Basketball: Slammers women notch second win

It was a long time between drinks for the Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers women—but what a drink it was.

A first-up win against the Rockingham Flames got the Slammers’ season off to a flying start, but it wasn’t until the weekend the Slammers were again to drink the sweet elixir of success — holding on for a 65-63 win over the Perth Redbacks.

The Slammers looked to be in trouble early when the Redbacks got out to a 12-point lead at quarter time, but a different Slammers took to the court after the break.

The loss of towering import Lavesa Glover, who returned to the United States earlier this month, forced the Slammers to change their game plan and it worked to the team’s advantage on Saturday.

‘‘We’ve been working on a much more attacking game while staying patient to ensure of our shot selection,’’ coach Russell Upton said.

‘‘With the loss of our rebounding strength we have to make sure the shots we put up count.

‘‘We shot at 50 per cent for the game which I don’t think we’ve done for three years.’’

Upton said the loss of Glover had also forced the team to collectively step up and take more responsibility.

‘‘They now understand they all have to play a role and they can’t just be spectators,’’ he said.

On Saturday the Slammers gradually got on top and at one stage in the last quarter got out to an eight-point lead, but Upton admits there were a few nervous moments.

‘‘When you’ve been down for a while you can lose sight of how to win,’’ he said.

‘‘But I thought we kept our composure well.’’

In the men’s league, the Slammers now have five games to break their drought following a 113-90 loss to the Redbacks despite Nick Freer hitting 36 points — a round high for the league.