Mandurah Magic women out to retain fifth spot

Stirling will be extremely hungry for a win with their finals chances on the line.

The Senators have a slim, but possible chance of making finals. They would need to beat the Magic and hope that Joondalup and Perry Lakes comprehensively beat Cockburn and Kalamunda respectively.

Where the Magic stand, they put themselves in danger of losing fifth spot with a loss.

If they lose, Mandurah would share an 11-11 record with Lakeside and possibly Perth if they manage to beat Willetton.

Fortunately, the Magic has the upper-hand in percentage, so they would have to lose by a large margin to Stirling to be ousted from fifth.

Still, with Stirling on the prowl for an unlikely finals appearance and Magic star player Adijat Adams still serving her two-week suspension, the game looms as dangerous for Mandurah.

The encouraging signs lie in how well some of the Magic players have been carrying out their individual role in the second half of the year.

Casey Mihovilovich has stood up year after year to lead the side, but specifically Emma and Briana Klasztorny have shone in recent weeks.

Emma’s form over the past two months has helped the Magic off the bottom of the ladder and into a respectable position leading into the playoffs.

She’s averaging 10 points and seven rebounds per game on the season, but those numbers look modest compared to her totals in the back half of the year.

Briana stood up last week when she was needed to in a game against the Slammers.

With Adams missing the production needed to come from somewhere, and Briana provided 18 points and 11 rebounds.

They are just two of the many role players the Magic have, which could be vital if they are to overcome a desperate Stirling outfit on Saturday night.