THE Joondalup Wolves handed the Perth Redbacks their first loss in the Women's SBL for 2016 last Friday and now the Lady Wolfpack are out to do the same to the Perry Lakes Hawks this Saturday night.

The Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves beat the Redbacks 68-47 last Friday night to improve themselves to a 2-1 record to start the 2016 season while handing Perth a first defeat following three impressive victories to start the new season.

Now Joondalup gets an opportunity to do the same to Perry Lakes this Saturday night at Joondalup Basketball Stadium as part of Week 5 of the Women's SBL season.

The round gets underway on Friday night with the 1-3 Lakeside Lightning taking on the winless East Perth Eagles at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

Then also on Saturday night, the Stirling Senators (2-4) play the Perth Redbacks (3-1) at Warwick Stadium, the South West Slammers (0-4) host the Cockburn Cougars (1-4) at Eaton Recreation Centre and the Mandurah Magic (2-1) battle the Willetton Tigers (4-0) at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

Wolves coach Craig Friday is looking forward to locking horns with a Hawks team that has recruited well with the additions of Antonia Edmondson and Deanna Smith to add to the core of Lauren Jeffers, Mia Satie, Emily Burton, Sarah Donovan and fully healthy Kate Anthony.

But Friday is confident of the Wolfpack doing well and a lot of that will rest on the shoulders of Ellyce Ironmonger, Klara Wischer and Amy Kidner inside.

"In the back court I think we balance out OK so if we can do a job on Tony and 'Doccy' we might be OK. Let's hope Ellyce and Klara, and maybe even Amy, can get an advantage inside the paint and we might strike an advantage there," Friday said on SBL Slam on 98.5 Sonshine FM.

"But we will have to be sharp, they are a potent team and they've got scorers all across the board. You throw in Jeffers handling the ball and they do a pretty good job. CJ (Jackson) has got them up and about obviously so it will be a tough challenge but one we are looking forward to again."

Looking back to Week 4 of the competition, Friday was happy with Joondalup's win over a Perth team that included the Wolves' former scoring threat Rebecca Mercer.

"We played pretty well on the weekend. It was nice to get a win over a team that had started the season well, and looks like they have got some pretty decent recruits on paper. It was nice to get a W," Friday said.

"We know we haven’t got the scoring power of some of the other teams, so we are just going to have to rely on the ability to play team defence and hopefully lock in on teams to limit their scoring potential so we can keep ourselves in games."

One player who Friday has been delighted with what she's brought to the Wolves this season after spending the 2015-16 season with the Perth Lynx is Klara Wischer.

She is just the type of player he was hoping to added to the Lady Wolfpack for 2016 and is so far averaging 21.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

"Once I met with Klara she was such an important piece because she has just come in and fit the bill," Friday said.

"She hasn’t tried to take over, she has just found her niche inside our program and become a leader instantly and is providing some much-needed grunt defensively and some scoring impact. She is fitting in really nicely and she's a really quality person away from the court as well."

WEEK 5 WOMEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Lakeside Lightning v Schweigen Home Appliances East Perth Eagles, Lakeside Recreation Centre 6.30pm

SATURDAY
Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves v Perry Lakes Hawks, Joondalup Basketball Stadium 6pm
Bethanie Stirling Senators v Texture WA Perth Redbacks, Warwick Stadium 6pm
Print Sync South West Slammers v Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars, Eaton Recreation Centre 6pm
Mandurah Magic v Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 6.30pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene-Elise Photography