Lloyd, Allen lead the way for Flames

The Rockingham Flames welcomed State Basketball League powerhouse the Joondalup Wolves to Mike Barnett Sports Complex last weekend, with the Flames women tasting victory while the men narrowly lost.

Action tipped off last Saturday with the women’s Flames recording an impressive 81-67 victory over the lady Wolfpack.

Led by standout performances from D’Lesha Lloyd and Maddison Allen, the Flames simply had too much firepower for Joondalup as they led at every internal to record their fifth win of the season.

Lloyd scored 26 points while Allen picked up 21 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.

Meanwhile, the men narrowly went down in 81-83 in a clash in which Joondalup solidified their place at the top of early season standings.

Both teams came in with winning form and the Wolves showed there would be no hangover from their clash with East Perth a day earlier as they made an impressive start.

Trailing at each interval the Flames needed a big fourth quarter to give themselves any sort of chance.

They outscored Joondalup 20-16 in the fourth, with Greg Hire’s late lay-up narrowing the gap to just two points with 12 seconds left, but it was not enough and the Wolfpack made the long journey home with a vital road win in the bag.

Josh Ritchart top scored for the Flames with 31 points and 10 rebounds while new import Curtis Washington picked up 15 points.

Jalen Billups was the star for Joondalup as he picked up 27 points and 10 rebounds.

This weekend both Flames teams return to the court with a double-header on Saturday night against the Willetton Tigers.

The men then face a short turnaround for a huge clash against the Geraldton Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

Tip-off for Sunday’s clash is at 12pm.