Makana Stone singed the nets for 13 points Friday, but Whitman fell in a one-point thriller. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
They only trailed once, but it was one time too many.
Playing on the road in Oregon Friday, the Whitman College women’s basketball team lost a 19-point lead and fell 65-64 to Pacific University in a first-place showdown.
The defeat, coming in a game in which the Blues roared out to an 11-0 lead and dominated play for a considerable amount of time, drops them to 4-1 in Northwest Conference play, 12-2 overall.
It snaps a six-game winning streak for Whitman, which plays at George Fox University Saturday, while Pacific, picked to finish 5th in the preseason poll, sits atop the nine-team league at 5-0, 11-3.
The Boxers, who never led until the game’s final 71 seconds Friday, have won seven straight.
Fighting back after Whitman savaged it in the early going, Pacific tied the game up with a hair over three minutes to play, but immediately fell back behind.
Coupeville’s Makana Stone slid a free throw through the net with 1:52 to play to stake Whitman to its final lead at 62-60, but the Blues couldn’t land the knockout punch.
Whitman failed to connect on a field goal over the final two minutes and 43 seconds, and didn’t score at all between the 1:52 and 0:04 mark of the fourth quarter.
That left the door open for Pacific, and Kaylssa Kleinschmit answered, banging home a three-ball to put the Boxers up 63-62 with 1:11 to play.
Under pressure, Whitman turned the ball over several times in the final minute, while Pacific stretched the lead out to 65-62 thanks to free throws.
The Boxers actually missed four of six freebies in the final moments, and had to foul Whitman to deny them a chance to toss up a potentially game-tying three-ball.
Blues freshman Shaira Young netted both of her chances at the line, pulling Whitman within 65-64, then Pacific clanked its own charity shots with just three ticks on the clock.
But a miracle finish wasn’t in the books, as the Boxers picked off the Blues inbounds pass to end the game and send the local fans into hysterics.
Kaylie McCracken paced Whitman with 22 points, while Mady Burdett rained down 14, with 10 of those in a torrid first quarter.
Stone finished with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists, and a blocked shot.
On the season, the former Wolf has 214 points, 113 rebounds, 18 assists, 18 steals, and 13 blocks, while shooting 87-164 from the field and 38-48 at the free throw line.
With 1,142 career points, Stone is four points from passing former teammate Casey Poe to claim 6th place on the Whitman women’s basketball career scoring list.
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