Makana Stone had 13 points and 12 rebounds Friday in Texas as Whitman remained undefeated. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Ten days off, and still just as red hot and rollin’.
Returning from sabbatical, the Whitman College women’s basketball team rolled into Texas Friday and immediately laid down a beatin’, thrashing host Concordia University 82-55 behind a double-double from Coupeville’s Makana Stone.
The former Wolf tossed in 13 points, snared a game-high 12 rebounds, dealt out four assists, and still had time to pick up a blocked shot and a steal.
With their second non-conference win over the Tornados, who they also beat in the season opener at the Whit Classic in Spokane, the Blues improve to 6-0 on the season.
Whitman, ranked #12 in NCAA D-III, leaves Austin behind, and travels to Belton Saturday.
It faces the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (4-1), then returns to Walla Walla, where it will finally play a home game.
After a seven-game road trip to open the season, the Blues host the Kim Evanger Raney Classic Dec. 13-15, playing two home games against the University of Maine at Fort Kent and Buena Vista University.
Then comes a nearly three-week break before the 16-game Northwest Conference schedule tips off Jan. 3.
Friday night, the game was a little closer than expected, at least at first, with Whitman clinging to a 15-14 lead at the first break.
Then, Stone took over and the Blues rapidly started to pull away.
Scoring eight of her points in the second quarter, Coupeville’s shining star helped Whitman stretch its lead to 34-24 at the half, then 59-37 after three quarters of play.
The Blues got contributions up and down the roster, with Kaylie McCracken popping for 14 points to pace the squad.
On the season, Stone has 95 points, 40 rebounds, nine assists, 11 steals, and six blocks. She’s shooting 38-65 (58.4%) from the floor and 19-24 (79.1%) from the free throw line.
Friday’s game included two career milestones for the former Wolf, as she collected her 650th rebound (she has 652 now) and cracked the 2,000 minute mark (she’s sitting at 2,020).
Saturday’s game against Mary Hardin-Baylor will be the 90th of Stone’s career, and with 1,023 points, she is closing in on 7th place (1,056) on the school’s career scoring chart.
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