Coupeville’s Makana Stone delivered big plays late Tuesday as Whitman held off Whitworth for an important league win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
They didn’t crack.
Playing a rare Tuesday game, the Whitman College women’s basketball team blew out to a 27-point lead on the road, then gave it all back, yet still found a way to win.
With their senior leaders, Mady Burdett and Coupeville’s Makana Stone, coming up big in the final moments, the Blues held on to edge host Whitworth 84-79.
The win lifts Whitman to 6-1 in Northwest Conference play, 14-2 overall, and pulls it within a half game of league leader Pacific University, which sits at 6-0 in conference action.
The battle of the Whits looked like a blowout in the first half, as a veteran Blues squad torched a very-young Whitworth team.
With Burdett rattling home 18 first-half points, including hitting all four of her three-point attempts, Whitman surged to a 49-22 lead with seconds to go before the break.
Whitworth swished a three-ball at the very end of the half, but, in the moment, it seemed like an afterthought, a way to make a 27-point deficit look slightly better as a 24-point gap.
Instead, it was a sign of things to come, as the host Pirates suddenly started dropping treys from every part of the floor.
Hitting six shots from behind the arc in the third, including one literally at the buzzer, Whitworth scored more points in the quarter than they had in the entire first half.
And yet, even with a 30-19 tear, the Pirates still trailed the Blues 68-55 with 10 minutes to play.
That changed quickly, however, as Whitworth opened the fourth quarter with 10 straight points fueled by another pair of three-balls, eventually using a 16-3 run to knot the game up at 71-71.
Pirate sophomore gunner Sydney Abbott, who finished with a game-high 26, knifed through the Blues defense for a hard-earned running layup, then plopped in a free throw to complete the game-tying three-point play.
Whitman’s experience paid off, though, as it reclaimed the lead on a Kaylie McCracken free throw and a Taylor Chambers layup.
Then, Stone and Burdett slid back to the forefront to ice the game.
Coupeville’s progeny pulled off back-to-back sparkling plays to shove the lead from 74-72 to 78-72, and Whitman never looked back.
On the first play, Stone delivered a dagger, nailing a leaning jumper over her defender.
Then, next time down the floor, she delivered a sensational entry pass to Lily Gustafson, who banked in a runner to quiet the raucous crowd.
From there, Whitman closed the game with a series of trips to the free throw line, led by Burdett, who went 4-4 at the end to cap a 22-point night.
The senior from Edmonds tallied her 1,000th career point in the first half, joining Stone in that exclusive club.
The Blues put four players into double figures, with McCracken (16), Kaelan Shamseldin (12), and Gustafson (12) joining Burdett.
Stone, who was restricted by foul trouble much of the night, finished with nine points, five rebounds, a steal, and an assist.
On the season, the former Wolf has 242 points, 122 rebounds, 22 assists, 19 steals, and 15 blocks, and is shooting 98-184 (53.3%) from the floor and 43-55 (78.2%) at the free throw line.
Whitman returns to action with a home game Saturday against Linfield, which will be the 100th game of Stone’s collegiate career.
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