South West Slammers women’s side suffer 45th consecutive loss

South West Slammers women’s side suffered their 45th consecutive loss on Saturday night, going down to Eastern Suns by 41 points at Eaton Recreation Centre. The visitors came into the clash sitting 12th on the NBL1 West ladder, only one spot ahead of the last-placed Slammers, but the distance between the two sides was encapsulated by the 106-65 result. Coach Jason Chalk had identified his team’s two clashes with the Suns as some of their best chances to snap their two-year run without a win, but they ended up losing the games by an aggregate of 68 points. The Slammers were left to rue yet another glacial start, making only three of their 16 field goal attempts in the first quarter — all three-pointers from Courtney Bayliss — while conceding 35 points to head for the first break trailing by 24, with the gap growing to 32 at half-time and 44 at the final interval. Some of the Slammers’ young talent were at least able to produce promising performances, with Addison Edwards notching a career night with a line of 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks. Meanwhile, Javene Fitch (nine points, nine rebounds) and Charlotte Mills (five points, seven rebounds, seven assists) continued strong spells of recent play. Veteran Bayliss provided some punch from the perimeter, hitting five long shots in a team-high 18 points, while Zaya Black (seven points, five assists, five steals) gave her all.