Rockingham Flames season over after semi-final loss to Mandurah Magic

The Rockingham Flames have bowed out of the NBL1 West 2022 playoffs, going down by just five points to local rivals Mandurah Magic at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre on Thursday. Magic had the rights to host the semi-final on the back of finishing the regular season in third position before an 11-point qualifying final loss last Friday night against the Joondalup Wolves. Rockingham brought winning form into the semi-final having beaten Lakeside Lightning on the road in a thriller last Saturday night after finishing the regular season in seventh. On their home turf, Magic got off to a flying start with Carly Boag hitting their opening seven points and her twin sister Christina picking up two early fouls for the Flames. Mandurah were able to turn that into a 25-14 lead by quarter-time before building the lead to as much as 13 points before the Flames were able to work their way back into the contest, led by Mehryn Kraker. The Flames went on to outscore the Magic 17 points to 11 in the second term to cut Mandurah’s lead to 36-31 by the half-time break. Mandurah managed to open up a double-figure lead once more throughout the third quarter and while Rockingham kept fighting, they couldn’t quite hit the front. A late free throw in the fourth quarter from games record holder Casy Mihovilovich helped Mandurah cross the line with a 77-72 win to advance to a preliminary final. However, the Magic were unable to overcome the top-seeded Warwick in a preliminary final the following night, with the Senators notching their 17th straight win 79-66. Warwick will face the Willeton Tigers for the NBL1 West championship at Bendat Basketball Centre on September 2.