Wildcats' winning streak ends against Hawks

The Wildcats were playing catchup from the get-go, giving up 38 points in the opening term which they spent the entire night unsuccessfully trying to reel in.

The loss didn’t come without a fight though, with Perth getting to within six points late in the third quarter to give the home side a scare.

But Illawarra held their nerve for just their fourth win of the season and second in three games under interim coach Justin Tatum.

Jordan Usher was a positive in a losing cause, providing a spark off the bench to finish with a team-high 17 points to go with four rebounds.

Skipper Jesse Wagstaff and Frenchman Alex Sarr contributed 13 points apiece, while Kristian Doolittle had 11 and Keanu Pinder (10 rebounds and nine points) fell one shy of a double-double game.

Guard Kyle Zunic started for the first time this season, replacing Tai Webster who didn’t make the trip because of illness.

The Hawks remarkably scored the opening 12 points of the match before Doolittle hit a steadying three which fellow import Usher matched soon after.

That was about as good as it got in the first quarter, with Illawarra dropping 38 to just 18, capped off by a buzzer-beater triple from Will Hickey who was causing plenty of issues at both ends of the floor.

Perth went on a 9-0 run midway through the second term with Corey Webster nailing a couple of big buckets in his return from an ankle injury.

Things improved defensively late in the half with Michael Harris producing a team-lifting block as soon as he came on, with Keanu Pinder and Wagstaff following suit.

After trailing 58-43 at half-time, the margin blew out to as much as 18 in the third quarter before the Wildcats stormed back before three-quarter time.

Usher was having a real offensive impact to help cut the score to 73-65 by the final change and give the Wildcats hope which eventually faded.

The Wildcats return home to prepare for a tough assignment against Tasmania at RAC Arena next Friday night.