PERRY Lakes Hawks women’s team comfortably beat Willetton Tigers in game one of their semi-final series at Bendat Basketball Centre on Friday night, leading from start to finish to record a 93-81 victory, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
The Hawks entered the game having only lost twice all season, and from the opening tip they showed why.
Their hustle, energy, ball movement and poise were all a level above the Tigers throughout the contest.
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READ NOWWilletton came out lacking intensity in the first quarter, and the Hawks pounced, aggressively playing the passing lanes and pressuring the Tigers into mistakes, and by quarter time had shot out to a 28-18 lead.
The Hawks continued their dominance in the second quarter, with WNBL players Nat Burton and Toni Farnworth leading from the front, pushing the lead to 18 points at half time, 53-35.
The Tigers rallied in the third, with Des Kelley and Stacey Barr making a series of tough shots to breath life into the contest, winning the quarter 25-18 and making things somewhat interesting heading into the final period.
Perry Lakes had the answers in the fourth, however, holding their composure and knocking down important buckets to post a 12-point win.
Farnworth and Lauren Jeffers led the way for the Hawks with 19 points each, while Burton and fellow big Sarah Donovan had a field day inside the paint, the two combining for 31 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Kate Anthony also chimed in with 11 points, which included some fourth quarter daggers to fend off the Tigers push.
Barr led the Tigers with 23 points, while Kelley had 15 points (6-of-11 shooting) and five rebounds in a good all-round game.
Jess Hootmann added 12 points, while captain Kate Malpass only had four points and looked to still be hampered by an arm injury sustained a few weeks ago.
Game two will be at Willetton Basketball Stadium this Saturday night.
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