Coupeville Sports

   Makana Stone (center) and Whitman College open the NCAA D-III national women’s basketball championships Friday in Texas. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They’re leaving Walla Walla on a jet plane.

The Whitman College women’s basketball team, and standout sophomore Makana Stone, owner of a Coupeville High School diploma, are Texas-bound.

The Blues (22-4) open the NCAA D-III women’s national championships Friday in Richardson, Texas against East Texas Baptist University (22-6).

Win its first-round tussle and Whitman plays Saturday against the winner of the University of Texas-Dallas (23-4), which is the regional host, and Trinity (TX) University (23-3).

After winning the Northwest Conference postseason tourney and claiming an automatic bid last year, the Blues were on pins and needles this time around, but got in thanks to an at-large bid.

Whitman’s main rival this season, George Fox (24-3), also made the 64-team field.

With both the Northwest Conference regular season and postseason titles in hand, the Bruins head to Waverly, Iowa to face Saint Benedict (22-4).

Whitman, which went to the Elite 8 during Stone’s freshman season, matches up well with its first-round foe.

East Texas Baptist finished third in the American Southwest Conference, then won three straight games to claim the league’s postseason title.

The Tigers average 68.1 points a game and give up 59, while Whitman has a 75.5-59.5 advantage.

While the Blues have three players who average double figures, in senior Casey Poe (17.0), Stone (12.5) and senior Emily Rommel (10.4), East Texas Baptist has just one — Kim Childress (14.2).

She’s a 5-foot-10 sophomore from Colorado.

Whitman and ETB have one foe in common this season, Whitworth.

The Tigers fell 72-66 in a non-league match-up with the Pirates, while the Blues drilled Whitworth 101-68 and 83-49 in their Northwest Conference tilts.

Whitman is 48-9 over Stone’s two seasons, and the former Wolf, who was a First-Team All-League player this year, leads the team in rebounding.

On the season, she has 326 points, 187 rebounds, 50 assists, five blocks and 18 steals.

Stone is shooting 52% from the floor (138-264) and 77% at the free-throw line (50-65).

To see the NCAA tourney bracket, pop over to:

https://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/basketball-women/d3