Makana Stone volunteers to go kick some fanny and take names. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Welcome to beat down city.
With preseason All-American Casey Poe back in the lineup, and Coupeville grad Makana Stone playing near flawless ball, the Whitman College women’s basketball squad was unstoppable Friday afternoon.
Kicking off the Kim Evanger Raney Memorial Classic, the Blues crushed previously-unbeaten Walla Walla College 81-42 in a game which was over as soon as Stone knocked down the first basket.
The win lifts Whitman to 3-1 heading into another tourney game Saturday against Evergreen State College.
The Blues played the first three games of the season minus Poe, who was working on an academic project, and, with her out, Stone has emerged as a go-to scorer.
That continued Friday, as the former Wolf banged home three lay-ups in the first quarter, then iced four straight jumpers.
Stone, who didn’t miss a shot until midway through the fourth quarter, finished with 16 points on 8-9 shooting.
Poe, who went off for 12 in the third quarter, had a game-high 21. Emily Rommel and Maegan Martin chipped in with 12 apiece.
Whitman put the game away early, cruising in with a 25-9 lead at the end of the first, then stretching it to 46-14 at the half.
From there, the Blues steadily pushed the margin, which reached as high as 42 right before Walla Walla hit a game-closing three-ball.
Through the first four games of her sophomore season, Stone is averaging 16 points and 7.5 rebounds a night.
She leads Whitman in points (64) rebounds (30), field goal percentage (66% on 23-35) and free throw percentage (86% on 18-21), while also having five assists, three steals and one blocked shot.
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