THE women's SBL playoffs for 2014 begin with four quarter-final match ups this Saturday night with the lowest ranked teams playing host and trying to get a fast start against their more fancied opponents.

All four opening games of the women's SBL quarter-final series' will be taking place this Saturday night with the lowest ranked teams at the end of the regular season hosting the encounters.

The highest ranked teams will then host firstly the Game 2 of each series first up next weekend and then also the deciding Game 3 if required.

The action on Saturday night begins at 6pm with the Stirling Senators hosting the Joondalup Wolves at Warwick Leisure Centre and the Mandurah Magic taking on the Lakeside Lightning at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

The final two matches of Saturday night then both tip-off at 7.30pm with the Willetton Tigers playing the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames at Willetton Basketball Stadium and the Soprano Lady Cougars taking on the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Wally Hagan Stadium.

The Senators finished the regular season in sixth position with a 12-10 record but they didn’t finish the campaign with much momentum having lost four of their last five matches heading into their quarter-final match up with the Wolves.

Coming off winning last year's women's SBL championship, the Wolves finished the regular season with a 15-7 to end up in third position heading into the playoffs.

Only five points separated the two teams in their two meetings during the regular season with the Wolves winning at home 64-61 back in Week 6 and then at Warwick Leisure Centre in Week 16, the Senators hit back to win a thriller 83-81.

For much of the regular season, the Magic were threatening for a top four berth until a run of losing six of seven games leading into last Saturday night's win over the South West Slammers meant they only ended up in seventh position with a 12-10 record.

That now sees the Magic take on the second-placed Lightning in the quarter finals who are in outstanding form having won nine straight matches heading into the playoffs having recorded a 19-3 record.

The Lightning also didn’t lose a game at home all season long so for the Magic to be any chance of coming away with an upset quarter-final win, it appears Saturday night's Game 1 at home for them is a virtual must-win affair.

The Lightning beat the Magic in both meetings during the regular season starting in Week 10 when they scored an 86-61 victory at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

The Lightning again won the return encounter at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre 69-58 in Week 17.

The Tigers and Flames might be pitting eighth against first from the end of the regular season, but it could very well be a much closer quarter-final match up than that.

And Willetton only needs to reflect back to 2013 to realise that it isn’t out of the realms of possibility for the lowest ranked playoff team to beat the minor premiers.

The Tigers finished the 2013 regular season as the minor premiers but then lost in the quarter finals to the South West Slammers and they will now be looking to turn that around this year and do that very same thing to the Flames.

However, that certainly won't be easy with Rockingham entering the playoffs on a 20-2 record after winning its opening 17 matches of season.

The Flames won both the meetings between the two teams during the regular season, at home emphatically and then only narrowly at Willetton.

Rockingham thrashed Willetton in Week 2 of the season winning 94-50 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex but it was a much tighter affair in Week 9 at Willetton Basketball Stadium with the Flames ending up winning 80-76.

It looms as a fascinating series, though, and one with plenty of talent on show led by Rockingham's Samantha Whitcomb, Darcee Garbin, Jacinta Bourne, Kaye Tucker and Tarsha Fletcher, and Willetton's Lisa Wallbutton, Antonia Edmondson, Jacinta Bourne, Ebony Antonio and Melissa Marsh.

The Cougars and Eastern Suns came into the season expecting to be in the mix for the women's championship and by the end of the regular season little has changed, but only one of them will be advancing to the semi finals.

Cockburn finished the regular season in fifth position with a 13-9 record and with a five-game winning streak while Kalamunda ended up in fourth spot with a 14-8 record having won seven straight matches before losing to the Joondalup Wolves last Friday night.

Both teams have an abundance of standout players as well with Alison Schwagmeyer, Jennie Rintala, Adrienne Jones, Chelsea Armstrong, Jessie Edwards, Melissa Moyle and Sarah-Jane Knox leading the way for the Eastern Suns.

Then with Emma Pass, Marita Payne, Samantha Richards, Taryn Priestly and Chelsea Evans, the Cougars have more than enough firepower to be able to go all the way in 2014 if all things come together over the next month.

The two teams split their meetings during the regular season with the Cougars winning the opening match of the campaign way back on March 14 coming away 72-62 victors at Wally Hagan Stadium.

It then took until Week 15 for the two teams to face off again and on that occasion it was the Eastern Suns who scored a thumping 95-55 victory at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

WEEK 1 WOMEN'S QUARTER FINALS SBL FIXTURES
SATURDAY
(6) Stirling Senators v (3) Joondalup Wolves, Warwick Leisure Centre 6pm
(7) Mandurah Magic v (2) Lakeside Lightning, Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre 6pm
(8) Willetton Tigers v (1) Orange Autos Rockingham Flames, Willetton Basketball Stadium 7.30pm
(5) Soprano Lady Cougars v (4) Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Wally Hagan Stadium 7.30pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin