Doolittle +34, Pepper hot as Wildcats crush Cairns

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Perth Wildcats guard Elijah Pepper wore out nets in the NBL1 West Conference last season, busting 259 points in just five games combined for the Warwick Senators.

Last night against the Cairns Taipans (2-6) he showed that elite ability to shoot the ball as the Wildcats (4-3) manhandled the visitors 110-78 at Cairns Convention Centre.

Pepper dropped 18 points in 19:26 minutes on 7-from-10 from the field, including 3-from-4 threes. He also had four assists.

"I feel good," the 24-year-old Pepper said in the post game press conference with head coach John Rillie.

"Obviously, shots haven’t been going in lately, but one of the things I’ve talked about with the coaches is staying confident and staying ready — and it paid off tonight for sure.

"It’s always a good thing when you’re able to make your first shot coming off the bench

"As I said earlier, just trying to stay aggressive and know my role — hopefully that continues throughout the year.

"When the offense is flowing, everybody kind of gets a piece of the cake. You’re happy to see a win like that and see everybody be successful."

The Wildcats had slipped to 6th in the basketball.com.au Power Rankings after back to back losses in Round 5 and Rillie was impressed with the response to start Round 6.

"Our preparation over the last couple of days for this game — we had a nice approach to it I told the guys afterwards, the way we practiced yesterday, you get rewarded with that stuff," Rillie said.

"It’s not as if we’re not practicing and trying to do the right things, but we just had a very good group purpose to the way we went about it yesterday, and it carried over to the floor for sure."

Pepper's 36.2 points per game, 6.7 rebounds, 7.6 assists 2.2 steals, 87% from the free throw line and 51% from the field in NBL1 2025 is starting to translate at the next level.

Elijah Pepper’s Top 5 2025 NBL Scoring Outbursts

• April 5, 2025: 50 points; seven rebounds; and seven assists
• April 12, 2025: 52 points; three rebounds; and six assists
• April 17, 2025: 48 points; five rebounds; and eight assists
• April 26, 2025: 50 points; 10 rebounds; and five assists
• July 19, 2025: 59 points; four rebounds; and nine assists

Taipans head coach Adam Forde said this team simply wasn't executing, compounded by the absence of injured stars, million-dollar man Jack McVeigh and Sam Waardenburg

"It’s frustrating, because it feels like it’s a bit of a roll of the dice at the moment," Forde admitted.

"We say and do all the right things — we talk about the points of emphasis we have at practice and even pregame — and you’ve got players who put importance on what needs to get done and how we do it.

"We say it, and then we don’t necessarily do it. We don’t do it.

"That first quarter, there are 21 defensive possessions we have to defend, and it’s not until the 21st possession — at the end of the first quarter — that we finally send Ben Henshall on his non-preferred hand. The first 20 possessions are all JLA right hand; Doolittle right hand; Wagstaff able to get to his right hand.

"We were super passive in a lot of these actions. It’s not like we were super effective on the offensive end, but we were still able to tick the scoreboard over — so it was deceiving to see the scoreboard say we’re down eight at the quarter, when the reality was Perth were getting whatever they wanted.

"Again, in those 21 possessions there were two where we finally had JLA going to his left hand — cool, we fouled him and sent him to the line. There was another one that was heavily contested, and KG comes in unnecessarily when Alex had it, dumps it off to Aquera for an uncontested layup.

"That was the frustrating part: you sort of know what needs to get done, and we just watched it happen. We burned two timeouts in the first quarter trying to address it. Again, we say and do the right things — and then we don’t execute it.

"It’s a roll of the dice: sometimes the starters are good and we don’t know what’s happening with the bench; sometimes it’s vice versa. I think tonight was an example of no one really stepping up to the mark to get it done, and it showed in the scoreline.

Key Details

• Result: Perth Wildcats 110 def. Cairns Taipans 78
• When: 22nd of October 2025
• Where: Cairns Convention Centre, Cairns
• Standings

By the Numbers

• Jo Lual-Acuil Jr (Perth) starred with 24 points, three rebounds, two assists, and three blocks in 22 minutes.
• Admiral Schofield (Cairns) scored 16 points and had five rebounds, three assists in 28 minutes.

What Happened

Perth established dominance early, taking a 30-22 lead after the first quarter and extending it to 60-42 by halftime. The Wildcats maintained their momentum throughout the second half, outscoring Cairns 28-20 in the third quarter and 22-16 in the fourth to secure the commanding 32-point victory. The visitors controlled the game for nearly 39 minutes, with Cairns holding the lead for just 18 seconds.

The Wildcats' efficient offense was the story of the night. They shot an outstanding 57.5% from the field (42-from-73) compared to Cairns' 40% (28-from-70). Perth was particularly lethal from beyond the arc, connecting on 11-from-21 three-pointers (52.4%) while the Taipans managed just 30.3% (10-from-33). This shooting disparity proved decisive as Perth built their biggest lead to 34 points during a dominant performance.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr was exceptional for Perth, scoring 24 points on 10-from-16 shooting in just 22 minutes of play. Kristian Doolittle added 18 points and eight rebounds with a game-high plus-minus of +34, while Elijah Pepper contributed 18 points off the bench, shooting an efficient 7-from-10 from the field including 3-from-4 from three-point range. Perth's balanced attack saw five players score in double figures.

The Wildcats dominated the glass, out-rebounding Cairns 46-31, including 13 offensive rebounds that led to valuable second-chance opportunities. Perth's ball security was also superior, committing just five turnovers compared to Cairns' 11. The Wildcats converted these advantages into a 22-point edge in points in the paint (52-30) and a 14-point advantage in fast-break points (20-6), showcasing their complete control in all facets of the game.

For Cairns, Admiral Schofield led the way with 16 points but shot just 7-from-16 from the field. Reyne Smith added 13 points and five assists, while Andrew Andrews, Kyle Adnam, and Kody Stattmann each contributed 10 points in the losing effort. The Taipans struggled defensively throughout the contest, unable to contain Perth's efficient offense or generate enough stops to mount any sustained comeback attempt.