Round 4 of the Women’s British Basketball League graced the National Basketball Performance Centre tonight as the Manchester Giants took on their visitors the Sheffield Hatters. 

This will be the first time these two teams take to the court against one another in the first of two outings. Heading into tonight’s game the Sheffiled Hatters currently sit 2nd but with a game in hand over the team at the top of the table. Sheffield are also unbeaten in their opening 2 games. Manchester sit 8th in the league after their first victory this season against the Cardiff Metropolitan Archers led by a scoring clinic by Myah Pace who finished with 18 points and followed up by by Sydney Hunter who became an instant fan favourite dropping a double double on her Giants debut. 

Hunter picked up where she left off last game, connecting from deep to draw first blood against Sheffield. Myah Pace built on that early 3 points with 3 of her own but in a more traditional sense as she crashed the paint and drew the foul. The Hatters started to wake up and build momentum as they funnelled their offence through Georgia Gayle as she had 7 of the opening 9 points for Sheffield. Gayle kept up her scoring antics as he posted 10 points in 10 minutes as the Hatters led the Giants by 6. 

Manchester managed to keep the Hatters quiet in the second quarter, big defensive plays from Sydney Hunter and a Myah Pace block on Georgia Gayle made sure that Sheffield couldn’t get anything going. Meanwhile, Manchester kept raining shots down on their opponents, Brooklyn, Mcalear-Fanus caught on fire as she put up 7 points in the second quarter alone. The three levels of offence from Mcalear-Fanus mixed with the midrange jumpers from Leah McDerment put the Giants on level terms with the Hatters at 35 a piece. 

Second half: 

Very little could separate these teams throughout the third quarter. When one looked to be putting together a run the other would come right back The Giants three of Brooklyn Mcalear-Fanus, Sydney Hunter and Myah Pace kept the offence ticking against the Hatters, crashing the paint around them to allow Lauren Thomas-Johnson space to sink her shots and notch up 10 points. At the end of the third, 4 separate Giants entered double digit scoring whilst Myah Pace managed a double double in 3 quarters. Sydney Hunter and Brooklyn Mcalear- Fanus were also on track for double doubles this game. 

During the final quarter the Giants managed to use their ability to draw fouls to their advantage, after having drawn 26 fouls on the Hatters before play concluded, Manchester managed to crash the paint and convert easy makes all whilst taking 35 trips to the free throw line where they converted 22 of those. With mere seconds left on the clock, Lauren Thomas-Johnson converted one of her free throws to give Manchester a 3 point lead. Georgia Gayle brought the ball down court for one final attempt only to be swatted away by Myah Pace and thus sealing a second Giants win. 

Stats: 

Myah Pace: 15 Points, 13 Rebounds, 2 Blocks

Sydney Hunter: 14 Points, 13 Rebounds 

Brooklyn Mcalear-Fanus: 19 Points, 7 Rebounds, 3 Assists. 

Next up on the Manchester Giants calendar is an away trip on November 25th to face the Durham Palatinates. Tip off is at 1:00pm and will be available to watch on the Women's British Basketball League YouTube channel. 

All game footage from tonight’s win will be available to view below: