Coupeville’s Makana Stone had 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds Saturday as Whitman women’s basketball won a close one. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Blowout or close game, they’ve got this.
A day after opening the season with a 39-point win, the Whitman College women’s basketball team won a gut-check special Saturday, edging dangerous Carroll College 74-72.
The win over the Montana gunners gives the Blues, ranked #21 in D3 hoops, a clean sweep at the Whit Classic in Spokane.
Whitman, which got a game-high 24 points from Mady Burdett and a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double from Coupeville grad Makana Stone, is just starting its road trip.
The Blues put their 2-0 record on the line next Wednesday, Nov. 20 when they travel a whopping 3.2 miles across town to face Walla Walla University.
After that, Whitman has two games in California and another two in Texas, before the home opener Dec. 13.
Saturday’s game was a brawl from start to finish, with the teams battling down to the final shot of the night.
Up 21-19 after one quarter, the Blues found themselves in a 38-38 tie at the half, then clinging to a 59-58 lead headed into the final frame.
Stone opened the scoring in the fourth, banging down a jumper to momentarily stretch Whitman’s lead back out to three points.
After that, the Blues turned to their long-range shooters, with freshman Shaira Young and Stone’s fellow senior, Burdett, each rattling home back-to-back three-balls.
Even then, the game wasn’t decided until the final ticks of the clock played out.
Burdett swished a trey to break a 70-70 tie, with Carroll responding with a layup with 35 seconds to play to pull back within one.
The Montana squad then stole the ball, and had not one, but two shots at taking the lead, only to watch both a three-ball and a put-back pop back out.
Whitman’s Kaelan Shamseldin pulled down the game’s biggest rebound, and sank one of two free throws with a single second to play to set the final margin.
Stone netted her 14 points thanks to 3-9 shooting from the field, and 8-11 from the free throw stripe.
Her 10 boards were a game-high, while the former Wolf added three steals while playing 29 minutes.
Two games into her final college season, Stone has 32 points, 13 rebounds, and six steals.
With 960 career points, she continues to move closer to becoming just the ninth female player in Whitman basketball history to crack 1,000 points.
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