Makana Stone went for nine points and 10 rebounds Thursday, but Whitman fell in a playoff game. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Agony.
It’s what the Whitman College women’s basketball squad endured for much of Thursday, and what the Blues now face as they wait for a probable call from the NCAA.
Despite rallying in the final two minutes of its Northwest Conference Tournament semifinal game to finally take the lead, Whitman could only watch in horror as visiting Willamette responded by tossing in a game-winning three-ball in the final seconds.
The 55-52 loss, the third defeat in four games for the once high-flying Blues, drops them to 22-4.
Long gone is its 21-game win streak, and now Whitman has to wait until Monday to find out if it lands an at-large berth in the NCAA D-III women’s national tourney.
The Blues, who made it to the Elite Eight last season, are a strong contender, but would have preferred getting an automatic bid by winning the league’s postseason title.
Instead, that golden ticket awaits either Willamette (17-9) or George Fox (23-3), who play Saturday in the title game.
Thursday’s loss, the second straight to the Bearcats, was similar to the Blues defeat at the hands of Willamette six days ago.
In short, ice-cold shooting killed Whitman.
The Blues opened 7-30 from the floor in the first half, fell behind by 10 points, and never really heated up.
In the end, Whitman finished 21-63 from the floor, including just 2-11 from behind the three-point arc.
Willamette was 8-16 on three-balls, the difference in a game which came down to the final seconds.
Trailing for much of the game, Whitman stormed back, seemingly pulling a victory from the jaws of defeat.
Down 50-44 with 1:53 to play, the Blues used aggressive defense, then turned Willamette’s turnovers into an 8-0 run in the matter of just 37 seconds.
The Bearcats didn’t blink, however, holding Whitman scoreless over the final 76 seconds.
A Drew Farmer jumper — her only points of the night — tied the game at 52, before Ashley Evans buried the game-deciding three-ball with 20 ticks on the clock.
Whitman couldn’t get the equalizer, then committed a violation while trying to in-bound the ball for a final shot with 2.8 seconds to play.
The loss obscured another solid performance for Coupeville grad Makana Stone, who went for nine points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
Casey Poe paced the Blues with 16, while Taylor Chambers added 15. Willamette was led by Kylie Towry, who knocked down a game-high 21.
For the season, Stone, a sophomore, has 326 points, 187 rebounds, 50 assists, five blocks and 18 steals.
She’s shooting 52% from the floor (138-264) and 77% from the free-throw line (50-65).
