goal Percentage

Lakeside - 46.7%
Warwick - 44.8%
Rockingham - 43.9%
Joondalup - 43.1%
Perry Lakes - 42.4%
Willetton - 41.4%
South West - 39.8%
Mandurah - 39.2%
Cockburn - 38.7%
Kalamunda - 38.4%
Perth - 36.9%
East Perth - 33.1%

Turnover Percentage

Lakeside - 16.6%
South West - 16.6%
Rockingham - 16.9%
Joondalup - 17.8%
Willetton - 18.7%
Kalamunda - 20.0%
Mandurah - 20.1%
Perry Lakes - 20.2%
Perth - 20.2%
Warwick - 20.6%
Cockburn - 21.6%
East Perth - 29.7%

Round 8

Perth (1-6) at East Perth (0-9) - 34-point win by Perth. East Perth never in front. Perth (out – Campbell and Nevill, in – R. Allen and Pullins); 36 more FGAs than East Perth (57% more shots) due largely to rebounding more than 48% of their missed shots, shot well from three-point range (making 36%), 19 steals but only earned 4 FTAs. East Perth (out – Munrowd-Harris, in – M. Dimanlig); competitive in the second quarter, only committed 8 fouls but -38 points in the paint, -27 second-chance points and only made 42% of their FTAs.

Warwick (5-1) at Rockingham (4-2) – 7-point win by Rockingham. An even first quarter but Warwick gained the upper-hand over the next two, being up by 12 points at three-quarter time. Rockingham came storming home, scoring 28 points in the last quarter (while holding Warwick to just 9 points) to get the win. Rockingham (out – Napolitano, in – Powley); 16 more FGAs than Warwick, 14 steals, +14 points in the paint but did not shoot well from long-range (making 17%) or from the foul-line (making 55%). Warwick (out – Duncan and Forster, in – Hooper and Roscoe); made 80% of their FTAs but +10 TOs and allowed Rockingham to rebound more than 38% of their misses.

Kalamunda (3-5) at Perry Lakes (5-4) – 11-point win by Perry Lakes. Kalamunda were slow out the gates (scoring just 6 points in the first quarter and trailing by as many as 24 points in the second) but clawed their way back to level the scores with 3:30 left in the game. Perry Lakes then went on an 11-0 run to ensure that Kalamunda were never in front. Perry Lakes (out – McCarthy, in – Valentine); shot very well from three-point range (making 42%) but only made 5 of their 9 FTAs and +9 TOs. Kalamunda (out – King, in – Adams); 16 steals but only 4 points from bench players (-29) and 20% accuracy from deep range (after missing their first 10 attempts).

South West (4-4) at Perth (2-6) – 6-point win by Perth. South West never in front but levelled the scores in the third quarter after being down by as many as 14 points. Perth; 18 more FGAs than South West, +20 points in the paint, 14 steals. South West (out – Parsons and Palmer); shot well enough from three-point range (making 32%) but +8 TOs leading to +11 points from TOs.

Rockingham (5-2) at Willetton (7-3) – 8-point win by Willetton. A fairly tight contest until Willetton broke it open about mid-way through the second quarter (with a 26-6 run). Willetton (out – Doran, in – Counsel and Martin); 12 more FGAs than Rockingham, shot well from deep (making 36%), 15 steals. Rockingham (out – Burrows, in – Napolitano); +9 second-chance points but +11 TOs leading to +10 points from TOs.

Joondalup (7-1) at Warwick (5-2) – 13-point win by Joondalup. Warwick did well until an 8-point third quarter sunk their ship (turning a 9-point lead into a 7-point deficit). Joondalup (out – Tavelli, in – Hartill); +15 points from bench players, +7 second-chance points. Warwick (out – Heissenbuttel, in – Forster); shot well from the foul-line (making 81%) but -11 FTAs and +6 TOs.

Lakeside (7-1) at Kalamunda (3-6) – 6-point win by Lakeside. Kalamunda with the upper-hand for most of the game after a great start (scoring 32 points in the first quarter) but Lakeside clawed their way back and finished strong. Lakeside (out – Byrnes and Schwagmeyer, in – Beavis and Gowland); took a lower percentage of 3PAs than usual and reaped the benefit of their efficiency from two-point range (making 55%, +14 points in the paint). Kalamunda; shot more threes than twos and made 35% from deep, shot extremely well from the foul-line (missing only once) but -14 FTAs, +9 TOs and two starters fouled out.

Advanced Statistics

As at going into their last game, this is how the teams stood in terms of free throw rate:

Warwick - 40.3%
Cockburn - 31.8%
South West - 30.7%
Mandurah - 29.6%
Lakeside - 27.5%
East Perth - 26.7%
Perry Lakes - 25.9%
Perth - 25.2%
Rockingham - 24.0%
Kalamunda - 23.9%
Willetton - 23.7%
Joondalup - 23.2%

Team Pace and Points per Possession

As at going into their last game, this is how the teams stood in terms of approximate possessions per game:

Lakeside - 90
Rockingham - 90
Cockburn - 90
Warwick - 89
Mandurah - 89
Perth - 89
East Perth - 89
Kalamunda - 88
Perry Lakes - 87
Joondalup - 86
Willetton - 83
South West - 83

Less than 10% separates the fastest teams from the slowest. The League average is 88 possessions per game and all bar two teams play within a couple of possessions of that figure. The only real outliers on this measure are Willetton and South West who play several possessions per game slower than average.

Calculating the teams' pace allows their offences and defences to be ranked in context (points per possession). More possessions lead to more points, so fast teams invariably struggle to allow below average scores while slow teams find it hard to put up above average scores.

Here are the team rankings based on points scored per possession:

Lakeside - 0.94
Joondalup - 0.94
Warwick - 0.91
Perry Lakes - 0.88
South West - 0.88
Rockingham - 0.87
Willetton - 0.86
Perth - 0.82
Kalamunda - 0.80
Cockburn - 0.78
Mandurah - 0.77
East Perth - 0.56

And for points allowed per possession:

Joondalup - 0.71
Willetton - 0.77
Lakeside - 0.78
Mandurah - 0.79
Kalamunda - 0.79
Perry Lakes - 0.82
Rockingham - 0.83
South West - 0.84
Warwick - 0.85
Cockburn - 0.88
Perth - 0.89
East Perth - 1.02

And, finally, the differential between the two numbers:

Joondalup - 0.23
Lakeside - 0.16
Willetton - 0.09
Warwick - 0.06
Perry Lakes - 0.06
Rockingham - 0.04
South West - 0.04
Kalamunda - 0.01
Mandurah - -0.02
Perth - -0.07
Cockburn - -0.10
East Perth - -0.46

Great analysis on points per possession.. do you have comparables to last season by any chance? Just wondering about the teams that have either improved, declined or stayed even.

possessions per game

No comparable from last season sorry.

It's possessions per game. I think we've had one OT game so far.

Pace is possessions/40 not possessions/game.

Ok thanks Mike Clarke, great analysis. Many don't realise just how important in determining team strengths and weaknesses "possession evaluation" as invented by Dean Smith in the early 80’s- or analytics as it is called today is. Points per possession is at the heart of this analysis and tells you much more than standard box scores.
How are the turnover percentages looking? Coach Smith always aimed to keep his Carolina teams under 15% of possessions being turnovers and the opposition teams they played above this number.
Thanks again for your good work

I calculated their TO% last week (a few posts above). The League average was 19.9%, with the best teams around 17%.

Thanks Mike, very interesting. Comparatively on a league wide basis, the points per possession is quite high (I think NBA is only around 1.01) and turnovers is high. Tells you that defense is the greatest difference maker and as such the best teams rank the highest, especially Joondalup and Lakeside.

Silly question (it may have been already mentioned) Mike Clarke are you Coach Clarke of MSBL Suns Fame?

I coached the Suns men from 2016 to 2018. I'm getting to know our women's League this year for something different.

Round 9

Rockingham (5-3) at Perry Lakes (4-5) - 6-point win by Perry Lakes. Rockingham with the upper-hand until Perry Lakes went on an 11-0 run late in the first quarter. Not much separating these two teams. Perry Lakes (out – Valentine, in – Morgan); 22 assists on 26 made baskets, +8 bench points. Rockingham; twice as many second-chance points as Perry Lakes (+8), +6 fast-break points but a starter fouled out in less than 18 minutes of playing time.

Joondalup (8-1) at Cockburn (2-5) – 16-point win by Joondalup. A tight contest but Joondalup finished strong with 27 points in the last quarter (+13). Joondalup; shot well from two-point range (making 53%, +32 points in the paint), +16 fast- break points. Cockburn; shot well from long-range (making 36%, more accurate than they were from two-point range), +9 FTAs but only made 60% from there.

Perth (3-6) at Willetton (8-3) – 26-point win by Willetton. Perth levelled the scores mid-way through the second quarter before Willetton went on a 22-2 run to seize control of the game. Willetton (out – Martin, in – L. Gandini); shot extremely well from deep (making 55%), 32 assists on 34 made baskets. Perth; +11 points from bench players but only 2 second-chance points for the game.

Lakeside (8-1) at East Perth (0-10) – 50-point win by Lakeside. East Perth never in front.
Lakeside (out – Green); 42 more FGAs than East Perth (75% more shots), +38 points in the paint, 21 steals. East Perth (out – Flynn, in – L. Johnson); competitive in the third quarter but more TOs (37) than total points (36), missed all 8 of their three-point attempts, no fast break points and rebounded less than 17% of their missed shots.

Warwick (5-3) at South West (4-5) – 29-point win by Warwick. South West never in front.
Warwick (out – Forster, in – L. Heissenbuttel); 23 more FGAs than South West, shot very well from deep (making 48%), twice as many points in the paint (+20), 19 steals. South West (out – Dyer, Coles and East, in – Parsons, Palmer and Fitch); rebounded about 78% of Warwick's missed shots but 31 TOs (+21) leading to 39 points from them (+37) and only 10 bench points (-35).

Mandurah (3-6) at Joondalup (9-1) – 27-point win by Joondalup. A good start by Mandurah but they fell in a hole in the second quarter (scoring just 6 points, while conceding 29).
Joondalup; shot very well from deep (making 50%), converted 3 extra TOs into +18 points from them, +33 points from bench players. Mandurah; poor accuracy from three-point range (12%) left them -24 points from deep.

The next generation of WSBL players

Here's how the clubs are looking in terms of the next few cohorts:

Perry Lakes - D1 team with just 1 loss after 8 games, u18Ch.Div. team (10 players), u18Div.2 team (9 players), u16Ch.Div. team (10 players).

Kalamunda - D1 team with 2 losses after 6 games, u18Ch.Div. team (11 players), u18Div.2 team (11 players), u16Ch.Div. team (10 players).

Warwick - D1 team with just 1 loss after 7 games, u18Ch.Div. team (11 players), no u18Div.2 team, u16Ch.Div. team (10 players).

Lakeside - D1 team with 2 losses after 7 games, u18Ch.Div. team (10 players), no u18Div.2 team, u16Ch.Div. team (10 players).

Rockingham - D1 team with 3 losses after 7 games, u18Ch.Div. team (10 players), no u18Div.2 team, u16Ch.Div. team (11 players).

Willetton - D1 team with 4 losses after 7 games, u18Ch.Div. team (9 players), u18Div.2 team (9 players), u16Ch.Div. team (10 players).

Cockburn – D1 team unbeaten after 5 games, no u18Ch.Div. team, u18Div.2 team (10 players), no u16Ch.Div. team.

Joondalup - D1 team with just 1 win after 8 games, no u18Ch.Div. team, u18Div.2 team (10 players), u16Ch.Div. team (10 players).

Perth – D1 team without a win after 6 games, u18Ch.Div. team (11 players), no u18Div.2 team, u16Ch.Div. team (10 players).

South West – no D1 team, u18Ch.Div. team (13 players), no u18Div.2 team, u16Ch.Div. team (10 players).

Mandurah - D1 team with 4 losses after 7 games, no u18 teams at all, u16Ch.Div. team (8 players).

East Perth - D1 team with just 1 win after 8 games, no u18Ch.Div. team, u18Div.2 team (11 players), no u16Ch.Div. team.

I enjoy your analyses Mike.. don't listen to the haters

Round 10

Cockburn (2-6) at Warwick (6-3) - 11-point win by Warwick. A tight contest until Cockburn was held to just 9 points in the third quarter. Warwick (out – Harding, in – Forster); shot well from two-point range (making 55%, +34 points in the paint), +13 bench points. Cockburn (out – Pitcher, in – Huggett); rebounded 80% of Warwick's missed shots but 39% accuracy from two-point range not enough and +5 TOs leading to +9 points from them.

Joondalup (10-1) at Willetton (9-3) – 7-point win by Willetton. Joondalup never in front but they did cut a 30-point deficit in the third quarter to just 1-point with less than 90 seconds left in the game. Willetton (out – Ayliffe and Thomson, in – Doran and Harper); strong first half (scoring 50 points), 13 steals but -13 second-chance points and -8 points from TOs (despite committing one fewer). Joondalup; +15 bench points and +16 points in the paint but did not shoot well enough from long-range (19%) or from the foul-line (56%).

Rockingham (5-4) at South West (4-6) – 1-point win by South West. Rockingham with the upper hand for most of the first-half before South West started to get its share of the lead (which changed 6 times in the last 3 minutes or so of the game). South West (in – Dyer); rebounded nearly 45% of their missed shots but only 2 points from bench players. Rockingham (out – Kilsura, in – Garbin); shot well from two-point range (making 50%), 8 blocks but only made 56% of their free-throws and -8 points from TOs (despite committing one fewer).

Mandurah (3-7) at Cockburn (2-7) – 16-point win by Mandurah. Cockburn in front early until Mandurah took over. Mandurah (out – M. Pettit); +22 points in the paint, +8 points from TOs but only made 55% of their free-throws. Cockburn; shot well from the foul-line but poor shooting from long-range (making only 13%).

Willetton (10-3) at East Perth (0-11) – 8-point win by East Perth. Willetton in control until mid-way through the third quarter. East Perth (out – Symons, in – Flynn and Street); 41 bench points (+32), shot well from three-point range (making 41%), 32 FTAs but started slow (with only 7 points in the first quarter). Willetton; 22 more FGAs than East Perth, +14 points in the paint but poor shooting from deep (making just 8%) and only made 44% of their 9 FTAs for the game.

Perth (3-7) at Kalamunda (3-7) – 11-point win by Perth. Perth with the upper hand for most of the game. Perth (out – Parora and Coppin, in – Roberts); +18 points in the paint, 32 FTAs (making 71% of them) but +12 TOs and missed all 10 of the three-point attempts. Kalamunda (out – Malone and Scwarbrick, in – King, Yohn and Knowles); 18 steals, 14 more FGAs than Perth but only made 16% of their 36 shots from long-range and two starters fouled out.

Statistical comparison of the WSBL and the MSBL

Here are some general observations, based on sample data as at going into their last games. There are a lot of similarities between the average WSBL and MSBL games; the referees call about 36 fouls, each team scores around 11 second-chance points, 20 points from bench players, 10 fast break points, and they assist on around 60% of their made baskets. However, differences between the genders exist when it comes to TOs and shooting.

In terms of TOs, the women turn the ball over about 30% more than the men (including having the ball stolen around 40% more often). It is interesting to note that those extra TOs do not translate to more points scored from them, with teams from both sexes averaging about 14 PFTs each game. These statistics beg the question whether the WSBL might be amendable to pressure defensive schemes that generate live-ball TOs and convert them into points.

In terms of shooting, the men are generally more accurate from the field (averaging about one point per shot taken compared to 0.8 of a point for the women). The men take a higher percentage of their shots from three-point range (about 40% compared to a little over 30% by the women) but it is interesting to note that, for both sexes, two-point and long-range shots even out to be as efficient as each other. While there appears to be no need for an average WSBL team to shy away from the three-point shot, there is a pressing need for all teams to generate as many FTAs as possible. That is the case because both genders make about 70% of their FTAs on average (a return of 1.4 points per pair). Open lay-ups aside, this makes free-throws by far the most efficient shots, even for below average teams, and especially in the WSBL.

X's and O's or Jess' and Jo's?

There's a school of thought that the teams with the best players will ultimately prevail over the teams with the best laid plans. Here are the current standings with the number of all-stars for each team;

1. Lakeside - 3 all-stars
2. Joondalup – 2 all-stars
3. Willetton – 3 all-stars
4. Warwick – 2 all-stars
5. Perry Lakes – 2 all-stars
6. Rockingham – 3 all-stars
7. South West – 1 all-star
8. Mandurah – 1 all-star
9. Perth – 3 all-stars
10. Kalamunda – 2 all-stars
11. Cockburn – 2 all-stars
12. East Perth – 0 all-stars

Round 11

Joondalup (10-2) at Perth (4-7) - 7-point win by Joondalup. An even contest seized by Joondalup with a 13-0 run in the third quarter. Joondalup (out – Steindl, in – Odude); shot well from deep (making 44%) but not so from two-point range (making 29%). Perth (out – Williams and R. Allen, in – Campbell and Coppin); +12 points in the paint but poor shooting from three-point range (making only 19%).

Lakeside (9-1) at Warwick (7-3) – 8-point win by Warwick. Lakeside never in front, after scoring just 6 points in the first quarter and trailing by as many as 20 points near half-time. They did manage to level the scores in the last quarter, but Warwick had enough in the tank to get the win. Warwick (out – Forster and Heissenbuttel, in – H. Throns and R. Throns); 20 more FGAs than Lakeside, +26 points in the paint and made all 7 of their FTAs. Lakeside (out – Gowland, in – Green and Stewart); most of their shots came from long-range, -11 second-chance points, -13 bench points and +5 TOs.

Kalamunda (3-8) at South West (5-6) – 18-point win by Kalamunda. Kalamunda in control from late in the first quarter. Kalamunda (out – Macpherson); shot well from all locations, especially from long-range (making 37%), which proved to make the difference. South West (in – East); won the second quarter, +10 points in the paint but +9 TOs and no fast-break points at all.

East Perth (1-11) at Rockingham (5-5) – 30-point win by Rockingham. An even game until the second half when Rockingham powered away and East Perth's scoring dried up. Rockingham (out – Allen, Adams and Classon, in – Cooper, Kilsura and Jolly); 25 more FGAs than East Perth (due in large part to rebounding more than 44% of their misses), +18 second-chance points but made only 55% of their FTAs and no fast-break points. East Perth (out – M. Dimanlig, in – E. Fisher); shot well from three-point range (ultimately making 42% after a red-hot start) but not so from the foul-line (at just 31%) and rebounded less than 13% of their missed shots.

Cockburn (2-8) at Perry Lakes (5-5) – 8-point win by Perry Lakes. A see-sawing game with Perry Lakes in front for most of the last quarter. Perry Lakes (out – Morgan and J. Teasedale, in – McCarthy and Burton); +13 points from TOs but only made 57% of their FTAs. Cockburn (out – Lual and Morgan, in – Pitcher and Hartmann); only made 17% of their shots from deep.

Warwick (8-3) at Willetton (10-4) – 25-point win by Warwick. A fairly even contest until about 3 minutes into the second half when Warwick pulled away. Warwick (out – Burke, in – Harding); shot well from two-point range (making 56%, +22 points in the paint) and scored twice as many second-chance points. Willetton (out – Doran, in – Ayliffe); made only 17% of their 3PAs and -20 bench points.

Round 12

Perry Lakes (6-5) at Kalamunda (4-8) - 15-point win by Kalamunda. An even game until Kalamunda held Perry Lakes to just 9 points in the third quarter. Kalamunda (in – Macpherson); 22 assists on 27 made baskets but only rebounded about 21% of their missed shots. Perry Lakes (out – McCarthy, in – Valentine); poor shooting from long-range (making just 17%) left them -21 points from deep.

Cockburn (2-9) at Mandurah (4-7) – 3-point win by Mandurah. A tight contest until Cockburn's scoring dried up in the last quarter (with just 7 points) and Mandurah went on a 12-0 run to finish the game. Mandurah (out – Palusna); +22 points in the paint, +14 points from TOs but poor shooting from the foul-line (at 33%). Cockburn (out – Roberts, Benn, Pitcher and Huggett, in – Lual and Morgan); only missed one of their 8 FTAs but did not shoot well enough from two-point range (making just 30%, less accurate than they were from three-point range).

Lakeside (9-2) at Perth (4-8) – 5-point win by Lakeside. Perth with the lead early before trailing by as many as 21 points late in the second quarter. Lakeside (out – Waight, in – Gowland); 25 assists on 29 made baskets, shot well from deep (making 39%) where they took most of their FGAs. Perth (out – Jakens, in – Williams and Coppin); +18 points in the paint but only took 4 FTAs for the game.

Warwick (9-3) at East Perth (1-12) – 37-point win by Warwick. East Perth never in front. Warwick; shot very well from two-point range (making 61%, +16 points in the paint), 19 steals but rebounded less than 58% of East Perth’s missed shots. East Perth; shot well from three-point range (making 35%) but not so from the foul-line (at 53%) and 27 TOs.

Willetton (10-5) at Rockingham (6-5) – 6-point win by Willetton. Rockingham with the lead early before trailing by as many as 17 points in the second quarter. Willetton (out – Miotti, in – Doran); 13 steals (+11), +14 points from TOs. Rockingham (out – Kilsura, Napolitano and Powley, in – Allen and Classon); +10 second-chance points but 21 TOs (+8) were costly in a tight game.

South West (5-7) at Joondalup (11-2) – 11-point win by South West. South West with the upper-hand for most of the game, leading by as many as 19 points in the last quarter. South West (out – Barrett, Palmer and Fitch, in – Luff); efficient shooting from the field but +5 TOs and two starters fouled out. Joondalup (out – Horne, in – Tavelli); +20 bench points but did not shoot well enough from the field and -12 points from TOs despite committing 5 less.

Round 13

Perry Lakes (6-6) at Lakeside (10-2) - 4-point win by Lakeside. An even contest broken open by Lakeside with a 12-0 run in the last quarter. Very little separating these teams. Lakeside (out – Beavis, in – Byrnes); took less 3PAs than usual (just 31% of their total shots), +9 fouls committed. Perry Lakes (out – Martin, in – McCarthy); +15 bench points but 22% accuracy from deep not enough in a close game.

East Perth (1-13) at Perth (4-9) – 51-point win by Perth. East Perth never in front, scoring just 15 points total in the two middle quarters. Perth (out – Deegan, in – Jakens and Coppin); 26 more FGAs than East Perth, 33 assists on 39 made baskets and +38 points in the paint. East Perth (out – Johnson and Muparutsa, in – McCallum-Smith and M. Dimanlig); won the last quarter but poor shooting (including 18% accuracy from long-range) and 34 TOs (+15).

Mandurah (6-6) at Rockingham (6-6) – 14-point win by Rockingham. Mandurah never in front after scoring just six points in the first quarter. Rockingham (out – Classon and Lee, in – Adams and Kilsura); +10 points in the paint and 7 blocked shots at the other end of the court. Mandurah (in – Norman and Sidebottom); won the second half and twice as many fast-break points as Rockingham, but only made 16% of their 3PAs.

Cockburn (2-10) at Willetton (11-5) – 3-point win by Cockburn. A tight, see-sawing contest, with a +8 point second quarter by Cockburn proving to be decisive in the end. Cockburn (out – Lee, in – Roberts and Taylor); +5 TOs but did not hurt on the scoreboard fortunately. Willetton (out – Ayliffe, in – Miotti); +9 fast-break points but making only one of their 16 3PAs (6%) was fatal.

South West (6-7) at Perry Lakes (6-7) – 13-point win by South West. Perry Lakes with the upper-hand until South West surged away mid-way through the third quarter. South West (out – Parsons and Luff, in – Palmer and Black); shot well from the field (making 57% from two-point range and 40% from deep), 7 blocked shots but 27 TOs (+9). Perry Lakes (out – McCarthy, in – Martin); 19 steals, 24 more FGAs than South West but made only one of their 13 3PAs (7%).

Lakeside (11-2) at Mandurah (6-7) – 29-point win by Mandurah. Lakeside in control early but scored only four points in the last quarter. Mandurah; 23 assists on 25 made baskets and looked after the ball well (-10 TOs). Lakeside (out – Byrnes); made just 21% of their attempts from two-point range and only two points from their bench players (-26).

Rockingham (7-6) at Kalamunda (5-8) – 11-point win by Kalamunda. Kalamunda in control for most of the game but Perry Lakes did get back within a couple of points on either side of three-quarter time. Kalamunda (out – Macpherson, in – Malone); shot well from three-point range (making 40%) but only two second-chance points for the game. Rockingham; made just 15% of their shots from deep and no fast-break points at all (-13).

Early Departures

As we enter the second half of the WSBL season, we have started to see some out-of-cycle departures from teams;

PLAYERS
Palusna (MAN)
Lee (COC)

COACHES
Reynolds (ROC)

Round 14

Cockburn (3-10) at Lakeside (11-3) - 22-point win by Lakeside. Lakeside in control from late in the first quarter. Lakeside (out – A. Jacobs and C. Jacobs, in – Byrnes, Beavis and A. Ironmonger); shot very well from two-point range (making 58%, +24 points in the paint) but not so from the foul-line (making just 54%). Cockburn (out – Lual); won the last quarter but +10 TOs.

Mandurah (7-7) at South West (7-7) – 8-point win by Mandurah. Mandurah with the upper-hand for most of the game but South West did level the scores approaching the mid-way mark of the last quarter. Mandurah (out – Sidebottom, in – Brown); 21 more FGAs than South West and made 83% of their FTAs. South West (out – Fielding, in – Barrett); won the third quarter and +14 points in the paint but -23 bench points and made only 57% of their FTAs.

Willetton (11-6) at Perth (5-9) – 31-point win by Perth. Perth powered away from late in the second quarter, with Willetton scoring just nine points in the last quarter. Perth (out – Campbell, in – Deegan); twice as many points in the paint (+30) and +20 fast-break points. Willetton (out – Counsel, in – Ayliffe); +10 TOs leading to -14 points from them.

Perth (6-9) at Cockburn (3-11) – 20-point win by Perth. A close, see-sawing game until Perth went on a 19–0 run to finish the game and held Cockburn to just nine points in the last quarter. Perth (out – Roberts); +16 points in the paint but made only two of their shots from deep (at 16%). Cockburn (out – Taylor, in – Lual); +12 points from long-range but made just 45% of their FTAs and two starters fouled out.

Joondalup (11-3) at Mandurah (8-7) – 14-point win by Mandurah. Joondalup started the game well but Mandurah surged away from mid-way through the second quarter and never looked back. Mandurah (out – Norman, in – Sidebottom); rebounded nearly 45% of their missed shots and 80% of Joondalup's misses. Joondalup (out – Miotti, Tavelli and Odude, in – Ritter, Horne and Martin); -10 points in the paint and only two second-chance points for the game.

South West (7-8) at Rockingham (7-7) – 41-point win by Rockingham. Rockingham in control within a few minutes of this game starting, holding South West to just three points in the first quarter. Rockingham (out – Adams and Jolly, in – Ciabattoni and Powley); 24 more FGAs than South West due largely to rebounding more than 52% of their missed shots, +34 points in the paint. South West (out – Barrett and Black); responded well in the second quarter but poor shooting from two-point range (making just 27%).

Kalamunda (6-8) at Warwick (10-3) – 28-point win by Warwick. A fairly tight contest but Warwick finished strong with a +19 point last quarter. Warwick (out – R. Throns, in – Forster); shot well from the field (including 39% accuracy from deep). Kalamunda (out – Crugnale, in – Swarbrick); -16 points in the paint and got to the foul-line less than half as often as Warwick.

What has happened to the Joondalup WSBL superteam? Branded (by someone here) as the most expensive team in history.
Pressure mounting on coach Nix. Could it lead to him loosing his hair?

Nix only has his beard to lose but may not be feeling too much pressure in the scheme of things. Joondalup have lost three out of their last four games but are still sitting at third on the ladder (just one game out of the top spot). It looks like the loss of Steindl has had a big impact on the team. They will be hoping the two new imports fill the void quickly. They came up against an in-form Mandurah on the weekend, who beat the top team by 29 points in the previous round.

Perhaps the team with the most concerns lately is Willetton. They have lost four out of their last five games, including losses to the bottom two teams and a 31-point loss to Perth in their last game.

Rockingham spending a lot more than Joondalup

Round 15

Perry Lakes (6-8) at Warwick (11-3) - 15-point win by Perry Lakes. An even contest until Perry Lakes pulled away mid-way through the second quarter. Perry Lakes (out – Martin and Valentine, in – McKay and McCarthy); shot well from deep (making 42%) and from the foul-line (making 85%), rebounded more than 41% of their missed shots. Warwick (out – Villegas, in – Burke); 6 blocks but -14 points in the paint and only four second-chance points for the game (-8).

Mandurah (9-7) at East Perth (1-14) – 30-point win by Mandurah. East Perth in the game until mid-way through the third quarter despite losing two starters. Mandurah (out – Boag and Sidebottom, in – Norman and Lawler); 37 more FGAs than East Perth (nearly 65% more shots, due largely to rebounding half of their misses) but made only 10% of their 3PAs and 47% of their FTAs. East Perth (out – Heart, in – Symons); missed just once from the foul-line (making 93%), won the second quarter but their scoring dried up after the main break, rebounded less than 23% of their missed shots and committed 31 TOs.

Joondalup (11-4) at Rockingham (8-7) – 14-point win by Rockingham. Rockingham started and finished the game well, with an arm-wrestle in-between. Rockingham (out – Boag and Powley, in – Adams and Lee); +34 points in the paint and did not concede any fast-break points at all. Joondalup (out – Geel, in – Miotti); shot well from deep (making 37%) but made just 25% of their shots from two-point range and +8 TOs (leading to -20 points from them).

South West (7-9) at Cockburn (3-12) – 6-point win by South West. South West in the lead for most of this game but Cockburn forced it into OT. South West (out – Parsons, in – Fielding, Luff and Black); shot well from two-point range (making 54%), +13 points from bench players and +12 fast-break points. Cockburn (out – Sontay, in – Taylor and Pitcher); 19 more FGAs than South West but -13 points from the foul-line (with less than half as many attempts as South West).

Perth (7-9) at Joondalup (11-5) – 21-point win by Perth. Perth in control within a couple of minutes in this one. Perth; rebounded more than half of their missed shots, +30 points in the paint. Joondalup (out – Kidner, in – Odude); +18 bench points but 39% accuracy from two-point range not enough and live-ball TOs were very costly (-14 points from them).

Warwick (11-4) at Lakeside (12-3) – 11-point win by Lakeside. A see-sawing game where Lakeside turned a 13-point deficit late in the third quarter to a 13-point lead with about one minute to go. Lakeside; +9 second-chance points but no points from bench players at all (-22). Warwick (out – Forster, in – Villegas); went on a 10-0 run in the third quarter but 18% accuracy from deep not enough in this one.

East Perth (1-15) at Kalamunda (6-9) – 33-point win by Kalamunda. East Perth never in front. Kalamunda (out – Drennan, in – Crugnale); 20 steals but made only 55% of their FTAs. East Perth (out – Flynn and Lowe); won the last quarter but scored just six points in the third, 33 TOs (leading to -20 points from them).

The road home - The top half

With just five rounds left to play, we're in the home stretch for final standings and playoff match-ups. Here’s how each team is placed;

Lakeside (13-3); on a 2-game winning streak since a heavy loss to Mandurah, have the bye this round and 2 more double-headers for a total of 6 games remaining (half of them at home), 4 of their games will be against top-8 teams (including Joondalup away) and they will host bottom-placed East Perth, they hold the head-to-head over Warwick but Willetton and Mandurah hold the head-to-head over them, they are +20 on Joondalup and +24 on Rockingham. Expect them to finish the season on top of the ladder.

Warwick (11-5); on a streak of 2 losses, have one double-header for a total of 6 games remaining (half of them at home), 3 of their games will be against top-8 teams and they will also play the two bottom-placed teams, they hold the head-to-head over Willetton but Lakeside and Joondalup hold the head-to-head over them, they are +13 on Mandurah and -7 on Rockingham. They may finish the season down one spot (in third, on head-to head to Joondalup).

Joondalup (11-6); in a form slump having lost their last 4 games (and 5 of their last 6), have a bye and one double-header for a total of 5 games remaining (all but one of them at home), 3 of their games will be against top-8 teams (including Lakeside at home) and they will host 11th-placed Cockburn, they hold the head-to-head over Warwick, Mandurah, Rockingham and Perry Lakes but they are -20 on Lakeside and -7 on Willetton. They are a good chance of securing the number two seeding (on head-to-head over Warwick).

Willetton (11-7); on a 2-game losing streak (and have lost 4 of their last 5 games, including to the two bottom-placed teams), coming off the bye and have another one soon for a total of just 4 games remaining (half of them at home), all of their games will be against top-8 teams (including Joondalup away), they hold the head-to-head over Lakeside and Rockingham but Warwick holds the head-to-head over them, they are +7 on Joondalup, +12 on Mandurah, +12 on Perry Lakes and +7 on South West. Expect them to drop out of the top-4 by the season’s end.

Mandurah (10-7); in good form, on a 4-game winning streak (including the scalps of Lakeside and Joondalup), have 5 single games to finish the season (all but one of them at home), 4 of their games will be against top-8 teams (including Warwick at home), they hold the head-to-head over Lakeside and South West but Joondalup holds the head-to-head over them, they are -13 on Warwick, -12 on Willetton, -14 on Rockingham and -9 on Perry Lakes. They may finish the season where they are (albeit on head-to head to Rockingham).

Rockingham (9-7); on a 2-game winning streak (most recently, against Joondalup), have one double-header for a total of 6 games remaining (half of them at home), 3 of their games will be against top-8 teams (including the top-2) and they will also play the bottom-placed East Perth, they hold the head-to-head over Willetton, Perry Lakes and South West but Joondalup and Willetton hold the head-to-head over them, they are -24 on Lakeside, +7 on Warwick and +14 on Mandurah. They are primed for a strong finish to the season and round out the top-4 (on head-to-head over Mandurah).

The road home - The bottom half

Perry Lakes (7-8); won their last game (against Warwick) after losing their previous 3 games, have two double-headers for a total of 7 games remaining (3 of them at home), 4 of their games will be against top-8 teams (including Lakeside at home) and they will also play the two bottom-placed teams, Rockingham and Kalamunda hold the head-to-head over them, they are -12 on Willetton, +9 on Mandurah, -13 on South West and +14 on Perth. Their last game of the season, against Willetton, may determine which of the two teams earns the sixth seed.

South West (8-9); snuck home in over-time against 11th-placed Cockburn in their last game and lost the two games before that, have one double-header and finish the season with a bye for a total of 5 games remaining (2 of them at home), all of their games will be against top-8 teams (including all current top-4 teams) for the toughest closing schedule, they hold the head-to-head against Perth (by just one point) but Kalamunda hold the head-to-head over them and they have the lowest percentage of those 3 teams, they are +9 on Perry Lakes (with the return fixture being crucial for them). They will be hard-pressed to secure the last play-off spot.

Perth (8-9); ); in good form, on a 4-game winning streak (including a vital win against Joondalup in their last game), have 5 single games to finish the season (3 of them at home), 3 of their games will be against top-8 teams (but none of the current top-4 teams) and they will host 11-th placed Cockburn, South West holds the head-to-head over them, they are -14 on Perry Lakes and +11 on Kalamunda. They are a good chance of securing the last play-off spot.

Kalamunda (7-9); won their last game (and 4 out of their last 5 games), have the bye this round and 2 double-headers for a total of 6 games remaining (2 of them at home), 4 of their games will be against top-8 teams (including the top-3 teams) and they will host the 11th-placed Cockburn, they hold the head-to-head over South West but they are -11 on Perth. Their chance of securing the last play-off spot rests heavily on their next game, against Perth.

Cockburn (3-13); on a 3-game losing streak, have a double-header in the last round for a total of 6 games remaining (half of them at home), half of their games will be against top-8 teams and they will also host bottom-placed East Perth in their last game of the season. They are all but certain to finish the season where they are.

East Perth (1-16); on a streak of 5 losses (and have lost 58 of their last 60 games), have a bye and a double-header for a total of 5 games remaining (all but one of them away), 4 of their games will be against top-8 teams (including the top-2 teams away). They will inevitably collect another wooden spoon.

Round 16

Perth (8-9) at Rockingham (9-7) - 5-point win by Perth. A tight contest but Perth finished strong, with a 27-point last quarter (+8). Perth (out - Coppin); shot well from deep (making 40%) but only attempted 10 (half as many as Rockingham) and -8 second-chance points. Rockingham (out – Kennedy and Hetherington, in – Boag and Classon); +10 points in the paint but got just three points from bench players, 15% accuracy from three-point range and only earned 11 FTAs (-15).

Perry Lakes (7-8) at Mandurah (10-7) – 13-point win by Mandurah. A close game that Mandurah pushed into OT and then dominated (holding Perry Lakes to just two points in extra-time). Mandurah (out – Norman and Lawler, in – Boag); shot well from long-range (making 37%) and from the foul-line (making 77%) but not efficient from two-point range (making 32%). Perry Lakes (out – McCarthy, in – Martin); +20 points in the paint (twice as many as Mandurah) but missed all nine of their 3PAs and made just 44% of their FTAs.

Warwick (11-5) at Cockburn (3-13) – 9-point win by Warwick. Cockburn with the upper-hand for most of the game but their scoring dried up to just eight points in the last quarter. Warwick (out – Roscoe, Hepburn and Hooper, in – R. Throns, Forster and Heissenbuttel); +6 second-chance points, shot well from deep (making 40%) but not from two-point range (making just 28%). Cockburn (out – Graham, Lual and Taylor, in – Huggett); 8 blocks but -13 points from bench players.

Willetton (11-7) at Joondalup (11-6) – 18-point win by Willetton. Willetton in control of the game leading into the main break and beyond. Willetton (out – Winter, Ayliffe and Priestly, in – Counsel, Martin and Thomson); shot better than Joondalup from all ranges and dominated the boards (rebounded nearly 84% of Joondalup's misses and 40% of theirs), 21 assists on 26 made baskets but only two fast-break points for the game. Joondalup (out – Odude); made just 16% of their 3PAs and only four second-chance points for the game.

East Perth (1-16) at Perry Lakes (7-9) – 57-point win by Perry Lakes. East Perth never in front. Perry Lakes (out – O’Sullivan, in – Valentine); shot well from all locations (including 44% accuracy from deep) with every made basket being immediately preceded by a pass and nearly 60% of their points from bench players, rebounded nearly half of their missed shots, 20 steals. East Perth (out – Booth, in – Heart); -24 points in the paint, rebounded less than 17% of their misses and 32 TOs (leading to -27 points from them).

South West (8-9) at Warwick (12-5) – 19-point win by Warwick. A tight contest until Warwick broke it open in the second half. Warwick (out – Heissenbuttel, in – Roscoe); scored 36 points in the third quarter, shot well from long-range (making 40%) and 23 points from bench players (+17). South West (out – Palmer and Black, in – Parsons and Barrett); made 89% of their FTAs but -18 points from three-point range and +7 TOs.

Advanced Statistics

I'm taking a break from round summaries but this is how the teams stood recently in terms of two important factors for basketball success (compared to when I last calculated them):

Effective Field Goal Percentage

Warwick - 45.1% (44.8%)
Lakeside - 44.4% (46.7%)
South West - 43.9% (39.8%)
Rockingham - 43.6% (43.9%)
Joondalup - 43.0% (43.1%)
Perth - 42.9% (36.9%)
Perry Lakes - 41.9% (42.4%)
Kalamunda - 41.4% (38.4%)
Willetton - 40.4% (41.4%)
Mandurah - 39.2% (39.2%)
Cockburn - 38.7% (38.7%)
East Perth - 33.1% (33.1%)

Turnover Percentage

Joondalup - 16.5% (17.8%)
Lakeside - 16.9% (16.6%)
Warwick - 17.1% (20.6%)
Rockingham - 17.9% (16.9%)
Willetton - 18.1% (18.7%)
Perth - 18.5% (20.2%)
Mandurah - 18.9% (20.1%)
Perry Lakes - 19.3% (20.2%)
South West - 19.4% (16.6%)
Kalamunda - 19.6% (20.0%)
Cockburn - 21.0% (21.6%)
East Perth - 30.3% (29.7%)