Coupeville Sports

CHS grad Makana Stone snagged a game-high nine rebounds Saturday in a double-overtime women’s basketball thriller. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Exhibition or not, this one was a thriller.

Neither Whitman College or Central Washington University will count Saturday’s women’s basketball rumble in their win/loss record, but both teams fought like it was a playoff game.

By the time the dust had settled, Central Washington, riding a 27-point performance from Taylor Shaw, held off pesky Whitman to snatch a 80-76 victory in double-overtime.

Coupeville grad Makana Stone helped spark the Blues, scoring six points and grabbing a game-high nine rebounds as she and her NCAA DIII team held their own with the DII Wildcats.

Whitman actually led for most of the game, holding a two-point advantage after one quarter before stretching the margin to 10 heading into the fourth.

Central Washington stormed back on its home court in Ellensburg, however, using a 21-11 run in the final quarter to give the fans free basketball.

Once in overtime, the teams exchanged daggers.

With Whitman holding a three-point lead and time running out in regulation, the Wildcats channeled the Golden State Warriors.

Kaelie Flores knocked down a three-ball under heavy pressure with just six ticks to play to knot things ups, while Whitman’s own trey attempt at the buzzer rimmed out.

The first five-minute overtime was all about Shaw, who knocked down nine straight points, including a three-point play the hard way to stake Central to a late two-point lead.

Whitman’s Mady Burdett answered, draining a pair of pressure-packed free throws with 26 seconds to play, tying the game while keeping fans in their seats and the lights on in the gym.

In the second OT, the game was decided in the game’s final minute.

Clinging to a one-point lead, Central hit the front end of a one-and-one opportunity at the free throw line, but bounced the second attempt off the iron.

Snatching the offensive board, the Wildcats missed the put-back, but hauled down a second carom, this time banking a shot to stretch the lead out to where it finished, at four points.

Stone, a junior, added two steals and an assist, while Burdett paced the Blues with 23 points.

After playing two exhibition games, Whitman opens the season, and starts counting wins and losses, next Saturday, Nov. 10, when it plays at Eastern Oregon University.

The Blues, who have made back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances with Stone in the lineup, have a 25-game regular season schedule.