The Manchester Giants move on to the Semi-Finals of the Betty Codona Trophy after a 98-69 win over the Nottingham Wildcats. Photo Credit main image: Mark Ferris: All Sports Photography.

The Giants put on a dominant scoring display over the Wildcats in the Betty Codona Trophy Quarter Final this weekend behind a breakout game from Idil Turk. Her 35 point outburst, the most any Giants player has had this season and, if the Manchester Mystics all time stats roll in with the refranchise, ties (with Georgia Anderson) for the second highest single scoring game in Manchester’s WBBL history: Erika Williams holds the record with 39 in April 2022.

Turk, playing in her first season in the UK after several years in her native Turkey, has provided a spark off the bench for the Giants all season long as she brings a wealth of experience to the team. Playing her college Basketball at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, she returned to Turkey to start her pro career spending time with Hatay, where she played in Eurocup, Izmit and then Cankaya last season. Playing alongside WNBA players such as Brianna Turner and Ty Harris, Turk averaged 4.6 ppg, shooting 34.4% from behind the arc.

Coming off the bench Turk used her speed and sharpshooting to put the Giants ahead: starting with back to back 3s and racing out ahead of the Wildcats in transition, Turk scored 14 straight points for the Giants over the course of two minutes and 24 seconds in the second quarter on her way to 23 in the first half, the Giants crowd getting louder and louder after each bucket. In addition to her 35 points, Turk finished the game hitting 5 threes, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 2 steals in just under 29 minutes.

Speaking postgame, Turk praised her teammates for her success: “I didn’t even know I had five (threes). I was just playing the game, I was in the moment and my teammates were so great at finding me so credit goes to them. The last couple of weeks, I’ve been trying to turn my essays in since I’m getting my masters, and trying to get a balance…. I just put my mind into basketball today and I was just here. I blocked everything from outside and it was a great game.”

Myah Pace added 11 points and 11 rebounds for her 5th double double of the season and with 3 steals showed off the defensive prowess that had her leading her San Diego University team in steals last season. Giants playmaker Brooklynn McAlear-Fannus continues to display her value as a facilitator and put up another all round game with 7 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. McAlear-Fannus is currently in joint first place leading the league in assists per game with 5.5, alongside London’s Holly Winterburn.

Off the bench Sydney Hunter racked 13 points and 12 rebounds on her way to double double number 7. In her first season in the UK Hunter leads the team in rebounds, is 2nd in the league in rebounds per game (12.2) and in defensive boards (8.7). Leah McDerment (9 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists), a guard who likes to drive to the basket, showed how she does just that and provided solid leadership in her time on court. McDerment, the only returning player from last years Mystics squad has averaged 6.5 points and 3 assists through the Trophy so far.

Next weekend’s semi final against the Essex Rebels awaits, looking ahead to that game Turk notes: “It feels great going into the semi final…we’re super happy about it. We have a great roster, (the players we have) coming off the bench, everyone does really good stuff on offence and defense and now we’re getting the (team) chemistry better. We’ll just focus on Essex now and try and get a ticket for the final.”

14 points and 5 rebounds from Lauren Thomas-Johnson saw her in double figures for the 5th time this season, one of the core veterans on the team, alongside long time teammates Georgia Anderson (5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) and Hannah Shaw (4 points, 6 rebounds), Thomas-Johnson in her 6th WBBL season is averaging a career best 40.4% from the field this year.

Next up: The Giants head to Essex on Saturday 20th at 4pm to face the Rebels in the semi final, the winner will matchup against either the London Lions or Sheffield Hatters in the final in Birmingham on Jan 28th. More information and ticket details for the final can be found here.