THERE appears just one spot in the women's SBL top eight up for grabs heading into the final stretch of the 2014 season and that goes on the line in Week 14 with the South West Slammers, Perry Lakes Hawks and Willetton Tigers set to sort it out between themselves.

With the Slammers entering the weekend in eighth position on a 5-9 record just ahead of the Hawks on 5-9 and Tigers on 4-10, little separates the trio but there appears only room for one in the playoffs of 2014.

There are two women's SBL matches on Friday night, four on Saturday night and then one on Sunday afternoon in Week 14 action that could very well have a big bearing on playoff positions.

The round begins on Friday night with the Orange Autos Rockingham Flames taking on the Mandurah Magic at Mike Barnett Sports Complex and the Willetton Tigers facing the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

Both Friday night matches tip-off at 6.30pm.

The unbeaten, league-leading Flames host their Peel rivals the Magic on Friday night in what is shaping as a true test of Rockingham's 16-0 record.

Rockingham has won its opening 16 games of the 2014 season to be five games clear on top of the standings while Mandurah sits in third spot on 10-4 and just a game behind the second-placed Lakeside Lightning.

The two teams have already met once this season with the Flames winning 77-53 in Mandurah back in Week 2 of the season, but this clash should be much closer with a win for the Magic potentially seeing them and the Flames finishing the weekend holding down the top two positions on the ladder.

Friday's other match pits the Tigers up against the Slammers with this weekend potentially being Willetton's last to remain in contention for a playoff berth.

Melissa Marsh will be missing as the Tigers look to improve on a dismal 4-10 record that currently has them sitting in 10th position.

The Slammers, meanwhile, are just clinging to eighth position with a 5-9 record having lost two straight matches so desperately need to win to avoid slipping outside of the top eight.

It is then a massive Saturday night of competition with the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers facing the Perry Lakes Hawks at Eaton Recreation Centre, the Lakeside Lightning battling the Willetton Tigers at Lakeside Recreation Centre and the Schweigen East Perth Eagles hosting the Joondalup Wolves at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

All three of those matches begin at 6pm on Saturday night and at 6.30pm, the Kalamunda Eastern Suns take on the Perth Redbacks at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

The Slammers back up their clash with the Tigers on Friday night by then hosting the Hawks on Saturday yet again with big ramifications for that eighth position.

Depending on what happens Friday, the Slammers will either be in eighth or ninth position by Saturday night.

If South West has won on Friday, it will enter the game two points clear of the Hawks and then could move four points clear with a victory over them.

However, a loss to Willetton on Friday and then a loss to Perry Lakes on Saturday will see the Slammers slip to 10th position behind both the Tigers and Hawks by Saturday night.

Perry Lakes enters the contest with a 5-9 record while the Slammers begin the weekend on 5-9 as well.

The two teams also only played each other last Friday night and that game was a thriller with Perry Lakes prevailing 69-65 at the WA Basketball Centre. Expect nothing less this time around.

Willetton, meanwhile, has to back up from Friday night as well with a big challenge up against the second-placed Lightning. Lakeside enters the contest on an 11-3 record and a perfect 6-0 at home so the Tigers' task is a massive one.

The two teams already played this season back in Week 6 with the Lightning winning comfortably on that occasions 83-62.

The Wolves then head to Morley to take on the Eagles with Joondalup currently sitting in fourth position with a 9-4 record having won three of its last four games.

The Lady Wolfpack will be confident of keeping that winning form going against an Eagles team sitting on a 2-13 record and having now lost nine straight matches after an encouraging start to the season.

The teams played in Week 7 already this season with Joondalup only narrowly winning 62-56 on that occasion.

Saturday night's final match pits the Eastern Suns up against the Redbacks with the Suns looking to build on their win last weekend over the Hawks.

Kalamunda improved to a 7-7 record in seventh spot with that victory and now take on the winless Redbacks who are yet to get on the board after 15 matches so far in 2014.

There is then one lone match on Sunday afternoon tipping off at midday with the Mandurah Magic facing the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

The Eastern Suns face a significant challenge to back up from Friday night to then take on the Magic. With the Magic entering the weekend in third spot and the Suns in seventh, but just three games separating them, it's a match with big ramifications as well.

WEEK 14 WOMEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Orange Autos Rockingham Flames v Mandurah Magic, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 6.30pm
Willetton Tigers v Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers, Willetton Basketball Stadium 6.30pm

SATURDAY
Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers v Perry Lakes Hawks, Eaton Recreation Centre 6pm
Lakeside Lightning v Willetton Tigers, Lakeside Recreation Centre 6pm
Schweigen East Perth Eagles v Joondalup Wolves, Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 6pm
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Perth Redbacks, Ray Owen Sports Centre 6.30pm

SUNDAY
Mandurah Magic v Kalamunda Eastern Suns, Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre 12pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin