WEEK 15 of the women's SBL is spread over all three days of the weekend with the highlight appearing to be the battle between the Willetton Tigers on a four-game winning run and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns on Saturday night who have won nine straight.

The Week 15 women's SBL action gets underway on Friday night with two matches tipping off at 6.30pm with the Lakeside Lightning playing the Stirling Senators at Lakeside Recreation Centre, and the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames taking on the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

Then on Saturday night there are four women's SBL matches with each of them with a 6pm tip-off.

The Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves play the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers at Joondalup Basketball Stadium, the Schweigen East Perth Eagles host the Perth Redbacks at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre, the Perry Lakes Hawks face the Lakeside Lightning at Bendat Basketball Centre and the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers battle the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Willetton Basketball Centre.

Then finally on Sunday afternoon at midday, the Kalamunda Eastern Suns take on the Perry Lakes Hawks at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

Starting on Friday night, the Lightning take on the Senators with both teams on significant losing streaks, and desperate to try to avoid finishing 2015 with the wooden spoon.

The Lightning have won just one game so far this season and have now lost seven on the trot with Stirling having just two victories for the year and currently on an eight-match losing streak. The winner of Friday's game might very well avoid finishing last in 2015.

The Lightning and Senators did meet back in Week 7 of this season and it was a thriller on that Friday night at Warwick Leisure Centre, with Stirling winning 79-76 to continue to deny Lakeside its first win of the season that didn’t come until Week 9 against the Perth Redbacks.

The Flames and Cougars meet in Friday night's other contest and both teams needing to win with Rockingham looking to maintain top position, and Cockburn to consolidate its position inside the top eight.

The defending champion Flames remain on top of the standings coming into Week 15 having won seven straight matches to be on 14-1, but they do need to keep winning to hold off the strong challenge coming from the Willetton Tigers.

The Cougars, meanwhile, have now lost three of their last four matches but remain inside the top eight with a 7-10 record and can further consolidate their playoff credentials with what would be an upset win over the Flames.

The Flames and Cougars played earlier this season back in Week 4 and on that Saturday night at Wally Hagan Stadium, it was Rockingham who proved far too good winning 92-44, but expect a much tighter contest this time around.

And then on Saturday night, the Wolves and Slammers meet in a tantalising match up between two teams trying to get back to their best form.

The Lady Wolfpack have been outstanding for much of 2015, but have now lost two of their last three games including against the Rockingham Flames last Saturday night.

That sees Joondalup slip to a 13-4 record to be a game-behind both the Flames and Tigers, and having played two more than Rockingham and one more than Willetton, so getting back on the winner's list on Saturday night is crucial to the Wolves' chances of finishing in the top two.

The Slammers, though, won't be any pushover for the Wolves and they also need to get back to some winning form to guarantee a playoff berth. The Slammers have now slipped to a 6-8 record to only sit inside the top eight and needing to keep winning to hold off the challengers.

Back in Week 5, the Wolves and Slammers met at Eaton Recreation Centre and on that occasion it was the Lady Wolfpack who came away with the 85-63 victory away from home.

The Eagles and Redbacks were the two real strugglers back in 2014 but both have put together exciting young squads in 2015, and have shown some significant signs of improvement.

Already both have won more games than they did in all of 2014 and now they meet in a fascinating contest on Saturday night. East Perth comes into the contest at 4-11 and a win will keep its playoff hopes alive while Perth will continue its development from 3-12 with a strong showing.

East Perth and Perth clashed earlier this season in Week 4 at Curtin Stadium with the Redbacks ending up winning a nail-biter by three points.

The Lightning then back up their clash with the Senators from Friday night by travelling to the Bendat Basketball Centre to play a Hawks team that started the season so impressively, but now they have lost six straight matches to only just be clinging to a top eight spot.

Perry Lakes has gone from pressing for a top four position at 6-2 to now just holding to its place in the top eight at 6-8, and desperately need to get back on the winner's list against Lakeside at home on Saturday night.

Perry Lakes and Lakeside played one another back in Week 6 with the Hawks coming away with a 15-point victory that night from Lakeside Recreation Centre.

The last match on Saturday night then looks to be the undoubted match of the round between Willetton and Kalamunda at Willetton Basketball Centre.

The Tigers have now won four straight matches to have improved to a 14-2 record with the chance to take top spot if the Flames slip up.

But the Eastern Suns are the hottest team in the women's SBL right now having won nine straight matches to have rebounded from a horror 1-5 start to 2015, to now be sitting comfortably in fifth position at 10-5.

The match looms as a classic and could end up being one of the games of the season with plenty at stake. A loss for Willetton could end its chances of taking top spot from Rockingham while a loss for Kalamunda could mean it can no longer push into the top four.

Kalamunda and Willetton have already met this season with the Eastern Suns beating the Tigers 80-76 in a terrific contest at Ray Owen Sports Centre back in Week 7 on Anzac Day.

And finally on Sunday, the Eastern Suns and Hawks both have short turnarounds from playing big matches on Saturday night, but it's a crucial game again for both teams.

The Eastern Suns can still push for a top four spot if they are able to finish the weekend with two wins while the Hawks could be in danger of missing the playoffs altogether if they don’t come away with at least one win.

Last time the two teams met was earlier this season in Week 10 at the Bendat Basketball Centre with the Suns beating the Hawks by five points on a Friday night.

WEEK 15 WOMEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Lakeside Lightning v Stirling Senators, Lakeside Recreation Centre 6.30pm
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames v Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 6.30pm

SATURDAY
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves v Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers, Joondalup Basketball Stadium 6pm
Schweigen East Perth Eagles v Perth Redbacks, Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 6pm
Perry Lakes Hawks v Lakeside Lightning, Bendat Basketball Centre 6pm
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers v Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Willetton Basketball Stadium 6pm

SUNDAY
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Perry Lakes Hawks, Ray Owen Sports Centre 12pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin