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Posts Tagged ‘Norway’

Stone singes the net in early-season loss

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , , on November 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone, scorin’ buckets and takin’ names in Norway. (Photo property of Erik Berglund)

The American Assassin filled up the stat sheet.

But while Coupeville grad Makana Stone was electric Sunday in Norway, her teammates struggled through a rough day en route to a loss.

Swamped early by undefeated Ullern, the early front-runner in the six-team Kvinneligaen, Ammerud fell 66-40.

The loss drops the Queens to 2-2 on the still-young season, while Ullern sits at 4-0.

Stone was the lone Ammerud player to hit double-digits in scoring, dropping in a team-high 15 points.

The former Wolf ace added nine rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocked shots.

It wasn’t enough to stop Ullern, however, as the league’s top team jumped out to a 17-5 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The powerhouse unit, which had three players score between 12 and 16 points, pushed the margin to 37-13 at the half, then 54-25 through three frames.

Ammerud has a chance to get back into the winning rhythm next Saturday, Nov. 11, when it faces off with Baerum (2-4), who it has already thumped once this year.

Stone, playing in her third season of professional basketball, tops the Queens with 70 points, 47 rebounds, 17 assists, nine steals, and five blocked shots.

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Stone blitzes former team

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , , , on October 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Pay the woman.

She’s back, and still can’t be stopped.

Coupeville grad Makana Stone, now suiting up for Ammerud in her third season of pro basketball, faced off with her former franchise Sunday and got the best of it.

Pouring in 20 points and snatching 13 rebounds — both game-high marks — the former Wolf ace powered her new squad to a 78-47 victory at Baerum.

The win lifts Ammerud to 2-1 on the season, heading into a two-week break.

The Queens return to action Nov. 5 with a match-up with Ullern, which is currently 2-0.

After opening her pro career in Britain, Stone moved to Norway and was a hardwood sensation for Baerum last season.

She helped that franchise go 20-7 and finish runners-up in the Kvinneligaen, averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds while playing in 26 games.

With Ammerud reviving its hoop dreams this season, Stone jumped squads and hasn’t missed a beat.

She added four assists and a steal Sunday to her stat line, as the Queens led from start to finish.

Ammerud jumped out to a 17-11 advantage after one quarter of play, stretched the margin to 29-19 by halftime, then blew things wide open after the break.

A 25-15 third-quarter surge sealed the win, with the Queens putting five different players into double-digit scoring by the end of the game.

Through her first three games in Ammerud, Stone has racked up 55 points, 38 rebounds, 12 assists, six steals, and three blocked shots.

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Stone scorches, number crunchers quake

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , , on October 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville grad Makana Stone flicks a pass in the direction of a Norwegian hoops teammate. (Photo property of Erik Berglund)

Makana Stone is so dominant on the floor, even the stat keepers have trouble keeping up with her.

The Coupeville grad poured in a team-high 20 points and snatched 11 rebounds Saturday in her second game with Ammerud women’s basketball, though it took the official number crunchers an extra day-plus to fully document her accomplishments.

But now the stats are tweaked, and she isn’t scoring four points in 94 minutes of floor time, as originally stated online, so number nerds such as myself can sleep better at night.

Stone’s performance, which also included two assists and three steals, with her 20 points including a flawless 7-of-7 performance from the free throw line, wasn’t quite enough to save her new Norwegian pro hoops squad.

Despite jumping out to a 23-10 lead after one quarter, Ammerud failed to hold its early advantage, falling 66-56 to Asker.

The loss evens the Queens early-season record at 1-1 heading into an Oct. 22 clash with Baerum, which will pit Stone against her former team.

While the former Wolf ace was electric Saturday, also draining a three-ball, Ammerud as a team hit just 28.6% of its shots.

That allowed Asker to chip, chip, chip away at the lead, then slide past for the win.

Ammerud’s 13-point first-quarter lead was cut to 34-30 at the half, with Asker bouncing ahead 51-46 by the end of the third quarter.

Stone, who is in her second season in the Kvinneligaen, has racked up 35 points, 25 rebounds, eight assists, five steals, and three blocks through her first two games reppin’ the Queens.

Eileen and Josh’s favorite daughter is in her third year of pro basketball, after playing a single season each for Leicester and Baerum.

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New team, same explosive game

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , , , , on October 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

New uniform, same country, as Makana Stone (center) tears up Norwegian basketball courts. (Photo property of Erik Berglund)

Back with a vengeance.

Coupeville grad Makana Stone kicked off her third season of professional basketball, and second in Norway, with a bang.

Having made the jump from Baerum to Ammerud, the former Wolf ripped off a double-double in her season debut, pouring in 15 points and snatching 14 rebounds.

Powered by Stone, who also added six assists, three blocks, and two steals, Ammerud crunched Bergen 70-48.

The Queens also got 20 points apiece from Julia Heiden and Alexandra Polishchuk in the season opener.

Ammerud, like Baerum, plays in the Kvinneligaen, which is a six-team league this year.

Stone and her new teammates hit the floor on fire, jumping to a 22-10 lead after one quarter of play, then coasting in for the win.

A 40-26 halftime advantage blossomed into a 58-35 bulge by the end of the third quarter.

Coupeville’s progeny played four stellar seasons for Whitman College in Walla Walla, then went overseas and wowed the locals at Loughborough University in England.

Stone began her pro career with Leicester, moved to Norway to play with Baerum last season, and joined Ammerud this off-season.

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Same country, different team

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , , , on September 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone gets buckets in the land of my forefathers. Norway, I’m talking about Norway. (Photo property Marianne Maja Stenerud)

She’s back, but in a new uniform.

Coupeville grad Makana Stone is returning to Norway for another season of professional basketball, while hopping from Baerum to Ammerud.

The two franchises both play out of Oslo and are separated by 20 miles.

Stone’s signing was confirmed by Ellen Hamremoen, Director of Ammerud Basket.

Ammerud is known for its forest, its production of asphalt concrete, and its annual open air rock festival, Granittrock.

It’ll be the second season in the Kvinneligaen for Stone, a former Whitman College hoops star, and her third cashing checks, after making her pro debut in England.

Stone’s new team kicks off the season Oct. 8 with a clash against Bergen.

The former Wolf ace, who returned to Whidbey this summer to teach summer basketball camps in her hometown, has been dynamic while playing overseas.

In her Norwegian debut, Stone appeared in 26 of Baerum’s 27 games — the flu sent her to the sideline on one game day — racking up 468 points, 292 rebounds, 66 assists, 65 steals, and 11 blocked shots.

She was named to the Eurobasket.com All-Norwegian Kvinneligaen First-Team, the only American player on the five-player squad.

Andre’s younger sister was also tabbed as the league’s top forward.

Plus, she brought me Norwegian chocolate when she visited Coupeville this summer, making her the true MVP.

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