Mandurah Magic women take down Perth Redbacks

A strong first half followed by a dominant third quarter gave the Magic all the leeway they needed to come away with a 23-point win, setting them up to claim the minor premiership in the final round of the home-and-away season.

Mandurah opened the game with the first three baskets as they jumped out to a six-point lead, but found themselves in a tussle with Perth as the Redbacks conjured a 9-3 run to steal the early advantage.

The lead changed hands a number of times in the first, but a Morgan Ballantyne jump shot in the dying seconds saw the Magic go into quarter-time up by three.

The Magic maintained the lead throughout the second and seven points from star guard Nici Gilday in the final three minutes allowed them to escape to a 10-point buffer at the half.

But it was the third that saw the Magic completely assert their dominance.

Led by nine points from centre Carly Boag, Mandurah was able to pile on 21 points while restricting the Redbacks to just nine.

Their stout defence in the third allowed them to finish off the game comfortably, with an 80-57 victory on the road.

Gilday finished the night with a game-high 21 points to go with four rebounds and four assists, while Boag starred again with 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists and five steals.

The victory keeps Mandurah’s hopes of taking first place off Perry Lakes before the end of the season alive.

The Magic sit just one win behind Perry Lakes with a game left on their schedule, while the Hawks will have a bye in the final round having played their 22 matches.

Mandurah also hold the advantage in percentage, meaning if they can claim a win in their final game against the fourth-placed Stirling this weekend, they will end the regular in first.

A victory would see the Magic enter a finals series against either Perth or Cockburn on a three-game win streak.