Pivotal weekend in Slammers' playoff hopes (Week 16 Women's SBL Preview)

THE South West Slammers' women's playoff credentials go on the line this weekend when they take on both the Perry Lakes Hawks and Cockburn Cougars and if they fail to win they could slip out of the top eight if the East Perth Eagles are able to beat the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

The Week 16 looms as a fascinating and crucial one as the Hawks, Slammers, Cougars and Eagles continue to fight over eighth position while the third and fourth placed teams Mandurah and Joondalup also do battle along with a grand final rematch between Rockingham and Lakeside.

There are three games on Friday night tipping off at 6.30pm with the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers playing the Perry Lakes Hawks at Eaton Recreation Centre, the Mandurah Magic taking on the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre, and the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames facing the Lakeside Lightning at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

There are then four matches on Saturday night with three of them at 6pm with the Schweigen East Perth Eagles playing the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre, the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars battling the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers at Wally Hagan Stadium and the Stirling Senators facing the Mandurah Magic at Warwick Leisure Centre.

Then at 6.30pm on Saturday night, the Perth Redbacks play the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers at Curtin Stadium.

Finally on Sunday at midday, the Perry Lakes Hawks take on the Perth Redbacks at Bendat Basketball Centre.

The action begins on Friday night, with the Slammers and Hawks meeting in a crucial contest as both of them continue to fight over a playoffs position.

The Slammers come into the contest with a 6-9 record having now lost nine of their last 11 games after starting the season on fire with four straight wins.

Perry Lakes, meanwhile, has also been struggling in recent times after a strong start to the 2015 campaign winning six of its first eight matches.

Since then, the Hawks have won just once in eight attempts meaning that both the Slammers and Hawks are desperately trying to get back to their early season form.

The Slammers and Hawks played earlier in the season back in Week 6 and it was a tight contest with Perry Lakes ending up beating South West by four points at Bendat Basketball Centre.

It's another tantalising contest on Friday night with the third placed Magic taking on the fourth placed Wolves.

Both teams currently sit comfortably inside the top four, but a loss would open the door for them to still drop into the bottom half of the top eight while a win will see them keep pace with the top

The Magic are now sitting at 12-3 having won their last four matches with the Wolves holding a 14-4 record winning three of their last five games.

The Magic and Wolves played one another earlier in the season back in Week 8 when the Lady Wolfpack prevailed 73-54 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium.

The Flames and Lightning meet in the last game on Friday night in the grand final rematch from last year, but it's certainly not a top-of-the-table clash this time around.

Rockingham has gone on from winning the 2014 championship to back up with another strong 2015 currently sitting on top of the standings at 15-1 having now won eight matches on the trot. Meanwhile, Lakeside sits in last place at 1-17 having now lost their last eight games.

The first grand final match up of the year took place back in Week 5 and it was the Flames who again scored a commanding 95-56 victory at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

Then on Saturday night, the Eagles take on the Suns in another big game for both teams.

East Perth remains in the hunt for a top eight position having now won three of its last five games to improve to a 5-11 record, but the Eagles do need to keep winning to knock out one of the teams currently occupying a place in the top eight.

Kalamunda might have lost last Saturday to the Willetton Tigers, but they bounced back on Sunday downing the Perry Lakes Hawks and that's seen the Eastern Suns win nine of their last 10 games to be sitting comfortably in fifth position and remaining a chance to break into the top four still.

The Suns and Eagles played one another in Week 12 and it was Kalamunda who proved far too good winning 85-62 at Ray Owen Sports Centre, but East Perth is playing considerably better basketball than that at the moment.

The Slammers then back up their crucial clash with the Hawks on Friday night by taking on the Cougars on Saturday night in another clash that could be crucial in determining who ends up making the playoffs in 2015.

South West will either be 7-9 or 6-10 depending on what happens on Friday night, and could be out of the top eight by Saturday night with two losses in those 24 hours, or two wins would go a long way to securing their playoff position.

Cockburn, meanwhile, has now lost five of their last seven matches to be 7-11 and in danger of being chased down by the Eagles as well for eighth position.

Cockburn and South West met back in Week 7 with the Slammers scoring a commanding 81-58 victory on that occasion at Eaton Recreation Centre.

The Magic then back up their clash with the Wolves on Friday night taking on the Senators on Saturday with Stirling to host Mandurah, but looking for just their fourth win of the season with the Senators currently sitting on a 3-13 record to appear out of the playoff race.

Stirling and Mandurah played way back in Week 2 and in that contest it was the Senators who ended up winning 68-58 at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

The final game on Saturday night sees the Redbacks take on the Tigers with Perth looking to put an end to their four-game losing streak while Willetton just needs to keep winning to consolidate their top two position, and to remain a chance of unseating the league-leading Rockingham Flames.

Willetton scored a commanding 81-44 win over Perth last time the teams met back in Week 7 at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

And finally on Sunday, the Hawks host the Redbacks with Perry Lakes coming off playing the Slammers on Friday night, and Perth having taken on the Tigers on Saturday.

The Redbacks didn’t have a night to remember last time up against the Hawks losing by 30 points at Curtin Stadium back in Week 7.

WEEK 16 WOMEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers v Perry Lakes Hawks, Eaton Recreation Centre 6.30pm
Mandurah Magic v Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves, Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre 6.30pm
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames v Lakeside Lightning, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 6.30pm

SATURDAY
Schweigen East Perth Eagles v Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 6pm
Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars v Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers, Wally Hagan Stadium 6pm
Stirling Senators v Mandurah Magic, Warwick Leisure Centre 6pm
Perth Redbacks v Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers, Curtin Stadium 6.30pm

SUNDAY
Perry Lakes Hawks v Perth Redbacks, Bendat Basketball Centre 12pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Ashley Pearce




Comments

Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.

Refreshing your Website?

Mobile responsive websites made easy using the new Stack Commerce Website Theme. Subscribe and enhance your site using our range of Add On Features including an integrated Shop.

Laptops showing the Stack Commerce Website Theme.