Coupeville Sports

   Makana Stone (right) seen here last year with Wolf teammate Lindsey Roberts, is off to a strong start as a college hoops player. (John Fisken photo)

Home, away, doesn’t matter.

Playing in her first road game as a college basketball player Friday, Makana Stone dropped in eight points, snagged five boards and pilfered three steals as Whitman College zipped to a win in the opening game of the Whit Classic in Spokane.

The Coupeville High School grad came off the bench to play 20 minutes for the Blues, and continued her torrid shooting, dropping in four of five shots in a 67-56 pasting of UC Santa Cruz.

Stone is shooting a fiery 69.2% from the field (9 of 13) through two games, putting her securely atop the Whitman stat sheet.

She’s also currently number two in scoring and rebounding at 9.0 and 5.0 per game, respectively.

Whitman rallied Friday from a seven point halftime deficit, outscoring Santa Cruz 38-20 after the break. A 19-7 run in the third did most of the damage.

Six Blues players, including Stone, hit for eight or better, with senior Chelsi Brewer knocking down a team-high 15.

Whitman, now 2-0 on the young season, returns to action right away, playing Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday.

After that, Stone and her new running mates play their next three games in Oregon, not playing on their home court in Walla Walla again until Dec. 6.