Coupeville Sports

   Makana Stone, seen here during her high school days, made her first college start Sunday afternoon. (John Fisken photo)

Makana Stone got her moment in the spotlight, and it paid dividends for the Whitman College women’s basketball squad.

Making her debut as a college starter Sunday, the freshman phenom and former Coupeville High School star lit a spark under the Blues, who roared out to a 10-0 lead en route to knocking off highly-ranked George Fox University.

Stone snatched four boards, scored a bucket, doled out an assist and rejected a shot in the game’s opening minutes, helping Whitman roll to an 82-74 win.

That snaps a two-game skid for the Blues and lifts them to 15-2 overall, 6-2 in the Northwest Conference.

They move back into second-place, trailing just front-runner Puget Sound (8-0).

Stone, who has been one of the first players off the bench in every game this season, got the nod as a starter on the road and responded.

She finished with five points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 23 minutes of action, including grabbing the game’s first and last rebounds.

After adding three more boards and her second block in the second quarter, Stone picked up two of her three assists at a crucial moment early in the fourth.

She fed Emily Rommel, who scored a team-high 20, on back-to-back buckets to stake Whitman to a 62-60 lead.

Through 17 games, Stone is averaging 5.0 points and 5.1 rebounds a night.

Her 87 boards put her third on the team, while she also has 15 assists, seven blocks and 11 steals.