PLENTY goes on the line in Week 19 of the women's SBL season across Friday, Saturday and Sunday with Rockingham and Lakeside fighting over the minor premiership while another four teams continue to be in the mix for fourth and three in race for eighth.

The Flames take on the Hawks and the Lightning face the Senators on Friday night with the results to have an impact on which teams finishes with the 2014 minor premiership.

The Eastern Suns, Senators and Cougars then also have important matches with the race tight for fourth position entering the playoffs while the Tigers, Slammers and Hawks continue to fight over that last finals place.

Bottom-place could also be determined on the weekend with the Eagles and Redbacks facing off on Saturday night.

The penultimate weekend of the regular season begins on Friday night with the Lakeside Lightning playing the Stirling Senators at Lakeside Recreation Centre with the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames hosting the Perry Lakes Hawks at Mike Barnett Sports Complex and the Soprano Lady Cougars battling the Perth Redbacks at Wally Hagan Stadium.

All three Friday night women's SBL matches tip-off at 6.30pm.

The Lightning and Senators will both be desperate to win when they battle on Friday night with Lakeside still eyeing off the minor premiership and Stirling hunting down a top four finish.

The Lightning are currently on a seven-match winning streak to have now improved to a 17-3 record and to sit just one game behind the league-leading Rockingham Flames.

A win on Friday over the Senators moves the Lightning a step closer to moving to top of the standings while a loss could end their minor premiership hopes.

The Senators, meanwhile, sit in fifth position currently with a 12-8 record despite having lost three of their last four matches. Stirling is just the one game behind the fourth-placed Kalamunda so Friday's result will be crucial in seeing the Suns in the running for a top four berth or not.

Also working in the Lightning's favour is that they are yet to lose at home this season having a perfect 9-0 record at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

The two teams met earlier this season in Week 11 and it was a thriller on that night at the Warwick Leisure Centre with the Senators prevailing 78-75 in the finish.

The Flames have now lost two of their last three matches after a 17-0 start to the 2014 women's season so they will be desperate to make a statement again when hosting the Hawks on Friday night.

Rockingham remains on top of the standings with a 18-2 record but the gap is now just one match to the Lakeside Lightning with both having two games of the season to go, so the minor premiership is not yet secure for the Flames.

And the Hawks also need to win on Friday night to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Perry Lakes currently sits in 10th position with a 6-14 record but is just the one game behind the eighth-placed Willetton Tigers.

The Flames and Hawks last played back in Week 12 and it was Rockingham who scored a thumping 89-50 win that night at the WA Basketball Centre.

The seventh-placed Cougars take on the last-placed Redbacks on Friday as well but Cockburn will have to be mindful of an improving Perth outfit.

The Cougars currently sit in seventh position in the standings with an 11-9 record while on a three-game winning streak. Cockburn is guaranteed of playing finals in 2014 but will be looking to move up as far from seventh position as it can starting with a win on Friday over Perth.

However, the Redbacks are coming off their first win of the season last week over the South West Slammers and will be setting themselves to upset the Cougars' run into the playoffs.

Cockburn and Perth played earlier this year in Week 10 with the Cougars winning 71-53 at Belmont Oasis.

Then on Saturday night, the Perth Redbacks back up to take on the Schweigen East Perth Eagles at Belmont Oasis with the Joondalup Wolves hosting the Willetton Tigers at Joondalup Basketball Stadium also at 6pm.

The Redbacks will back up from facing the Cougars on Friday to host the Eagles on Saturday in an encounter that could very well determine the wooden spoon recipient for 2014.

The Redbacks enter the weekend on a 1-18 record but have been playing better basketball of late.

The Eagles, meanwhile, started the season encouragingly with two wins in their opening six matches, but now are on a 14-match losing streak and a 2-18 record.

The women's SBL bottom two teams played earlier this season in Week 5 with the Eagles beating the Redbacks 68-60 at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

The Wolves are out to further cement third position and the Tigers to remain in eighth making their clash on Saturday another one with plenty riding on the result.

Joondalup is now on a three-match winning streak and a 15-5 record on the season to be clear in third position while Willetton has improved to a 7-12 record in eight spot, but the Tigers need to win to hold off the chasing South West Slammers and Perry Lakes Hawks.

The two teams met to open the 2014 regular season at Willetton Basketball Stadium and on that night, it was the Wolves who beat the Tigers 64-56.

The round then concludes on Sunday afternoon at midday with the Perry Lakes Hawks hosting the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at the WA Basketball Centre.

The Hawks will have already played the Flames on Friday night and will be out of finals contention if they lost that clash, but will be in the mix still if they had recorded a victory.

The Eastern Suns, meanwhile, will be playing their last game of the regular season with a bye next weekend. The Suns currently hold fourth position with a 13-8 record but need to beat the Hawks to strengthen their hopes of ending up fourth still by end of next weekend.

The Hawks and Suns played previously this year in Week 13 and on that night at Ray Owen Sports Centre, Kalamunda beat Perry Lakes 90-72.

WEEK 19 WOMEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Lakeside Lightning v Stirling Senators, Lakeside Recreation Centre 6.30pm
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames v Perry Lakes Hawks, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 6.30pm
Soprano Lady Cougars v Perth Redbacks, Wally Hagan Stadium 6.30pm

SATURDAY
Perth Redbacks v Schweigen East Perth Eagles, Belmont Oasis 6pm
Joondalup Wolves v Willetton Tigers, Joondalup Basketball Stadium 6pm

SUNDAY
Perry Lakes Hawks v Kalamunda Eastern Suns, WA Basketball Centre 12pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by June Halliday