Coupeville’s Makana Stone pulled in a game-high nine rebounds Sunday in Women’s British Basketball League action. (Photo property Leicester Riders)
The fourth quarter stung.
After controlling the game for the first 30 minutes Sunday, the Leicester Riders couldn’t get a shot to drop in the final frame and fell 83-67 to the visiting Sheffield Hatters.
The Women’s British Basketball League loss, which came despite a solid performance from Coupeville grad Makana Stone, knocks the Riders down to 11-6 in conference play, 15-8 overall.
Sunday’s tilt was a matchup between the #3 and #4 teams in the 13-team WBBL, with #4 jumping out to a 25-17 lead after one quarter of play.
Sheffield chipped away at the deficit, but Leicester still clung to a 41-35 lead at the half, then a 59-55 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately for the Riders, that was where their shooting touch abandoned them, allowing the Hatters to close on a 28-8 surge to claim the come-from-behind victory.
Stone, playing a hair under 33 minutes after starting, filled the stat sheet up with seven points, a game-high nine rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a blocked shot.
Brooklyn Mcalear paced the Riders with 14 points, while Sheffield offered up the wham-bam combo of Georgia Gayle and Ebony Horton, who went off for 21 and 20, respectively.
As her first season of pro basketball unwinds, Stone has racked up 182 points, 135 rebounds, 30 assists, 21 steals, and two blocks.
Leicester returns to action next Sunday, Apr. 3, when it squares off with the Essex Rebels.
The Riders have six regular season games remaining on the schedule, with the top eight WBBL teams advancing to the playoffs after that.
