Championship Women (1^st 8-1): vs. Ringwood (7^th 3-7) @ Maroondah Indoor Sports Centre, Saturday 6.15pm

With every win the Lady Cats are a step closer to ending a 10 year playoff drought, and should have no trouble with a struggling Ringwood squad on Saturday night. Coach Grantley Bernard was impressed with the way his side fought their way to victory against the second placed Bulleen last Saturday. “It was a pleasing win given we were placed under a lot of defensive pressure and were tested for 40 minutes,” he said. “We probably didn't play as well as we would have liked, but will learn a lot from the game.” He is also not underestimating the Hawks, who rely on American duo Amanda Behnke and Kate LaViolette and Katie Shanahan for their scoring output. “Although their win-loss record is not great, they have been very competitive and will be hard to break down on their home court,” Bernard said. “So we again have to commit to defence, rebounding and running hard in transition both ways to get a result." Maddy Taylor is an early favourite for Player of the Month honours. Taylor, who had a stint in the WNBL with the AIS over summer, is averaging 17.3ppg and 6.8rpg for the month of May, including 19 and 10 in the win over the Boomers.

Division 1 Men (1^st 8-1): vs. Southern Peninsula (2^nd 6-2) @ The Arena Annexe, Sunday 3.00pm

Like their women counterparts, the Cats are also closing in on booking a berth in August action. However unlike the Lady Cats, the men face a tough ask against an impressive Southern Peninsula roster, and will have to do it without veteran duo Paul Hutchison and Nick Van Der Klooster who are both unavailable. Shayne Bow’s charges take an eight match winning streak into the clash, with their first and only loss coming against the Sharks on the opening weekend of the season. On that night, Southern Peninsula restricted the Cats to just 55 points in a 16 point win. However, former Supercat Jason Reardon (23ppg, 13 rpg) hadn’t joined the roster at that stage. Coach Bow will be hoping for a better start than the one made by the Cats in last week’s 94-71 win over the struggling La Trobe University. They were outscored 16-2 in the opening half of the first quarter against the Eagles, before finally clicking into gear. Despite the 8-1 record, coach Bow is well aware there’s plenty of improvement left in his squad. “Our foul shooting (7-20 against La Trobe) needs to improve if we are going to be a serious finals contender.”

Youth League Women (4^th 6-4): vs. Hume City (5^th 4-4) @ The Arena Showcourt, Saturday 5.30pm

The Young Lady Cats will make their first of three appearances on The Arena Showcourt in a must win clash against Hume City. Kat Clancy’s squad is coming off an ordinary 74-54 loss to Hawthorn, and a similar performance against the Broncos will result in a similar outcome. “Sunday was a timely wake-up call,” Clancy said. “It will hopefully be the performance we look back on as a turning point in our season.” With Lady Cats’ trio Mel Schwarz, Vicki King and Ash Hatton all expected to be on senior duty, on-court leaders Tash Daffy and Jess Watson will need to step-up. Both struggled in the loss to the Magic, with Daffy finding foul trouble and Watson going 0-9 from the field. “Hume City is a side we’ll be competing with for a finals spot, so its imperative we protect our home court and get the win,” Clancy said. A more circumspect approach from behind the three-point line wouldn’t go astray, after nailing just eight of 37 attempts last week.

Youth League Men (8^th 2-6): vs. Sherbrooke (4^th 5-4) @ The Arena Annexe, Sunday 1.00pm

With confidence slowly returning following their second win of the season against Eltham 108-81 on Sunday, the Young Cats will be looking to keep their playoff hopes alive with a win over Sherbrooke. The line-up they take into the contest will dictate how they perform against the Suns. However with the senior men playing the night before, don’t be surprised if Steve Wiasak and former Supercat Dane Bow both suit up for coach David Brown. The experienced duo provided some much needed additional scoring in the wake of the previous night’s 100-56 loss to Melbourne. “The confidence and feeling that the tough season we have had so far could easily be different if we had our key players available at all times,” Brown said. “The younger players though are getting great opportunities.” Among them are talented young big man Jonathon Steele and Andy Przybylkiewicz, who both played key back-up roles on the weekend.