Makana Stone scores, Whitman wins. End of story. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
The battle for Walla Walla goes to the Blues.
Sparked by a game-high 17 points from Coupeville’s Makana Stone, the Whitman College women’s basketball squad clubbed cross-town rival Walla Walla University 78-50 Wednesday night.
The non-conference road win lifts the Blues to a perfect 3-0 as they open the season with seven straight games away from their home gym.
Whitman travels to California next, with games at the University of Redlands (Nov. 23) and Whittier College (Nov. 25), before doing a Texas two-step Dec. 6-7 against Concordia University and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
The Blues home opener is not until Dec. 13, when they host the Kim Evanger Raney Classic.
Wednesday night, Whitman, ranked #21 in NCAA D-III women’s basketball, led from start to finish.
A 23-15 first quarter lead turned into a 41-26 bulge at the half, then a 56-34 margin headed into the final quarter.
Stone went off for 10 of her points in the first half, then poured in her final seven in the third quarter as the Blues put the game on ice.
Playing just 19 minutes, the former Wolf used her time well, netting six of eight shots from the floor, while ringing up all five of her free throw attempts.
Whitman hit 20-24 from the charity stripe, with Stone and Kaylie McCracken (10-12) leading the way.
McCracken finished with 16 points to give the Blues a nifty one-two punch, while Natalie Whitesel snatched a team-best seven rebounds.
Stone hauled down four caroms, while picking up her first two blocked shots of the young season.
Through three games, the Whitman senior has knocked down a team-high 49 points, shooting a crisp 18-32 (56.2%) from the field and 13-16 (81.3%) from the free-throw line.
Coupeville Sports 