WITH just one round left in the SBL season, the Willetton Tigers completed their final double-header weekend with just one loss from their four games.
The action started away to Kalamunda on Friday and the Willetton women got the night off to a successful start with a 87-76 win.
Willetton trailed the Suns by three at halftime but were the stronger team in the third quarter, jumping out to a six point lead at the end of the third before coasting to an 11 point victory.
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READ NOWAshli Payne top scored for the Tigers with 17 points, while Desiree Kelley (14) and Leah Cotton (13) also performed strongly under the hoop.
The men made it two-from-two on the road with a 104-96 victory over the Suns.
Willetton led their opponents from start to finish and, despite a scare in the fourth quarter when Kalamunda pegged back a 21-point deficit to trail by as little as six points, the Tigers were able to hold on for the eight point win.
Willetton’s shooting trio of Jay Bowie (20 points), Damien Scott (19) and Kyle Armour (18) continued their strong run of form as the finals approach.
Both teams were back on the court on Saturday night as they hosted two Perry Lakes teams also vying for finals action.
The women completed the trio of wins with a strong 62-50 win against the Hawks.
Other than a small period in the second quarter the Tigers were rarely troubled, Payne again top-scoring with 13 points while Cotton (11) and Samantha Norwood (10) also reached double figures in the low-scoring game.
The men recorded the only blemish of the round with a nail-biting three point loss to the Hawks.
Willetton were down by one at the end of the first quarter but a huge second term surge saw them take a 66-42 lead into halftime.
Perry Lakes were able to whittle that lead down to just seven points at the last break before outscoring the Tigers in the last to take the 93-90 win.
Scott was monstrous in the paint with a game-high 29 points while Bo Diagne sunk 22.
The double win saw the 5th-placed Willetton leapfrog Kalamunda to finish the round in 4th while the split result keeps the men in 7th.
The women will now have a week’s break while the men travel to take on the Geraldton Buccaneers from 7.30pm on July 28.