Mandurah Magic women to lean on young guns for West Coast Classic

The competition will span across nine rounds and fill the void left by the cancellation of the State Basketball League season back in March.

But it will look markedly different from any normal SBL season, with no overseas imports playing for any side.

That will leave most clubs looking to their senior players to step up, but for Mandurah's women, the Classic presents a good chance for their future stars to experience playing in bigger roles.

Young guns like Rachel Pettit and Kasey Miegel will get their chance to shine in the absence of veteran stars like Bree Klasztorny, Casey Mihovilovich, Emma Klasztorny and Carly Boag, who won't suit up for Mandurah this year.

Olivia Basset-Scarfe will be another youngster to keep an eye out for, while senior players Kelly Bailey and Rachel Halleen remain on deck to lead the young crew.

Coach Craig Watts said the team would be using the competition to expose those young guns to playing on more senior opponents.

"We've got a lot of good young kids coming through that have had the luxury of sitting on the bench and learning from our star players for a while now," he said.

"This year, with the way the competition has panned out, it's a really good chance to see what they can do themselves.

"Our aim is still to go out there and win every game we're in, but this is also a good chance to look to our club's future."

Watts said the personnel changes were likely to result in a shift in game plan, with the Magic now lacking the height needed to be their usual tough, superb-rebounding selves.

"We're young, and that means we're not overly tall, so we're going to look to be pretty quick up and down the court," he said.

"Once we win the ball we want to push it as fast as we can and really get out on the break.

"It's different, but again, we're looking forward to it."

The Magic women take to the court for their first clash of the season against the South West Slammers at the Eaton Recreation Centre on Friday night, 6.30pm.