The Manchester Giants returned to the National Basketball Performance Centre this afternoon as they hosted the Nottingham Wildcats in the latest round of Women’s British Basketball League fixtures. 

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Both teams were heading into this fixture looking to turn their fortunes around. Manchester we’re coming off the back of an unfortunate loss against the Essex Rebels. The Nottingham Wildcats were in a similar position as they were attempting to bounce back after a loss in the country’s capital to the London Lions. 

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A win today for Manchester would see them close the gap and go level on points with last week’s opponents the Essex Rebels in the battle for 5th place. Meanwhile, Nottingham were looking to get their first win of the new campaign after starting the season with 7 losses. 

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This afternoon also saw the return of both Brooklyn Macalear-Fanus and Kizzy Spence. The guard duo were both back from injury for this game. 

Nottingham started early as Whitehouse drove with pace and finished at the rim. Myah Pace started hot out of the gates for Manchester. 10 points in 5 minutes and 4-6 shooting to allow Manchester to keep their noses in front of a tightly contested first quarter. A dry spell followed for Manchester which saw the Nottingham Wildcats begin to establish themselves in this game. Consistent 2 point shots were being put up from Nottingham coupled with their use of mismatches saw them up 18-23 at the end of the first. 

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Manchester’s interior problems only continued into the 2nd quarter as the Wildcats extended their 5 point lead to a 10 point lead as they began to utilise their perimeter shooters to further their lead. Manchester began to regroup and managed to break down the lead that started with a skip pass from Myah Pace over to Leah McDerment for a well needed three. Kizzy Spence checked into the game and injected some life into the Giants Offence with a pair of back to back makes from close to started to bring Manchester back into this game, a mid range effort from Brooklyn Macalear-Fanus and a close make from Sydney Hunter were how Manchester finished the half, down by 16, with more work to do and more of a game to play. 

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Second half: 

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Manchester started out locked in defensively as Myah Pace reached in and managed to come away with the steal to force a Nottingham turnover. Georgia Anderson connected from three to keep Manchester in pursuit as Myah Pace followed up with a fadeaway midrange effort for 5 Manchester points in quick succession. Anderson kept the pressure on as he knocked down a trio of free throws as well. A closely contested quarter that saw Manchester keep Nottingham below 20 points in the quarter, the Giants would still be behind however by 15 as the final quarter got underway. 

Lauren Thomas-Johnson picked Bjelko’s pocket and then drove to the basket from a tough lay up. Myah Pace followed it up with a steal of her own. Lauren Thomas-Johnson turned provider for Pace and the Giants were down by 12. Georgia Anderson took over for Manchester in the 4th notching 9 points in the quarter to bring Manchester within 8 points of Nottingham. Leah McDerment followed up with a lay up of her own and Manchester were only down 6. Free throws from Stewart and Cassidy De Falco of Nottingham we’re enough to put the game out of reach. 

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Stats: 

Georgia Anderson: 17 Points, 100%FT

Myah Pace: 16 Points, 8 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 3 Steals.

Sydney Hunter: 15 Points, 10 Rebounds, 58%FG.

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Next up for Marg Jones and her Giants is an away trip to the Archers Arena as the Giants look to do battle with the Cardiff Met Archers. The fixture is scheduled to be played on January 6th and will tip off at 3:15pm. The game will be available to view on the women’s British Basketball League YouTube channel. 

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The footage from this afternoon’s game will be available to view below: