South West Slammers women’s side endure another dispiriting weekend with big losses to Lakeside and Joondalup

Despite the return of a former club captain, the South West Slammers women’s side endured another dispiriting weekend double-header, going down to Lakeside Lightning and Joondalup Wolves by a combined total of 134 points. Courtney Bayliss played her first State league games in nearly five years but could not appreciably lift the battling team, who suffered a 117-44 thrashing at the hands of the Lightning at Lakeside Recreation Centre on Friday night before losing 106-45 to the undefeated Wolves at Eaton Recreation Centre on Saturday. Coming off the bench in both contests, Bayliss contributed six points and four rebounds against the Lightning before chipping in with eight points and six boards against the Wolves. The losses leave the winless Slammers anchored firmly at the bottom of the NBL1 West ladder with a percentage of just 48.2, and extends their losing streak to 38 games, with the second anniversary of their most recent win set for next month. Executing the basics continues to be a struggle for the outfit, who turned the ball over 67 times, shot just 54 per cent at the free throw line and managed only 32 points in the paint across the two games. Lakeside dominated from the opening tip in Friday’s fixture, sprinting out to a 38-10 lead at quarter-time before extending their advantage to 63-17 by half-time. Saturday’s home game saw a strong Slammers effort in the first quarter, trailing by only eight points at the first break, but they were outclassed and outmuscled in the remaining three terms.