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A successful Grand Final Day at Bendat Basketball Centre for our WABL Championship Men’s and Women’s divisions concluded with two worthy champions being crowned for the 2022 season.

In the Women’s grand final, the minor premiers Perry Lakes Hawks took on Willetton Tigers Blue, with the guard match-up of Millie McCarthy (Hawks) and Grace Foster (Tigers) not disappointing. McCarthy scored 19 points while Foster had a game-high 27 points with seven 3-pointers. For the Hawks, forward Ellie Newman had a team-high 22 points with four 3-pointers while guard Malia Tharpe added 17 points. For the Tigers, centre combo Kiara Waite and Caitlin Lord had 15 points and 13 points respectively. The first half produced a neck-and-neck battle before the Hawks broke the game open in the third quarter, bringing that momentum into the fourth quarter and sealing the win with a 77–67 victory. McCarthy was named Grand Final MVP.

In the Men’s grand final, the minor premiers Cockburn Cougars took on the Perth Redbacks in an exciting overtime thriller. The match-up produced an intriguing battle between versatile wings Luke Phillips (Cougars) and Denzel Jackson (Redbacks), with Phillips scoring a game-high 30 points with four 3-pointers and Jackson scoring a team-high 22 points by forcing his way into the paint all game. For the Cougars, guard Matt Clifford contributed 17 points while Luke’s brother Keegan Phillips had five 3-pointers for 16 points. For the Redbacks, guard Michael Riley had 18 points while big man Jordan Deegan added 15 points down low. The intriguing match-ups led to a close back-and-forth affair all game long, with no more than a few points separating the teams at any point during the four quarters. With scores tied at 79–79 at the end of regulation, the Cougars took control of the game in overtime as they held the Redbacks to three points, running away victors with a 90–82 win. Luke Phillips was named Grand Final MVP.

Grand Finals wrap

Women
PERRY LAKES HAWKS 77 vs Willetton Tigers Blue 67 Click here for box score
Grand Final MVP: Millie McCarthy (Hawks)
Referees: Kyle Gammidge and Ethan Lloyd

Men
COCKBURN COUGARS 90 vs Perth Redbacks 82 (OT) Click here for box score
Grand Final MVP: Luke Phillips (Cougars)
Referees: Austin Kraplijanov and Ben Allen

Click here for the historical list of Champions for Div1/D-League