WILLETTON'S women just about secured a playoff berth with a win on Saturday night while Perth kept its hopes of avoiding the wooden spoon alive while in men's Week 19 action, the Redbacks consolidated third spot and the Slammers replaced the Magic in eighth.

The two women's Week 19 fixtures on Saturday night saw the Perth Redbacks beat the Schweigen East Perth Eagles 72-67 at Belmont Oasis and the Willetton Tigers defeat the Joondalup Wolves 78-67 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium.

The Redbacks beat the Eagles at home by five points to record their second win of the 2014 season and to leave both teams equal on 2-19 records heading into the final round of the regular season.

Perth will now finish its season next week against Willetton on the road having won two of its last three games since opening the season with 18 straight defeats while East Perth plays the Cougars also away from home with the Eagles currently on a 15-match losing run.

Gabby O'Sullivan again top-scored for the Redbacks with 18 points, five rebounds and five steals with Jess Jakens contributing 17 points, 11 boards and two steals.

Alix Hayward added 12 points, nine rebounds and four steals as well for Perth with Jessica Hughes finishing with 12 points.

Stephanie Jones did all she could for the Eagles with 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots with Nicole Jorre St Jorre adding nine points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Emily Burton eight points and 10 boards.

The Wolves could do nothing but finish in third position no matter the result when they hosted the Tigers on Saturday night, and with more to play for it was Willetton who prevailed by 11 points.

Joondalup remains entrenched in third position with a 15-6 record while Willetton has now all but secured a playoff berth at 8-12 in eighth position.

Ebony Antonio led the way for the Tigers with 18 points with Melissa Marsh scoring 15 points, Antonia Edmondson 12 and Mikayla Pirini 10.

Lisa Wallbutton also finished with nine points, 14 rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists, and Emma Lobb five points, 10 boards and three assists.

Meanwhile in the men's action, the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers beat the Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers 104-102 at Eaton Recreation Centre and the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants upset the Mandurah Magic 116-111 at Kambalda Recreation Centre.

The Perth Redbacks also defeated the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 91-79 at Belmont Oasis and the Joondalup Wolves downed the Willetton Tigers 121-111 at Joondalup Basketball Stadium.

The Slammers had to beat the league-leading Buccaneers at home on Saturday night and then hope another result went their way to return to the top eight, and that's exactly what happened.

South West beat the Buccaneers in a thriller by two points and then replaced Mandurah in eighth position with the Magic's loss to the Giants.

The Slammers now improve to a 14-11 record but have just the one match remaining next weekend against the Magic at home so they will need to win that to stay in the top eight.

Despite the loss, Geraldton remains on top of the standings with a 17-7 record but the Buccs have now lost three straight matches.

Playing-coach Ty Harrelson led the way for the Slammers with 26 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds with Clive Weeden contributing 23 points and 11 boards, and Markus Monroe 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Bennie Lewis did all he could in a losing effort for the Buccaneers with 44 points while shooting 15-of-24 from the floor, 3-of-7 from three-point territory and 11-of-12 from the free-throw line.

Carter Cook added 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Buccs and Matt Wundenberg 14 points and 20 rebounds.

The Giants then scored the upset of the night beating the Magic in Kambalda by five points improving Goldfields to a 4-21 record but remaining on the bottom of the standings and with no chance of getting off.

However, it was a big loss for Mandurah with the Magic slipping to a 13-11 record to be in ninth position with two matches remaining next weekend against Willetton at home and South West away.

Adrian Majstrovich came up huge for the Giants finishing with 37 points, 14 rebounds and three assists while shooting 14-of-25 from the field, 2-of-5 from three-point territory and 8-of-10 from long range.

Duran Blue was equally as influential for Goldfields with 37 points, nine assists, five rebounds and three steals with Miles Tierney adding 17 points and Matthew Leske 13.

Paul Hafford top-scored for the Magic with 30 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and three steals with Rhett Della adding 26 points, 10 boards, seven assists and three steals.

Ben Smith also scored 19 points for Mandurah, Brendan Della 13 and Taylor Mullenax 13.

The Redbacks backed up their win over the Cougars on Friday night to beat the Eagles by 12 points at home on Saturday to improve to a 16-9 record in third position in the standings.

The result goes a long way to ensuring that the Redbacks will remain in that third spot come playoff time as well while the loss for the Eagles leaves them just fighting for a finals berth at all with a 14-11 record in seventh position.

Lee Roberts led the way for the Redbacks with 29 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks, three steals and three assists with Jarrad Prior contributing 14 points, Stan Okoye 12 and Marshall Nelson 11. Joel Wagner also finished with seven points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Kyle Armour tried hard for the Eagles with 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals with Jamie Barnett contributing 12 points and Drew Williamson 10.

The Tigers then had little to play for when heading to Joondalup but still put up a good fight before the Wolves prevailed by 10 points for the crucial victory.

The win improves the Wolfpack to a 14-11 record in sixth position while the Tigers remain in 12th on 8-15.

Four players all had at least 19 points for the Wolves with Trian Iliadis leading the way with 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Ephrem Davis added 24 points and seven boards for Joondalup with Seb Salinas finishing with 23 points and 13 boards, Rob Huntington 19 points and 13 rebounds, and the star of The Recruit on Foxtel, Reece Maxwell 11 points.

John Dickson did all he could for the Tigers with 36 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocked shots with Quinn McDowell adding 26 points, Jacob Reed 16 and Jake Burston 15.

SATURDAY WOMEN'S SBL MATCHES
Perth Redbacks 72 defeated Schweigen East Perth Eagles 67
Joondalup Wolves 67 lost to Willetton Tigers 78

SATURDAY MEN'S SBL MATCHES
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers 104 defeated Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers 102
Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants 116 defeated Mandurah Magic 111
Perth Redbacks 91 defeated Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles 79
Joondalup Wolves 121 defeated Willetton Tigers 111

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene-Elise Photography