Women keen to keep dream alive

The Printsync South West Slammers women can take further strides towards securing an SBL finals berth if they defeat Perry Lakes Hawks on Saturday night at the Bendat Basketball Centre.

Both sides are level on points heading into the weekend – although the Hawks face top-placed Lakeside Lightning tomorrow night.

Slammers: Last Saturday was a real “line in the sand” moment for Nathan Grover’s team, with the Slammers displaying tremendous character against the in-form Joondalup Wolves.

The visitors managed to lock down defensively and refused to buckle when challenged.

Brittni Montgomery (12 points, eight rebounds, two assists) did a superb job in negating the influence of import Amber Land, while compatriot Makailah Dyer (24 points, seven rebounds, two assists) also put up solid numbers, despite fierce attention from the hosts.

Hawks: Entering this weekend with three wins from their past four games, Deanna Smith’s side has improved considerably from a three-game skid in April.

They were blown away in the third quarter by the Kalamunda Eastern Suns, where they were outscored 22-9.

In-form import Jamie Cherry had an out-of-sorts night offensively, going 2/9 from outside.

Nathan Grover’s take (Slammers)

“Rebounding will be another key again,” he said.

“Nat Burton is back along with Sarah Donovan.

“They are both big rebound players and they have some experienced heads as well in Nikita Martin and Rebecca Benson – and Benson is leading the league in three-point shooting at the moment.

“So they have a few weapons, but more importantly, it will be about keeping them off the boards.”

Scouting report(Perry Lakes Hawks)

League position: 6th; home record: 4-3; away record: 2-3; last round: lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns 77-62.

Top performer: Natalie Burton – Eight points (3/7 from the field, 0/0 from beyond the arc, 2/4 from free throw line), 13 rebounds, one assist, one steal.