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Posts Tagged ‘Makana Stone’

Wolf grads tip off new journey!!

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on November 15, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Makana Stone (left) and Kailey Kellner, seen here in their younger days, kicked off new college basketball seasons Wednesday night. (Amy King photo)

And so it begins.

Coupeville High School grads Makana Stone and Kailey Kellner officially began their college basketball seasons Wednesday, though both players may not be totally pleased with the end result.

Kellner, a freshman, made her debut in New York with D’Youville College, playing 11 minutes in a 68-47 loss at Keuka College.

Way, way across the country, in LaGrande, Oregon, Stone and her Whitman College teammates experienced something they rarely dealt with a year ago, falling 73-64 to host Eastern Oregon.

Whitman:

The Blues, coming off of a season in which they fell just short of the NCAA D-III Final Four, entered their opener ranked in the top 10 in both national polls (#6 on D3hoops.com and #9 on WBCA.com).

Wednesday, though, Whitman was playing without senior Casey Poe, a preseason All-American, and a five-point halftime lead melted away under a 27-point third quarter barrage from Eastern Oregon.

While the Blues were taking their first shots of the season, the Mountaineers are already locked in, boasting a 4-1 record prior to tip-off.

Stone, who became a starter midway through last season, did her best to lead the resistance.

She finished with 10 points, tore down a team-high five rebounds, and managed to get a steal and an assist on the same play.

On that one, Stone pilfered the ball, then fed freshman Kaelan Shamseldin, who knocked down one of her four three-balls on the night.

Shamseldin and Maegen Martin tied for team-high honors with 12 points, while Stone, who took Whitman’s first shot of the season (nice trivia fact) scored six of her 10 in the second half.

Whitman, which started 14-0 last season, returns to Washington with back-to-back games on the schedule this weekend.

The Blues are playing in the Ramada at Spokane Airport Whit Classic, with games Friday (University of La Verne) and Saturday (Whittier College).

D’Youville:

Kellner, who blossomed into a three-ball shooting sniper in Coupeville after unexpectedly arriving one day from England, is now off on a new adventure in Buffalo.

The Spartan have a 17-player roster, with 15 of those hoop stars hailing from New York.

Then you jump all the way across the USA to Washington state, where Kellner and CeDrice Howard, a sophomore from Curtis High School, form the small, but vital, West Coast arm of the basketball crew.

Getting some quality floor time right out of the gate, Kellner received the ninth-most minutes of any Spartan on opening night.

While she missed both of her shots in her first game, she snagged a rebound and may have begun to shape a second career as an enforcer.

Keuka College, which bolted out to a 43-21 lead at the half and then coasted in for the win, was much more physical, at least on the foul chart.

The KC Wolves out-fouled D’Youville at a 2-to-1 rate all night (26-13 overall), but Kellner was the lone Spartan to slug right back, picking up a team-high three fouls.

Just call her Killer Kailey.

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She’s back, and still kicking fanny!!

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on November 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   One game into her sophomore season of college basketball and Makana Stone is already at the front of the pack. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The season hasn’t officially started, and already Makana Stone is on fire.

The Coupeville High School grad kicked off her sophomore basketball campaign at Whitman College with a 13-point, eight-rebound performance Nov. 2 in an exhibition game against The Master’s (Calif.) University.

Paced by Stone, the Blues, who are coming off a run to the Elite Eight in last year’s NCAA D-III women’s tourney, rolled to a 72-47 victory.

While the win doesn’t officially count on Whitman’s win-loss record, it was a nice tune-up before the start of the regular season.

That’s Nov. 15, when the Blues, ranked #6 in preseason polls, play at Eastern Oregon in a non-conference game.

After that comes a pair of tournaments, one in Spokane and one in Walla Walla, as the season gets into full swing.

In the exhibition opener, Whitman gave time to all 14 players on its roster, but none shone brighter than Stone, who worked her way into the starting lineup midway through her freshman season.

She pumped in her game-high 13 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the field, tossing in a free throw to round out the effort.

Stone also dealt out two assists and made off with a steal to go with her eight rebounds, while putting in 24 minutes on the court.

Fellow returning players Emily Rommel (11 points, five rebounds) and Maegen Martin (10 points, nine boards) were strong as well, while freshman Kaelan Shamseldin netted 12 points, all off of three-balls.

Whitman was savage on the glass, out-rebounding its foes 50-30, while limiting the Mustangs to an ice-cold 23% shooting performance.

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Still in it to win it!!

Posted in Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on June 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Jacob Martin is one of 12 former Wolves planning on playing college sports next school year. (John Fisken photo)

Some are done, some are just beginning.

With the 2016-2017 school year reaching an end, a number of former Coupeville athletes are saying goodbye to life in college sports, while others are gearing up for their own runs.

The elder statesman, Mitch Pelroy, capped a five-year run as a football player at Montana Western, while Hailey Hammer and Monica Vidoni ended two-year stints at Everett Community College and Rainy River CC, respectively.

Also out the door is Jenn Spark, who played a year of soccer at Tacoma Community College.

She’s engaged to former Wolf hoops star Anthony Bergeron and is headed to San Diego to join him.

Looking towards the fall of 2017, here’s a list of former Wolves who we expect to be in the mix for a college sports career.

It’s an ever-changing list, so don’t be surprised to see additions or subtractions as we head down the winding road.

In alphabetic order:

Zane Bundy — After a year of learning on the sidelines at Santa Barbara City College, the former Wolf kicker is transferring to Tabor College in Kansas.

Ben Etzell — An All-League pick for his performance as a relief pitcher, he’ll be a senior at Saint John’s University in Minnesota next spring.

Kailey Kellner — 2017 CHS grad has signed to play hoops at D’Youville College in New York.

Dalton Martin — Enjoyed a successful freshman season as a discus thrower at Everett Community College.

Ally Roberts – 2017 CHS grad is joining the equestrian team at Western Washington University. The school provides its riders with steeds, dashing hopes she would take her horse, Tiger, to live with her in the dorms, TV sitcom-style.

Jacob Martin — 2017 CHS grad has signed to play football at Feather River College in Quincy, California. Golden Eagles coaches are projecting him to play strong safety.

Clay Reilly — 2017 CHS grad will try out for the baseball team at Skagit Valley College.

Kory Score — 2017 CHS grad will try out for the baseball team at Western Washington.

Makana Stone — After a tremendously successful freshman year on the basketball court at Whitman College (she became a starter and helped carry her team to the Elite Eight), she’ll be a key player for the Blues next winter.

Nick Streubel – He’s healthy after missing much of last season with a hand injury and he, and his flowing Samson hair locks, are expected to start on the line for the Central Washington University football squad. Will be a red-shirt sophomore.

Jonathan Thurston – 2017 CHS grad will try out for the Central Washington baseball squad.

Aaron Trumbull – Played first base at Olympic Community College as a freshman this spring, where he showed a slick glove.

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Stone closes book on smash debut!!

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on March 11, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Makana Stone made a quick transition from high school to college, playing a major role for a Whitman College team that went to the Elite Eight. (John Fisken photo)

The end, when it came, arrived in a hail of missed shots.

A tired, racked-by-illness Whitman College women’s basketball squad hit an ice-cold 27% from the field Saturday, falling 65-48 to undefeated St. Thomas in the fourth round of the NCAA D-III basketball championships.

The Elite Eight defeat, in which Coupeville grad Makana Stone racked up six points, five boards and two blocked shots playing against an All-American, ends Whitman’s season at 26-5.

It was the best finish for the Blues since 2014, when they lost in the national title game.

St. Thomas, which entered the tourney ranked #2 in the nation, improves to 31-0 and advances to the Final Four in Grand Rapids, Michigan Mar. 17-18.

Whitman, ranked #16, rolled to five straight postseason wins, capturing the Northwest Conference tourney, then sweeping through its first three foes in the NCAA championships.

But playing on back-to-back nights in frigid St. Paul, Minnesota, on the home court of its opponent, the Blues could not buy a shot.

Whitman’s big three — Chelsi Brewer, Casey Poe and Emily Rommel — who were all averaging double digits in scoring, went a combined 4 of 26 from the field Saturday, while the Blues missed all 15 of their three-point attempts.

Stone, making the 14th start of her freshman season, opened the game on a tear.

She rejected the first shot of the game, then dropped Whitman’s first two buckets. First she hit a sweet jumper from the left side, before neatly dropping in a running layup.

But already Whitman was showing signs of cold shooting, trailing 11-4 early in a game in which it never held the lead.

St. Thomas didn’t pull away quickly, but continued to creep out a bit more here and there.

A 17-10 lead after one quarter turned into a 33-23 margin at the half when St. Thomas gunner Lucia Renikoff drilled a three-ball right on the final play of the first half.

It was a huge crusher, as Whitman had just rallied to within seven after Stone snatched up a loose ball and took it coast-to-coast for a layup with 43 ticks to play.

Whitman got stabbed right in the chest again at the end of the third quarter, as Maddie Wolkow buried a trey with a second to play, lifting St. Thomas to a 48-36 lead.

As the hometown crowd celebrated a second straight buzzer-beater, all the Blues could do was shake their heads and go to the bench.

Rommel, Stone and Poe all fouled out in the fourth quarter in a game that felt like it was called fairly one-sided. But, a look at the stats (22 fouls on Whitman to 17 by St. Thomas) turns out to be much closer than expected.

The pride of Coupeville had a highly-successful debut season in college ball, playing in 30 of 31 games (concussion protocol kept her benched one night).

While on the floor, Stone poured in 208 points (6.9 a night) and hauled down 191 rebounds (6.4).

She was #2 on the team in rebounding and field goal percentage (hitting 48.4% on 92 of 190 shots), while racking up 31 assists, 16 steals and 13 blocks.

Stone played 576 minutes, the most of any of Whitman’s seven freshmen.

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The joyride continues!!

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on March 10, 2017| 3 Comments »

   Makana Stone (23), seen here earlier in the NCAA Championships, went for nine points and 11 rebounds Friday as Whitman rolled into the Elite Eight. (John Fisken photo)

They’re crying deep in the heart of Texas right now.

Sparked by fab frosh Makana Stone, who threw down nine points and snagged a game-high 11 rebounds, the Whitman College women’s basketball team pulled off a major upset Friday to roll into the Elite Eight.

Playing in frigid St. Paul, Minnesota, the #16 Blues stunned #7 Trinity University (Texas) 69-59 in the third round of the NCAA D-III women’s basketball championships.

Whitman improves to 26-4 and advances to play #2 St. Thomas (30-0), which nipped Marymount (Va.) 62-55.

Saturday’s match-up, played on the same floor at Schoenecker Arena, tips off at 5 PM Pacific time and can be streamed at:

http://tommiesports.com/broadcast/w7vf6i

Win there and the Blues are bound for the Final Four.

To make the jump from the Sweet Sixteen to the Elite Eight, Whitman had to overcome some poor shooting and some questionable passing in the early going.

Instead, the Blues used their shut-down defense to frazzle the Tigers, who finished 28-2.

Whitman also shredded any semblance of a press Trinity tried to throw on them, with Casey Poe darting, weaving and constantly finding the right target to thwart Trinity.

Down 15-14 after one (Trinity hit a buzzer-beater to nab the lead), the Blues steadily pulled away after that.

A 16-14 edge in the second gave them a one-point lead at the break, before 17-13 and 22-17 advantages in the third and fourth, respectively, sealed the deal.

Once Whitman had the lead, they never let it go, stretching the margin from six to 10 points throughout the second half.

Stone, making the 13th start of her college career, used her time wisely, garnering seven points and seven boards during a well-played second half.

The former Coupeville star also collected two steals and picked up an assist on a nice feed to Emily Rommel, who finished with a team-high 16 points.

Poe added 14, while Chelsi Brewer banged away for 11.

In her first season of college ball, Stone has played in 29 games, scoring 202 points (7.0 a night) and grabbing 186 boards (6.4).

She’s #2 on the squad in rebounding, while also racking up 31 assists, 16 steals and 11 blocked shots.

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