Manchester struggled to get back to winning ways at home as Leicester ride out winners 67-92. 

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Marg Jones and her Manchester Giants were looking to bounce back  -after last week’s defeat to London- this afternoon as they took on the Leicester Riders at the National Basketball Performance Centre. 

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The last time these 2 teams faced off it was the Riders who took the spoils against a teething Giants squad. Now properly accustomed to the league, Manchester would be looking to rewrite their fortunes on home court. 

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Starting 5’s: 

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Manchester Giants: Brooklyn Macalear-Fanus, Georgia Anderson ©, Myah Pace, Sydney Hunter, Hannah Shaw. 

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Leicester Riders: Taylor O’Brien, McKenzie Johnston ©, Samantha Ashby, Marissa Hamilton, Rayven Peeples. 

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First Half: 

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A quick and lively start for Manchester as Brooklyn Macalear-Fanus and Myah Pace hit Leicester with a basket each from the off. Leicester quickly responded with a pair of back to back 3’s to steal the lead. The Riders were well and truly awake as they went 52% from the field to open the quarter, opting to score consistently on the interior and turning defense into quick transition offense as they made use of the fastbreak chances. 

Lauren Thomas-Johnson hit from downtown to halt the Riders run, if only momentarily. Brooklynn Macalear- Fanus followed up on her teammates efforts as she also connected from beyond the arc. Leicester responded with a 10-0 scoring run to end the quarter. 

Manchester began to sputter offensively meanwhile Leicester opened out with another unanswered scoring run in the opening 3 minutes of the 2nd quarter. What started as a 9 point lead stretched out into a 16 point lead. Brooklynn Macalear-Fanus took over offensively from out the timeout, the Giants guard scored in back to back possessions to soften the blow that was being dealt throughout the quarter. 

A bright spark in the Giants team this quarter was Leah McDerment, The Giants guard was seemingly everywhere: from the perimeter hitting 3’s to inside the paint grabbing much needed offensive rebounds and even intercepting Erin Powell’s pass inside and scoring off the back of the turnover. 

Despite efforts, Manchester headed into the locker room down 17. 

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Second Half: 

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Straight out of the half, Leicester knocked down a 3 ball to stretch out to a 20 point lead, Manchester and Leicester began trading basket after basket through the midway point to keep the lead around the same area. Idil Turk stepped up from beyond the arc to knock down a pair of 3’s to cut the lead down to 14. 

Turk would pop up again for a buzzer beater at the end of the quarter to make it her 3rd shot from the perimeter and 11 points in total for the Giants guard. 

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A Hannah Shaw hookshot set Manchester on their way in the final quarter, The Giants still looking for a spark to break the onslaught of Leicester’s interior scoring. Sydney Hunter caught alight from beyond the arc, going 100% from 3 for the quarter and making a dent in Leicester’s lead. Hunter also contributed on the inside and showed off her offensive bag with a flashy reverse lay up. Brooklynn Macalear-Fanus kept consistent throughout the entirety of the game, going 90% from the field and dropping a cool 20 piece. Despite best efforts, Manchester fell short of the mark against Leicester 

Stats: 

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Brooklynn Macalear-Fanus: 20 Points, 90%FG, 66%3PT.

Idil Turk: 13 Points, 62%FG, 75%3PT. 

Sydney Hunter: 11 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 Steals. 

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Next up for the Manchester Giants is a long awaited away trip to Essex to take on Ashley Cookson and his Essex Rebels. These teams previously met in the Betty Codona Trophy semi finals. Tip off is scheduled for March 2nd at 4:00pm and will be available to view via the Women's British Basketball League’s YouTube channel.

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The full game footage from this afternoon's matchup will be available to view below: