The women’s Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers kept their season alive with a crucial 60-47 victory over East Perth at the Eaton Recreation Centre on Sunday.

While shooting accuracy remains a concern for Darren Austin’s young squad, the Slammers forced 30 turnovers and held dangerous Eagles forward Stephanie Jones to just 12 points in a stellar defensive effort.

Led by Amy Patton (31 points, 14 rebounds, six steals) the Slammers built a six point halftime lead before limiting the Eagles to just five points in a clinical fourth quarter.

With Jones struggling to find her range East Perth’s offence fizzled and the Slammers took advantage of the visitors’ reluctance to put up shots by forcing mistakes at regular intervals.

Patton accounted for more than half of her team’s total score but was well supported by point guard Lauren Jeffers who scored 17 points of her own to go with four assists.

Catherine Waycott was also a force for the home side, grabbing nine offensive rebounds to dispel some of the damage of a night on which the Slammers converted just 27 per cent of their shots from the field.

The result keeps the Slammers in touch with the teams currently jostling for playoff positions, now just one win out of the top eight in ninth position.

A difficult match-up against the fourth-placed Joondalup Wolves, who have won five of their last six, awaits the Slammers this weekend at the Eaton Recreation Centre.

Article by Josh Zimmerman: West Australian Regional Newspapers

Photo by Mick Cronin: Slammers guard Lauren Jeffers