Magic survive elimination final
The 45-point blowout last Saturday sets up an appetising knockout semi-final this Thursday against Rockingham Flames, with the winner of that game to face Warwick Senators on Saturday for a spot in the grand final.
But it's season over for Mandurah's men's team, who bowed out of their championship defence with a 109-95 loss in Kalgoorlie to the Goldfields Giants.
The final scoreline did not reflect how the game panned out nor the chance Mandurah — playing without injured stars Julian Pesava and Jacoree Ealy — had to pull off a surprise road victory.
The Magic led by 19 points midway through a huge first term but the home side whittled the break over the next 20 minutes to be in front by a point at the last change.
And as things got heated on court, it was the Giants and the parochial home crowd that took the momentum, surging to a big lead and eventual victory.
Lachie Bertram led Mandurah with 26 points while De'Sean Parsons wound back the clock for Goldfields in scoring 38 points.
The Magic women were never headed in their 105-60 victory over the Eagles at home in Mandurah, opening an 11-point break by quarter-time and building on it every period.
Claire Jacobs was the star with a sharpshooting 35-point haul that included 7 of 13 three-pointers and all eight of her free throw attempts.
Import McKenna Dale finished desperately close to a rare triple-double with nine points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.
Fellow American Tina Stephens dominated with 27 points in just 21 minutes of court time as Mandurah coach Vlad Alama was able to rest his starters often and share the playing minutes.
In all, 11 of Mandurah's 12 players hit the scoresheet, with the bench unit contributing 22 points.
The Flames will be considerably tougher to knock off. Last year's champions are peaking at the right end of the season and went within a whisker of handing Cockburn Cougars their first loss of 2025 in last weekend's qualifying final.
Thursday's game will be played at Rockingham's Mike Barnett Sports Complex from 6.30pm.
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