Coupeville Sports

Makana Stone slashes to the hoop. (Photo property Simeon Bacolod)

Probably not the way they wanted to open a new year.

Returning to action Saturday in Norway, the Ammerud professional women’s basketball squad rallied late, but couldn’t quite get all the way back in a 67-62 loss to previously winless Bergen.

The loss, which came despite another epic performance from Coupeville grad Makana Stone, drops the Queens to 3-8 on the season, heading into a matchup Sunday with high-flying Ulriken, which sits at 8-1.

Ammerud led 14-13 heading into the first break Saturday, before Bergen, which entered the day at 0-9, surged ahead.

A 20-13 run in the second quarter put Bergen ahead 33-27 at the half, before a 23-13 third-quarter advantage pushed the lead out to 56-40.

While the Queens put together their best sustained offensive attack in the final frame, time eventually ran out on the comeback bid.

Stone went down swinging, however, finishing with 34 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, and seven steals.

Bergen countered by putting three players into double digits, while Ammerud is still looking for a consistent #2 to help its American assassin.

Now in her third year of overseas pro ball, Stone has racked up 241 points, 132 rebounds, 36 assists, 37 steals, and seven blocked shots this season.