Makana Stone recorded her fifth-straight double-double Saturday in England. (Photo property of Loughborough University)
Advantage, America.
Sparked by their Coupeville superstar, who outplayed her Gonzaga-bound British rival, the Loughborough University women’s basketball squad ended Ipswich’s undefeated season.
And they did it in electrifying, beat-the-buzzer style.
Former Wolf Makana Stone went off for 20 points and 21 rebounds Saturday, claiming her fifth-straight double-double as the Riders shocked Ipswich 77-76.
The winning basket, on a Stone bank shot off of a setup from Hannah Bird, came with just two ticks left on the clock.
The victory lifts Loughborough to 4-2 overall, 4-1 with its American assassin in the lineup. Ipswich falls to 6-1.
Ipswich’s Esther Little, widely regarded as the best player in the Women’s National Basketball League, collected 15 points and 14 rebounds, but was unable to answer Stone, missing a potential game-winner on the day’s final shot.
The two teams battled evenly through the first half, knotted at 19-19 at the first break, before going to the halftime break with the league leaders clinging to a 32-30 lead.
Loughborough struggled early, falling behind 10-0 to open the game and not scoring until Molly James singed the nets for a three-ball at the 7:46 mark of the first quarter.
Once that initial basket hit the bottom of the net, however, the Riders seemed to right things, using a 19-15 run to reclaim the lead.
Coming out of the halftime break, Loughborough once again flashed its ability to dominate.
Holding Ipswich scoreless for four-plus minutes, the Riders went off on a 14-0 run, threatening to turn a tight tilt into a runaway win.
If the league leaders were fazed, though, they didn’t crumble.
Carving the lead back down to 53-49 by the end of the third quarter, Ipswich narrowed its deficit all the way down to 58-57 two minutes into the final frame.
Stone, who played all 40 minutes Saturday, snatched an offensive board and slapped it back in to stake Loughborough to a 67-63 advantage with three-and-a-half minutes to play, then things got dicey.
Coming down the stretch, the two squads exchanged a trio of three-point bombs in a 30-second burst.
Rider gunner Robyn Ainge netted a trey, but Ipswich’s Susannah Rafiu hit a three both before and after Loughborough’s bomb, putting her team ahead 76-75 with 1:01 on the clock.
The scoreboard remained locked in place for 59 agonizing seconds after that, until Stone, coming out of a timeout, nailed the biggest shot of her overseas career.
The Whitman College grad has a double-double in each of her five games in England, and sits with 85 points and 82 rebounds on the season.
Stone also has nine assists and 12 steals.
Coupeville’s progeny has one more game on the schedule before the winter break, and it will reunite her with a former teammate.
Loughborough plays Nottingham next Saturday, Dec. 19.
That squad is led by Mady Burdett, a three-ball droppin’ ace who played alongside Stone for four stellar seasons in Walla Walla.
During their time at Whitman, the duo led the Blues to a 94-20 record — the most wins for a graduating class in program history — and three trips to the NCAA D-III national tourney.
The winning bucket:
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