The South West Slammers women will head into the first round of the playoffs on a strong note after they claimed an 11 point victory over the Perth Redbacks on Saturday.
Strong performances from Bianca Donovan, Kate Fielding, Patricia Bright and Deanica McCormick saw the women to a 73 – 62 victory.
Trailing by seven points at the long break, the South West women put in a dominant third quarter to turn the tide and see them to the win.
They outscored Perth 25 – 9 in the third to give them a nine-point buffer at the final change.
The women managed to hold the lead from there and move into the playoffs with a win.
McCormick starred for the South West putting together a strong double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists while Bright also notched a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Donovan poured in 14 points for the South West while Fielding had a big night with 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
They now progress to the quarter finals and will play Joondalup this weekend.
Unfortunately the South West men will not carry any momentum into the quarter finals as they finished their regular season with a loss to the Redbacks.
A huge night from all-star guard Tre Nichols was not enough to see the Slammers to a win as they went down 115 – 102.
Nichols tallied 45 points on seven of 17 shooting the ball, but he could not will his side to victory.
Raphiael Putney (31 points, 11 rebounds) and Ray Turner (38 points, 20 rebounds) proved too much for the depleted Slammers outfit that was missing three regular starters.
But in the absence of a number of veterans, Jordan Hickert stood tall for the South West.
Hickert tallied 21 points and 12 rebounds piecing together a nice double-double while Wade Hitchcock contributed 14 points.
The Slammers will now face Willeton in the quarter finals, who bested them a fortnight ago.
Pictures by Ashley Pearce.
