Makana Stone, seen here on signing day, lit up the joint Wednesday during her first college basketball game. (Sylvia Hurlburt photo)
Well, that didn’t take very long.
One game into her college basketball career, and Coupeville High School grad Makana Stone has already rocked the joint.
The Whitman College freshman came off the bench Wednesday to torch the nets for a team-high 10 points (on sweet 5-of-8 shooting), propelling her new squad to a season-opening 55-53 win over visiting Eastern Oregon.
Stone, a two-time Olympic League MVP during her legendary run in Cow Town, played 22 minutes for the Blues and used her time on the floor extremely well.
She snagged six boards and her shooting percentage (63%) was miles ahead of her teammates, who combined to shoot a chilly 26% (15-57).
Still, with Stone’s torrid debut to help lead the way, it was enough to topple an Eastern Oregon team which entered the night at 4-0.
Junior Casey Poe, who paced Whitman with 14 rebounds, knocked down a crucial free throw in the final seconds as Whitman held off a late charge from the Mountaineers.
Eastern Oregon sliced a nine-point deficit to one in the final three minutes, but couldn’t get a game-winning shot to drop.
Whitman will take its 1-0 record on the road for a five-game trip which kicks off with the Whit Classic in Spokane Nov. 18-19.
