IF THE East Perth Eagles want to remain in the playoff hunt in the women's SBL for 2015 then their Week 17 in the competition will determine that as they take on the grand finalists from last year respectively on Friday night and Sunday afternoon.

The Eagles are the only team outside the top eight at present with a genuine chances of still snatching a spot in the playoffs, but it's unlikely they can afford to drop another game meaning their clashes with the Lakeside Lightning and Rockingham Flames this weekend are crucial.

The Lightning haven’t backed up from last year's grand final appearance to have only one win for the season but the Flames are again on top of the standings, so East Perth's hopes of coming away with two victories from the weekend won't be easy.

They are far from the only matches this weekend as well with two games each on Friday and Saturday night, and three on Sunday afternoon.

On Friday night, the Perth Redbacks take on the Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars at Curtin Stadium and the Schweigen East Perth Eagles play the Lakeside Lightning at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre. Both matches tip off at 6.30pm.

Then on Saturday night at 6pm, the Stirling Senators play the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames at Warwick Leisure Centre and the Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers take on the Mandurah Magic at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

Finally on Sunday, the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames face the Schweigen East Perth Eagles at Mike Barnett Sports Complex at 12pm, the Kalamunda Eastern Suns take on the Stirling Senators at Ray Owen Sports Centre at 12pm and then at 2pm the Lakeside Lightning battle the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

Starting on Friday night, the Redbacks and Cougars do battle at Curtin Stadium with Perth looking to back up its win last weekend over the Perry Lakes Hawks, but Cockburn do need to win to further consolidate their position in the top eight following a win last Saturday night over the Slammers.

The Redbacks and Cougars met back in Week 10 of this season and that was a tight affair with Cockburn ending up winning 79-73 at Wally Hagan Stadium.

The Eagles' first task of the weekend to keep their finals hopes alive is to beat the Lightning on Friday night with East Perth now having improved to a 5-12 record to be in touch with the 7-10 Slammers and 7-11 Hawks.

The Lightning have lost nine straight matches to be 1-18 and on the bottom of the standings, but they did make the grand final last year and have enough talent to still make life difficult for East Perth.

The Eagles began their improved run of form back in Week 11 by beating the Lightning 78-64 at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

Then on Saturday night, the Flames will look to stretch their winning run to 10 and improve on their 16-1 record, and they need to keep winning to maintain top position. Rockingham takes on a Senators team currently in 11th position with a 3-14 record having lost nine of their last 10 games.

Rockingham proved too good for Stirling back in Week 8 at Mike Barnett Sports Complex winning 94-59 with the Senators facing a big task now on Saturday night to try and close that gap.

The Tigers and Magic meet in a clash featuring two teams inside the top four with Willetton in second position at 16-2 and still a chance to snatch top spot from the Flames, while Mandurah is fourth at 13-4 and still a chance of sneaking into third position if they keep winning.

It was a tight contest back in Week 9 when the two teams last met at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre with the Tigers ending up recording a 63-53 victory.

And finally on Sunday, the Eagles' second challenge of the weekend is the biggest in the women's SBL at present up against the Flames.

If East Perth beats Lakeside on Friday, then the Eagles will enter the clash with the Flames still in playoff contention, but Rockingham do also need to keep winning to remain on top of the standings.

Way back in the opening round of the season the Flames proved too good for the Eagles by 31 points at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre, but East Perth is a vastly improved team since then and taking on Rockingham on Sunday could show just how far they have come.

The Lightning have another chance to try and find some winning form before the end of the season up against the Slammers on Sunday but South West do need to keep winning to remain inside the top eight coming into the weekend at 7-10 and having lost three of its last four games.

Back in the opening round of the season, the Slammers and Lightning met at Eaton Recreation Centre with South West too good winning 77-56 on that occasion.

WEEK 17 WOMEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Perth Redbacks v Soprano Designs Cockburn Cougars, Curtin Stadium 6.30pm
Schweigen East Perth Eagles v Lakeside Lightning, Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 6.30pm

SATURDAY
Stirling Senators v Orange Autos Rockingham Flames, Warwick Leisure Centre 6pm
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers v Mandurah Magic, Willetton Basketball Stadium 6pm

SUNDAY
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames v Schweigen East Perth Eagles, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 12pm
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Stirling Senators, Ray Owen Sports Centre 12pm
Lakeside Lightning v Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers, Lakeside Recreation Centre 2pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by HoopShots