WEEK 7 of the women's SBL season sees eight fascinating match ups across the four days that includes Anzac Day battles between the Flames and Magic who have one loss between them this season, and the Eagles and Senators who have combined for just the one victory so far.

There are eight women's SBL matches spread over the long weekend and it all starts on Friday night with the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves playing the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Joondalup Basketball Stadium and the Stirling Senators hosting the Lakeside Lightning at Warwick Leisure Centre.

There are then four matches on Saturday to commemorate Anzac Day starting at 2pm with the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames hosting the Mandurah Magic at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

Then at 6pm on Anzac Day evening, the Schweigen East Perth Eagles take on the Stirling Senators at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

Then finally at 6.30pm, the Perth Redbacks take on the Perry Lakes Hawks at Curtin Stadium and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns host the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

There is then the one fixture on Sunday at 4pm with the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers playing the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars at Eaton Recreation Centre and finally on Monday at midday, the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers face the Perth Redbacks at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

The Wolves and Suns open up the round on Friday night with the Lady Wolfpack looking to stretch their winning run to six matches while the Suns are still looking for their second win of the season.

Joondalup lost its opening game of the season to the Tigers, but hasn’t tasted defeat since beating the Suns, Senators, Slammers, Redbacks and Cougars to improve to a 5-1 record heading into the clash with the Eastern Suns.

Kalamunda lost its first three games of the season, then broke through for a win over the Cougars before losing to the defending champion Flames by two points in a thriller last Saturday night.

Last time the two teams met back in Round 2 saw the Wolves record a thumping 43-point victory with Nikita-Lee Martin, Rebecca Mercer, Nonila Martin, Ellyce Ironmonger and Casey Lockwood all scoring in double-figures for the winners.

The Senators and Lightning meet in Friday night's other women's match and with only one win between the two teams for the season so far, both are desperate for a victory.

Stirling won its first game of the season over Perth but has since lost to the Cougars, Magic, Slammers, Wolves and Hawks.

Meanwhile, the Lightning are yet to win in seven attempts this season coming off last year's grand final appearance with losses to the Cougars, Slammers, Redbacks, Tigers, Magic, Flames and Hawks.

Then on Anzac Day afternoon the Flames host the Magic in what looms as a fascinating contest between two teams that have suffered just the one loss so far in 2015.

The Flames are coming off winning the 2014 championship and have been on fire to open the new season beating the Eagles, Redbacks, Cougars, Hawks, Lightning, Slammers and Suns – even though last Saturday's win over the Eastern Suns was just by two points.

The Magic, meanwhile, was unbeaten up until last Sunday afternoon when they lost to the Cougars by four points at home. Prior to that Mandurah had beaten Kalamunda, Stirling, Perry Lakes, Perth, South West, Lakeside and East Perth to open the 2015 campaign.

The Senators then back up their clash at home to the Lightning on Friday by taking on the Eagles at Morley on Anzac Day evening.

While the Senators enter the weekend on a five-match losing run, the Eagles have lost their first eight matches of 2015 on the back of losing their last 16 of 2014 so have lost 24 straight heading into the Anzac Day clash with Stirling.

However, coach Narelle Henry has overseen a vastly more competitive Eagles unit in recent weeks that has seen them only lose to the Magic by three points, Tigers by six, Redbacks by three and Cougars by nine.

The improving Redbacks then host the in-form Hawks at Curtin also on Anzac Day evening with Perth having won two matches already this season having only managed to achieve that in all of 2014.

Perry Lakes, meanwhile, has won its last three matches to now improve to a 5-2 record to be in impressive form to start the new season.

The last match of Anzac Day then pits the Suns up against the unbeaten Tigers.

Kalamunda will be coming off its match with the Wolves on Friday night while the Tigers will be making their first appearance of the weekend and coming into the clash having won their opening five matches against the Wolves, Eagles, Cougars, Lightning and East Perth again.

The only match on Sunday sees the Slammers host the Cougars with South West desperate to bounce back with a win but it won't be easy against Cockburn.

The Slammers opened the season winning their first four matches but they have now lost their last four while the Cougars bounced back from a three-match losing streak to hand the Magic their first defeat of the season last Sunday to improve to a 4-5 record.

The Tigers and Redbacks then close out the round with Perth looking to show just how far it has improved this season by taking on a Willetton team entering the weekend yet to taste defeat this season.

WEEK 7 WOMEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves v Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Joondalup Basketball Stadium 6.30pm
Stirling Senators v Lakeside Lightning, Warwick Leisure Centre 6.30pm

SATURDAY
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames v Mandurah Magic, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 2pm
Schweigen East Perth Eagles v Stirling Senators, Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 6pm
Perth Redbacks v Perry Lakes Hawks, Curtin Stadium 6.30pm
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers, Ray Owen Sports Centre 6.30pm

SUNDAY
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers v Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars, Eaton Recreation Centre 4pm

MONDAY
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers v Perth Redbacks, Willetton Basketball Stadium 12pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin