Manchester Basketball took an impressive 91-60 road win against the Leicester Riders in the Super League Basketball Women’s Cup.

Frannie Hottinger led the victory in the East Midlands with 19 points and 7 rebounds, dominating in the paint wire-to-wire. Veera Pirttinen and Irene Oboavwoduo also impressed, scoring 16 points each in a game where all five Manchester starters scored in double digits.

There was no answer to Manchester’s physicality in the paint on the night. They outscored Leicester 40-26 at the rim, let by Hottinger, as the Riders were held to 32% shooting from the field.

Manchester also won the rebounding battle 47-31 to further emphasise their dominance in close.

They seized control early, taking a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter, which Manchester did not surrender. That ensured the Riders never led the game.

Manchester’s 11-point advantage at the half was then blown open in the third by Pirttinen, who scored 10 points in the quarter to make her team’s lead 18 going into the fourth, all but putting the game to bed.

The victory sets up a home tie with Oaklands Wolves in the Semi Finals!

Next up for MCR are Essex Rebels next Sunday (18 January), at the National Basketball Performance Centre, with the game starting at 6 pm.

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