THE Willetton Tigers and Cockburn Cougars were two women's teams hoping to contend for the SBL championship in 2014 but now are battling just to remain in the finals mix when they meet in one of seven matches in Week 13 of the competition.

There are four women's matches on Friday night with the Mandurah Magic playing the Perth Redbacks at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre and the Perry Lakes Hawks facing the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers at the WA Basketball Centre.

The Soprano Lady Cougars also battle the Willetton Tigers at Wally Hagan Stadium and the Stirling Senators take on the Schweigen East Perth Eagles at Warwick Leisure Centre.

All four matches tip-off at 6.30pm.

The Magic take on the Redbacks looking to bounce back from a loss to Joondalup last Sunday to maintain fourth spot while Perth just wants to win for the first time this year.

The Magic currently sit on a 9-4 record but have lost two of their last three matches and won only two from four games at home this year. Meanwhile, the Redbacks' losing run to start the year now stretches to 14.

The two teams already played once this season back in Week 3 with Mandurah hammering Perth at Belmont Oasis 101-51.

The Hawks host the Slammers with Perry Lakes coming into the match on a five-game losing run while South West's form has been in the opposition direction have won three consecutive matches.

The Slammers sit in eighth position on a 5-7 record while the Hawks are 4-8 in ninth so despite their differing recent form, little separates them in the standings and the result could either see South West shoot two games clear or the two teams end up on the same number of wins.

The Cougars and Tigers meet in a battle of two teams who came into 2014 expecting to be genuine championship favourites, but now need to win on Friday night with their finals positions at all in jeopardy.

The Cougars recruited heavily in the off-season under new coach Deanna Smith but the rewards aren’t showing just yet with Cockburn now having lost three straight matches to currently hold just a 6-7 record and to sit in seventh position in the standings.

The Tigers, meanwhile, finished on top of the table at the end of last year's regular season before bowing out in the quarter finals to the South West Slammers, and now they have struggled in 2014 to currently sit on just a 4-9 record in 10th position.

Cockburn did already take on Willetton in Week 2 of this season with the Cougars winning that clash on the road 75-63.

The Senators then face the Eagles with Stirling looking to keep in touch with the top-four while East Perth is just looking to end a disappointing losing streak.

The Senators lost last Sunday in a thriller to the Slammers by just two points but before that had been in hot form and they currently sit in fifth position in the standings with an 8-4 record.

Stirling also has an impressive 5-1 record at home heading into Friday clash with an East Perth team that has now lost eight matches on the trot to now hold just a 2-12 record. The Eagles also are winless from seven matches on the road.

The two teams met in Week 2 of this season at Morley with the Eagles recording a 67-62 victory over the Senators.

Then there are three women's matches on Saturday night with the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers playing the Soprano Lady Cougars at Eaton Recreation Centre at 6pm.

And at 6.30pm, the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames face the Stirling Senators at Mike Barnett Sports Complex and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns face the Perry Lakes Hawks at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

The Slammers host the Cougars with both coming off having played on Friday with South West having taken on the Hawks at the WA Basketball Centre and the Cougars having faced the Tigers at home.

The unbeaten, league-leading Flames then do battle with a Senators team having already played on the Friday night at home to the Eagles.

Rockingham remains the dominant team in the women's SBL so far in 2014 having won its opening 15 matches.

The round concludes with the Eastern Suns playing their only match of the weekend against a Hawks team having already taken on the Slammers at home on Friday night.

The Suns enter the match coming off a disappointing loss to the Lakeside Lightning last weekend and on a 6-7 record in sixth position in the standings.

WEEK 13 WOMEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Mandurah Magic v Perth Redbacks, Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre 6.30pm
Perry Lakes Hawks v Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers, WA Basketball Centre 6.30pm
Soprano Lady Cougars v Willetton Tigers, Wally Hagan Stadium 6.30pm
Stirling Senators v Schweigen East Perth Eagles, Warwick Leisure Centre 6.30pm

SATURDAY
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers v Soprano Lady Cougars, Eaton Recreation Centre 6pm
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames v Stirling Senators, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 6.30pm
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Perry Lakes Hawks, Ray Owen Sports Centre 6.30pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by June Halliday