NBL1 West: Queens of the court star as Perth Redbacks bite Perry Lakes Hawks in top women’s clash in Albany

The Perth Redbacks came to Albany aiming to boost their home finals prospects and put some distance between themselves and the Perry Lakes Hawks, and it was mission accomplished on Saturday night. They won the NBL1 West women’s clash 78-72 in a super contest that featured wonderful performances from Olympian Anneli Maley and former UCLA star Natalie Chou, who was named player of the match. A 30-point second term from the Redbacks proved the difference in the six-point result in front of a crowd of more than 800 at the Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre. Maley really caught the eye, doing everything with a swagger and a smile, hitting 22 points and being generally unstoppable despite flying in from Mongolia only last Wednesday after representing Australia in the 3x3 World Cup. Chou outscored her by two, but the pair dominated the court and as valiant as the Hawks’ efforts were, they could not put the brakes on the dynamic duo. The win puts Redbacks third on the ladder while Hawks are in eighth and hanging on to a finals spot. Doing her best for the Hawks was Katanning-born Megan McKay who worked tirelessly on the glass in a losing cause, reflecting in the end that they had just not done enough. “It was a really good game, but we had a bad second quarter,” she said. “They put us under such intense pressure.” The other local interest was referee Kyle Hogg, who hails from Mt Barker. The Hawks started the better and stole to a 10-6 lead before Maley’s three consecutive free throws got the Redbacks to within a point. Yet Hawks kept up their momentum to go five clear with two and a half minutes left in the quarter. However by the time the buzzer went, Chou had tipped in for two points as Redbacks enjoyed a slender advantage 22-20. The second quarter was bad news for Hawks as Redbacks took control and roared into a 52-35 lead. A dramatic third saw the Hawks running hot and Maley losing her cool, walking off court to calm down after a call went against her. Chou took up the reigns as Hawks tried to take advantage but once Maley returned two minutes later with fire in her eyes, Redbacks resumed control and led by 11 points at the end of the period. The final quarter was nip and tuck, the sides trading shots and points. McKay converted two free throws as Hawks got within four points and had Mia Satie nailed her three-point jump shot, Redbacks might have been in trouble. However, Maley drew a foul, converted the free throws and closed the door. Redbacks’ coach Tim Rendulic agreed Maley and Chou were class acts. “Maley is one of one, you can’t replicate what she does with her hustle, how she rebounds, gets to the bucket; it’s elite at the next level, and it’s just elite as a lead at this level of course,” he said. “Chou was obviously really important, and hit some really crucial buckets, particularly in that second half when things were sort of drying up a little bit. “In the second half, again we knew they wouldn’t go away, and then we give up a couple shots, they get a sniff, and then we’re trying to work through it. “It sort of felt a little bit at times like we were playing to hang on instead of playing to win, but again, that’s the ebbs and flows of the game. “We managed to keep our nose in front in the end.” Chou hit three triples in her 24-point haul to go with six steals and five rebounds. Maley contributed 22 points and 13 rebounds in 35 minutes while Alaska Rhebok (10 points) and Shenae Hartree (eight points and eight rebounds) also had important moments. Hawks’ coach Craig Mansfield said his side missed key players through injury but had given a good account of themselves. “We turned the ball over and they got running but we adjusted well and were more comfortable in the second half,” he said. McKay finished with a double-double, 28 points and 15 rebounds in a losing affair. Grace Stone was relentless in her attack, scoring 17 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and three steals from almost 37 minutes game time and captain Maddy Dennis added nine rebounds to go with six points and six assists.