Coupeville’s Makana Stone came up big in crunch time Sunday, helping her British pro hoops team to a win. (Photo property Leicester Riders)
The layoff didn’t slow her down.
With her team back on the floor for the first time in five weeks, Coupeville’s Makana Stone collected 20 points, eight rebounds, and four assists Sunday.
Spurred by the former Wolf supernova, the Leicester Riders held off the Cardiff Met Archers 92-85 in a tense Women’s British Basketball League tilt.
The victory lifts the Riders to 7-3 in regular season play, 10-4 overall.
Leicester sits in fourth place in the 13-team WBBL, heading into a clash with the league-leading London Lions (10-0) next Sunday, Jan. 23.
Sunday’s rumble was a back-and-forth affair, with Cardiff Met clinging to a 23-22 lead after one quarter of play.
Leicester reclaimed the advantage at 47-42 by halftime, before suffering a bit of a letdown in the third frame.
Outscored 25-12 coming out of the break, the Riders found themselves staring up at a 67-59 deficit with 10 minutes to play.
Which is when Leicester rediscovered its mojo, closing the game on a 33-18 tear.
The biggest stretch of the game came from the 3:21 mark of the fourth quarter until the 0:54 mark, with Stone sparking a game-busting 14-0 run.
The two teams were knotted up at 76-76 when Coupeville’s progeny got things started by yanking down a rebound and absorbing a foul.
Stone then calmly swished the resulting free throws to push Leicester into a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
She added a breakaway layup off of a steal, before coming back around to pick up an assist on a three-ball by Riders gunner Anna Lappenkuper.
Cardiff Met made things interesting by closing on its own 9-2 run, with Stone slapping home Leicester’s final bucket, but time ran out on the Archers.
Oceana Hamilton paced the Riders with 22 points, while Lappenkuper added 19. Cardiff Met ace Shannon Hatch topped all scorers with 28.
Despite having sat out most of two games with an injury earlier this season, Stone is having a solid debut as a professional hoops star.
She’s scored 102 points in a Leicester uniform, while snatching 70 rebounds, doling out 17 assists, and making off with nine steals.
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