Coupeville Sports

Coupeville’s Makana Stone (left) works on her game during practice in England. (Photo property Leicester Riders)

Teamwork makes the dream work.

Putting six different players into double-digit scoring Saturday, including Coupeville’s Makana Stone, the Leicester Riders stormed to a big victory in Scotland.

Roaring from behind to finish the game on a 25-6 tear, the Riders routed the Caledonia Pride 77-62 in Women’s British Basketball League action.

With the victory, Leicester improves to 8-4 in league action, 11-5 overall.

Stone and Co. sit comfortably in fourth place in the 13-team WBBL.

The game was a tense affair most of the way, with the score knotted at 16-16 at the first break.

From there Caledonia surged ahead 38-33 by halftime, before carrying a 56-52 lead into the final frame.

Leicester had all the answers, however, throwing down 13 straight points en route to turning the fourth quarter into a romp.

Oceana Hamilton paced the Riders with a team-high 17, while Alison Lewis, making her debut after transferring in from Luxembourg earlier in the week, banked home 15.

Anna Lappenkuper (12), Hannah Robb (12), Stone (11), and Brooklyn Mcalear (10) also scored as Leicester shared the ball all day.

Read Full Post »

Coupeville’s Makana Stone, tearing it up as a pro hoops player.

They like her. They really like her.

Coupeville’s Makana Stone was honored Tuesday, named as one of the five-best players in the Women’s British Basketball League this past week.

The former Wolf ace and her current Leicester Riders teammate, Oceana Hamilton, led the WBBL All-Star 5, praised for their play in a 92-85 Sunday win over Cardiff Met.

Stone poured in 20 points, snagged eight rebounds, and dealt out four assists in the game, while hitting key buckets down the stretch as the Riders pulled away for the victory.

While Coupeville’s progeny was hailed many times during her college hoops career at Walla Walla’s Whitman College and England’s Loughborough University, this is her first major honor as a pro player.

To read about Stone and the other honorees, pop over to:

http://www.wbbl.org.uk/all-star-5-week-13/

Read Full Post »

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.

Read Full Post »

Coupeville’s Makana Stone (far left), with some of her pro hoops teammates. (Photo property Leicester Riders)

She’s back at full force.

Coupeville’s Makana Stone, who worked her way back from an injury, returned to the starting lineup Saturday and poured in a team-high 18 points in a tense Women’s British Basketball League clash.

While the Leicester Riders fell 60-53 to the Manchester Met Mystics, the offensive outburst was the best the former Wolf has achieved in her first season as a pro player.

Stone also snatched five rebounds and made off with a steal as her squad fell to 6-3 in league play, 9-4 overall.

With the loss, Leicester drops into a fourth-place tie with Manchester in the 13-team WBBL.

The game was a close one, but Manchester used a run in the second quarter to salt the victory away.

Up 14-11 after one period, the Met Mystics claimed a 21-13 advantage in the second frame to carry a 35-24 lead in to halftime.

Leicester trimmed the margin down to 46-39 after three, but couldn’t make it all the way back.

Brooklyn Mcalear tossed in 16 points to back up Stone, while Manchester countered with the one-two combo of Lauren Thomas-Johnson and Erika Williams, who went for 21 and 20, respectively.

Stone has racked up 82 points, 62 rebounds, 13 assists, and eight steals as a pro.

The Riders return to action next Sunday, Dec. 19, when they face off with the Sevenoaks Suns, who sit atop the WBBL with a 9-0 record.

Read Full Post »