Makana Stone, Hype Queen. (Photo property Leicester Riders)
Now it’s a winning streak.
Surviving a rough fourth quarter Monday, the Leicester Riders held on to knock off the Newcastle Eagles 75-65 in Women’s British Basketball League action.
Sparked by the play of Coupeville grad Makana Stone, who banked in 12 points — including a pair of three-balls — the Riders improve to 13-7 in league play, 17-9 overall.
Leicester’s second win in a three-day span, it keeps the squad firmly in fourth place in the 13-team WBBL with the playoffs on the horizon.
Up next for the Riders is a back-to-back set of games April 15-16, with the first one against the high-flying Sevenoaks Suns, who sit at 18-1 in league play.
Monday’s game belonged to Leicester from opening tip through the end of the third quarter, before things got a little frantic at the end.
The Riders jumped out to a 20-9 lead after one quarter of play on their home court, then stretched the lead out to 46-21 by the half.
While the third quarter was much-more evenly played, Leicester was still up 67-43 heading into the game’s final 10 minutes.
Then things got a bit dicey, as Newcastle closed on a 22-8 tear, cutting its deficit all the way back to 10 points with a tick under two minutes to play.
From that point on, however, the two teams combined to go scoreless over the game’s final one minute and 59 seconds.
Stone added four rebounds, an assist, and a steal to go with her 12 points, while teammate Oceana Hamilton popped for 21 points as four Riders scored in double-digits.
Newcastle got most of its offensive punch from the duo of Marina Fernandez Pardo and Layne Murphy, who knocked down 21 and 20 points, respectively.
As she plays her first season of pro ball, Stone continues to acquit herself nicely.
The former Wolf has 220 points, 153 rebounds, 36 assists, 23 steals, and three blocked shots on the year.
Coupeville Sports 
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