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ROUND 3 of the West Coast Classic on the women’s side is without doubt highlighted by the Joondalup Wolves putting their undefeated start on the line against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns and Warwick Senators.

With just nine rounds in the West Coast Classic and with each team playing 11 games by taking on one another once each, things are starting to take shape now coming into the third round and three of the undefeated sides all meet this weekend.

We’ve also got some of the winless teams meeting too so by the end of Round 3 we’ll have significantly fewer undefeated and winless teams in what continues to be a fascinating West Coast Classic.

Round 3 gets underway with the three matches on Friday night with each of them starting at 6.30pm.

That sees the Perth Redbacks hosting the East Perth Eagles, the Willetton Tigers playing the Perry Lakes Hawks and then the Joondalup Wolves taking on the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

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The Redbacks play the Eagles at Belmont Oasis in a fascinating contest with Perth having been so up and down going 2-2 across their opening four matches while East Perth is trying to come back from putting up only 31 points in Mandurah last Saturday night.

Then also on Friday night, Willetton Basketball Stadium plays host to what should be a cracking contest between Willetton and Perry Lakes highlighted by the battle of bigs between Tigers young gun Imogen Ayliffe and Hawks WNBL and Opals veteran Nat Burton.

Then at HBF Arena, the Lady Wolfpack will be hosting the Eastern Suns with the two teams putting their undefeated records on the line so far in the West Coast Classic.

Then on Saturday night there are another four matches with the Warwick Senators playing host to the Joondalup Wolves, the Cockburn Cougars facing the Lakeside Lightning, the East Perth Eagles battling the South West Slammers, and the Perry Lakes Hawks hosting the Mandurah Magic.

The Senators clash with the Lady Wolfpack at Warwick Stadium could very well be the best match we have seen so far in the West Coast Classic.

The Wolves will have already played the Eastern Suns on Friday night so a lot might depend on that, but the Senators have been on fire so far led by reigning SBL MVP Stacey Barr, Tayla Hepburn and an exciting band of younger players including Jayda Clark.

The winner of this clash might very well deserve to be championship favourites come the end of the round.

The Cougars face a significant challenge at Wally Hagan Stadium against the Lightning also on Saturday night. But after a strong showing last Saturday taking it up to the Wolves, they’ll look to take it up to another top team in the Lightning this week.

But the challenge for Cockburn will be dealing with the experience and quality of Ash Isenbarger, Courtney Mansfield and Ellyce Ironmonger who are showing the way for their younger brigade at Lakeside.

It is a big chance for East Perth and South West to get a win on the board as well when they meet at Herb Graham Recreation Centre.

Both teams suffered horror losses last Saturday night on the road with the Eagles scoring just 31 points against Mandurah while the Slammers didn’t go much better against the Senators.

The Slammers do already have a win on the board while the Eagles might too depend on what happens on Friday night against the Redbacks.

The round then concludes on Saturday night at Bendat Basketball Centre with the Lady Hawks hosting the Magic in a battle between two teams who have been perennial contenders in recent years.

WEST COAST CLASSIC 2020 – WOMEN
ROUND 3

FRIDAY
Perth Redbacks v East Perth Eagles – Belmont Oasis 6.30pm
Willetton Tigers v Perry Lakes Hawks – Willetton Basketball Stadium 6.30pm
Joondalup Wolves v Kalamunda Eastern Suns – HBF Arena 6.30pm

SATURDAY
Warwick Senators v Joondalup Wolves – Warwick Stadium 5.00pm
Cockburn Cougars v Lakeside Lightning – Wally Hagan Stadium 5.00pm
East Perth Eagles v South West Slammers – Herb Graham Recreation Centre 5.00pm
Perry Lakes Hawks v Mandurah Magic – Bendat Basketball Centre 6.00pm