Manchester Basketball fell in a tightly fought affair with the Leicester Riders in the Super League Basketball Women’s Championship.

The 94-97 loss to the Riders came down to the final buzzer, and Manchester fought tooth and nail wire-to-wire in the scrap for the win. The hosts had a shot to send the game to overtime, but couldn’t connect from three with seconds on the clock.

Manchester had two 20-point scorers in the game, led by 23 points from Maaja Bratka. She had a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds. Tiarra East backed her up with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Meanwhile, Frannie Hottinger also had a double-double with a 19-10 performance.

And with a bucket at the end of the third quarter, club legend Georgia Anderson became the all-time leading scorer in Super League Basketball Championship history, an incredible achievement for an icon of the game.

For the visitors, Katie Januszewska led the Riders to a second-half comeback. The GB international had 22 on the night, and 13 points in the third quarter to spark the Riders’ run.

A hot start meant Manchester led by 17 going into the break. But after a 61-point first half, buckets proved more difficult to come by in the second half as the Riders climbed back into contention by the fourth.

They’d cut it to four points with 10 minutes to play, and while Manchester were able to hold them at arm’s length for much of the quarter, the visitors eventually took the lead with a three from Hannah Gray.

From there, it was a battle down the stretch, where Bratka and East made big plays in an attempt to seize the late initiative. But ultimately, it was the Riders who were able to find some separation on the scoreline thanks to Louisa Gibbins, and hit their free throws when needed.

Irene Oboavwoduo was forced into a deep heave from deep and couldn’t connect, ending the game. Manchester fell to 1-2 in the SLB Championship standings as a result.

Manchester are on the road next time out, taking on the Sheffield Hatters in the Championship on Saturday, November 29. The game will be played at the Canon Medical Arena at 7pm. They return home on Sunday, December 21, playing the Oaklands Wolves at the NBPC.