Coupeville’s Makana Stone went for 16 points and 10 rebounds Friday as Whitman clinched at least a share of the league title. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
They have a share. Now, they want the whole thing.
Powered by a 16-point, 10-rebound performance Friday from Coupeville’s Makana Stone, the Whitman College women’s basketball team clinched at least part of the Northwest Conference title for the first time since 2014.
The Blues used a strong second-half surge to bounce visiting George Fox University 70-53, winning their eighth-straight game.
Now 12-1 in league play, 20-2 overall, Whitman sits three games up on George Fox (9-4, 17-5) and Pacific University (9-4, 15-7) with three regular-season games left to play.
One more Blues win and they clinch everything, from sole possession of the league crown, to the #1 seed in the four-team postseason tourney, which decides the league’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA D-III championships.
Whitman would love to get that win Saturday afternoon, when it hosts Pacific on Senior Night.
The Boxers are the only NWC team to solve the Blues this season, upending them 65-64 in Oregon Jan. 18, after rallying from 19 points down.
Revenge and celebration will be the theme Saturday, as Whitman honors seniors Stone, Mady Burdett, Lily Gustafson, Katie Stahl, and Natalie Whitesel.
Since uniting in Walla Walla, the five-pack has helped the Blues go 88-19, with two trips to the NCAA tourney and a third invite all but certain to happen this season.
As freshmen, they were part of a team which went all the way to the Elite Eight.
The one thing Stone and Co. hadn’t done was win a conference title. While they won the NWC postseason tourney as freshmen, the Blues had finished 3rd, 2nd, and 2nd in the regular season the past three seasons.
A big part of that was George Fox, who has been a thorn in their side.
Until now.
This time around, Whitman swept the season series from the Bruins, though the two teams could meet again in the postseason.
Friday night, the Blues were back at home at the Sherwood Athletic Center after completing a recent four-game road trip.
Whitman is undefeated on its home hardwood this season, and it looked like the matchup with George Fox would be a blowout in the early going.
Bolting out to a 19-8 lead after one quarter of play, the Blues were clicking, but, as always, the Bruins weren’t about to give up easily.
Battling back into the game, George Fox tied things up, before Stone nailed back-to-back jumpers to send Whitman into the halftime locker room with a narrower than expected 32-29 advantage.
The Blues have been a dominant second-half team this season, and Friday was one more well-written chapter in their book of success.
Stone slapped home a layup to give Whitman a 36-34 lead early in the third, and this time the Blues never gave the advantage back.
Having stretched the lead to 49-41 exiting the third quarter, the home town heroes slammed the gas pedal through the floorboards in the final frame, roaring to their eighth victory in as many games in front of their home fans.
Kaylie McCracken paced Whitman with 18 points, while Stone and Burdett each popped for 16.
To go along with her game-high 10 rebounds, the former Coupeville ace also collected three assists, two steals, and two blocked shots in 34 minutes of all-around excellence.
On the season, Stone has 348 points, 185 rebounds, 33 assists, 25 steals, and 20 blocks, and is shooting 142-266 (53.3%) from the field and 61-79 (77.2%) at the line.
The #5 scorer in Whitman women’s history, the CHS grad finished Friday with 1,275 career points.
Stone also hit all four of her free throw attempts against George Fox, with the final one being the 200th successful charity shot of her collegiate career.
She needs three rebounds on Senior Night to reach 800 (she’s #3 in program history), and 28 minutes of floor time to top 2,500 for her time at Whitman.
