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Archive for the ‘Wolves in college’ Category

Stone rock-solid, but Saints inspired!!

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , , on December 8, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Wolf grad Makana Stone scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds Saturday while facing the #4 team in NCAA D-III women’s basketball. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

You have to play the best to be the best, but sometimes that means absorbing a loss or two.

The Whitman College women’s basketball team scrapped all night Saturday, but despite a splendid 16-point, 13-rebound effort from Coupeville grad Makana Stone, could not take down the #4 team in the country.

That squad is Thomas More College, which went to the NCAA D-III Final Four last year, won a national title in 2016 and entered play Saturday with a 10-0 record.

And, powered by 33 points from Madison Temple, the Saints lived up to their rep, holding off Whitman 80-63 in the final game of the Kim Evanger Raney Classic in Walla Walla.

The non-conference loss snaps a four-game winning streak for the Blues, and drops them to 6-3 on the season.

Stone held up well in the spotlight, leading her team in points and grabbing five more rebounds than any other player on the floor.

She also played a season-high 39 of 40 minutes.

For her efforts across two games (she had 25 points and five rebounds Friday against Colorado College), Stone was named to the All-Tournament team.

She was joined by teammate Mady Burdett, while Temple was picked as tournament MVP.

Whitman hung tough with Thomas More, leading early in the game and only trailing 15-12 at the end of the first quarter.

The deficit stretched out to eight at the half, but a 21-21 third quarter stalemate kept hope alive for the Blues.

It wasn’t to be, however, as the Saints proved to be strong closers, wrapping things with a 21-12 surge across the final 10 minutes.

Stone, who leads her squad in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, has 158 points, 78 rebounds, 13 assists, 14 steals and nine blocks on the year.

She’s shooting 68-121 from the field and 22-30 at the line.

Whitman is off for a week-and-a-half, not returning to play until it travels to California for the UC Santa Cruz Classic Dec. 20-21.

The Blues are scheduled to face Williams College and Northwestern at the tourney, then are off until Jan. 5, when the league season kicks into high gear.

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Stone, Blues torch net!!

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on December 7, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville grad Makana Stone tossed in 25 points Friday as Whitman College women’s basketball rolled to its fourth-straight win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Makana Stone has found her groove.

The Coupeville grad threw down 25 points Friday night, missing her collegiate-high by just a single point, as Whitman College women’s basketball crushed visiting Colorado College 99-60.

The victory, coming in the first of two games the Blues will play in their annual Kim Evanger Raney Classic, is Whitman’s fourth-straight and sixth in its last seven games.

Now 6-2 on the season, Stone and her associates return to their home court in Walla Walla Saturday to face Thomas More College.

Whitman came out red-hot Friday and never cooled off, with the 99 points its second-best team scoring performance of the season.

The Blues dropped 107 on Walla Walla College in an earlier game.

It actually took Stone a minute or two to lock in, as she rimmed out her first three shots.

Things changed when she pulled off the kind of play Coupeville fans grew accustomed to enjoying during her prep career, as she picked the pocket of a rival ball-handler, then beat the crowd to the other end for a layup.

After that, Stone was unstoppable, tossing in eight points in both the first and second quarter.

With the game turning into a blowout, she added seven more in the third, then a single basket in the fourth before heading to the bench early.

Stone finished the game 12-18 from the field, snatched five rebounds and added an assist to go with her steal.

It was the fourth time she has topped 20 points this season, and the Whitman junior has hit double digits in seven of eight.

The 25 points was one shy of the 26 she banked home against Montana Tech.

Whitman surged to a 27-11 lead after one quarter Friday, but Colorado stiffened its chin a bit and eked out a 23-23 tie in the second frame.

After the halftime break, it was back to being all Blues, all the time, as Whitman threw down 23-11 and 26-15 runs in the final two quarters.

Four Blues players scored in double figures, with Mady Burdett knocking down 21.

Stone, who leads her squad in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, has 142 points, 65 rebounds, 10 assists, 12 steals and nine blocks on the year.

She’s shooting 62-109 from the field and 18-24 at the line.

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Stone cold savage!!

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on December 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone went for a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds Saturday, propelling Whitman College to a blowout win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Payback, how sweet it is.

Willamette University stung Whitman College twice in the final four games last season, handing the Blues a pair of crippling losses.

Jump forward to the 2018-2019 season, and the first rematch went in a decidedly different direction.

Fueled by the game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds of Coupeville grad Makana Stone, Whitman crushed Willamette Saturday 75-33.

The win lifts the Blues to 2-0 in Northwest Conference play, leaving them in a first-place tie with Whitworth and George Fox.

Whitman is 5-2 overall, after winning for the third-straight game and fifth time in six games.

The Blues get a rest from league play after this, not facing Northwest Conference foes again until January.

They close the 2018 portion of their schedule with a pair of tournaments, the Kim Evanger Raney Classic in Walla Walla Dec. 7-8 and the UC Santa Cruz Classic in California Dec. 20-21.

Once the new year begins, Whitman returns to conference play, with its final 14 regular season clashes against league opponents.

Saturday night, the Blues savaged their Oregon-based foes, blowing out to an 11-6 lead after one quarter, before really turning up the heat with a torrid 26-7 tear in the second frame.

Stone recorded her third double-double of the season, scoring in every quarter while hitting on 9-15 shots from the floor and going a flawless 2-2 at the line.

Kaylie McCracken notched 11 points in support, while Maegan Martin tossed in 10. Brittany Kochenderfer, whose sweet shooting derailed Whitman last season, topped Willamette with 17.

Stone, who leads the Blues in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, is off to a sizzling start in her junior season.

She currently sits with 117 points, 60 rebounds, nine assists, 11 steals and nine blocks, while shooting 50-91 from the floor and 17-22 at the free-throw line.

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First step a success!!

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on November 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Eileen (left) and Makana Stone celebrate after a win last season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

One game closer to a league title.

Coupeville grad Makana Stone and the Whitman College women’s basketball team kicked off their league schedule Friday with a fairly one-sided win.

Playing on their home court in Walla Walla, the Blues led from start to finish against visiting Pacific University, finishing on the happy side of an 84-69 score.

The victory, its fourth in its last five games, lifts Whitman to 1-0 in Northwest Conference play, 4-2 overall.

The Blues return to the court Saturday, when Willamette arrives in town for another league clash.

Stone, who entered play Friday as Whitman’s #1 scorer and rebounder, got off to a quick start, picking up an assist on the very first bucket of the night.

She dished the ball to teammate Maegen Martin, who knocked down a layup (and an ensuing free throw) and the Blues had a lead they would never relinquish.

Whitman finished the first quarter up by 10, let Pacific creep back into the game, then slammed the door shut.

The lead slipped all the way down to 47-45 midway through the third, before the Blues finished the quarter on a game-busting 17-4 run.

Whitman got big games from Kaylie McCracken, who singed the nets for 24 points, and Mady Burdett, who popped for 20.

That helped make up for the loss in offense when Stone and three-point bomber Kaelan Shamseldin found themselves locked to the bench for extended periods of time in the second half while battling foul trouble.

Stone’s 18 minutes of floor time were her fewest of the season, but she used her time well, netting eight points, snaring six rebounds, making off with two steals and dishing an assist.

For the season, she sits with 97 points, 48 rebounds, eight assists, 10 steals and eight blocks, while shooting 41-76 from the floor and 15-20 at the free-throw line.

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Wolf ace nets college tennis gig!!

Posted in Tennis, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on November 29, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville grad Joey Lippo is off to play college tennis in Kentucky. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Tennis it is.

Joey Lippo was a three-sport star during his days at Coupeville High School, anchoring Wolf teams in tennis, basketball and baseball.

He was also the rare male athlete who could do a mean dance as well, often joining twin sister Skyy in her world of ballet, when he performed in productions of The Nutcracker.

But now Lippo, a 2018 CHS grad, will devote himself solely to the racket arts, after agreeing to play tennis for Midway University in Kentucky.

The liberal arts school competes athletically in the River States Conference, and is part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Most NAIA schools offer athletic scholarships, and Midway has pledged to pick up a substantial portion of Lippo’s college costs, making his parents hearts sing with great joy.

In addition to playing tennis, Lippo will study environmental science. School begins Jan. 7, with tennis starting in Feb.

He’s joining an Eagles program which is still in its infancy, as Midway was an all-girls school until just recently.

Founded in 1847, the school was originally known as the Kentucky Female Orphan School and admitted its first male undergraduates in time for the fall 2017 semester.

Midway University sits smack-dab on a 200-acre working farm in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, and the oldest building on campus, Pinkerton Hall, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

While the school has been around for a long time, Lippo is one of the pioneers for male sports at the institution.

The men’s tennis program is in just its second season, with coach Joe Reyes, a highly-accomplished former college player, quickly building a strong roster.

The Eagles currently lay claim to players from Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas, plus four foreign netters, one from Spain and three from Columbia.

And now you can add Washington state to the list.

“The tennis coach found me somehow and told me to come visit the school,” Lippo said. “I got to play with the team and I loved that environment and everyone was so welcoming.

“It’s a small school and reminds me a lot of Coupeville.”

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