Thompson gets job on Tigers star

Two upset victories this weekend could see the Printsync South West Slammers women’s team enter the top eight as the race to the play-offs heats up.

The Slammers start their weekend with a tough assignment tomorrow night, when they host the Willetton Tigers.

In their last meeting, former Perth Lynx player Stacey Barr led the Tigers to a dominant 97-68 victory, when she scored 29 points.

The height of the Tigers will again test the Slammers, with Willetton having three players 190cm or taller.

Barr will also present a challenge on the outside for the Slammers, as she leads the competition in scoring with an average of more than 25 points a game and shooting at more than 30 per cent from beyond the arc.

Slammers coach Peter Harper said Raya Thompson would play a defensive role on Barr.

“She did a good job on Chastity (Reed) at the weekend, so she will probably get first crack,” he said.

Harper said despite the Tigers having taller players than the Slammers, he believed their guards would hurt them more.

“The last time we played them we were competitive for a half,” he said.

“We will try to level the rebound count, but that will not be too easy.

“We also need to keep them off the offensive boards. They struggled to contain Brittany (Hodges) last time, so we will continue to try and get her involved on the paint.”

Harper said until the Slammers could not mathematically make the finals they would keep believing.

“If we cannot make them, then we want to shape them,” he said.

The Slammers will travel to Perth on Sunday to take on the Lakeside Lightning.

The last time the two sides met the Lighting walked away with a 11-point victory.