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Posts Tagged ‘Pacific University’

Sweet Senior Night for Stone, Blues

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on February 15, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Eileen and Makana Stone celebrate the good times. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Undisputed, and it feels so good.

Garnering a bit of sweet payback, the Whitman College women’s basketball squad drilled visiting Pacific University 72-46 Saturday afternoon.

The win, coming on Senior Night, is the ninth-straight for the Blues and lifts them to 13-1 in Northwest Conference play, 21-2 overall.

It also gives Whitman sole possession of the league crown, their first since the 2013-2014 season, and the #1 seed for the postseason conference tourney.

The Blues, who were sparked to Saturday’s win by an 18-point, 13-rebound performance from Coupeville’s Makana Stone, have two regular-season games left on the schedule.

They host Whitworth this coming Tuesday, then travel to Linfield Friday, February 21.

Whitman kicks off the four-team NWC tourney Feb. 27, when it hosts the #4 team.

Win there, and it meets the winner of the #2-#3 matchup Feb. 29, also on its home floor at Sherwood Athletic Center in Walla Walla, with the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA D-III championships on the line.

Saturday, Stone was honored along with fellow Blues seniors Lily Gustafson, Katie Stahl, Mady Burdett, and Natalie Whitesel.

Then the five-pack hit the hardwood and raised their record to 89-19 during their time in Walla Walla.

One of the few missteps for Whitman this season came in the first rumble with Pacific back in January, when the Blues squandered a 19-point first-half lead and fell 65-64.

There would be no such shenanigans this time around.

The game was close for a bit, with Pacific hanging around and trailing just 16-10 at the first break and 30-27 at the half.

Then the Blues decided to start mashin’ folks, throwing down a game-busting 22-5 tear in the third, with Stone going for eight points to fuel the explosion.

From there, Whitman coasted home, on its way to another celebration.

While Stone’s 18 and 13 were both game-highs, she got some help from her fellow seniors, with Burdett tossing in 14 points, and Gustafson banking in 12.

On the season, Stone sits with 366 points, 198 rebounds, 33 assists, 25 steals, and 20 blocked shots, while shooting 149-281 (53%) from the field and 65-83 (78.3%) from the free throw line.

The former Wolf ace hit two more career milestones Saturday, as her third rebound of the game was the 800th of her career.

She also played 28 minutes, giving her exactly 2,500 for her collegiate career.

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Heartbreak on the hardwood

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on January 17, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone singed the nets for 13 points Friday, but Whitman fell in a one-point thriller. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They only trailed once, but it was one time too many.

Playing on the road in Oregon Friday, the Whitman College women’s basketball team lost a 19-point lead and fell 65-64 to Pacific University in a first-place showdown.

The defeat, coming in a game in which the Blues roared out to an 11-0 lead and dominated play for a considerable amount of time, drops them to 4-1 in Northwest Conference play, 12-2 overall.

It snaps a six-game winning streak for Whitman, which plays at George Fox University Saturday, while Pacific, picked to finish 5th in the preseason poll, sits atop the nine-team league at 5-0, 11-3.

The Boxers, who never led until the game’s final 71 seconds Friday, have won seven straight.

Fighting back after Whitman savaged it in the early going, Pacific tied the game up with a hair over three minutes to play, but immediately fell back behind.

Coupeville’s Makana Stone slid a free throw through the net with 1:52 to play to stake Whitman to its final lead at 62-60, but the Blues couldn’t land the knockout punch.

Whitman failed to connect on a field goal over the final two minutes and 43 seconds, and didn’t score at all between the 1:52 and 0:04 mark of the fourth quarter.

That left the door open for Pacific, and Kaylssa Kleinschmit answered, banging home a three-ball to put the Boxers up 63-62 with 1:11 to play.

Under pressure, Whitman turned the ball over several times in the final minute, while Pacific stretched the lead out to 65-62 thanks to free throws.

The Boxers actually missed four of six freebies in the final moments, and had to foul Whitman to deny them a chance to toss up a potentially game-tying three-ball.

Blues freshman Shaira Young netted both of her chances at the line, pulling Whitman within 65-64, then Pacific clanked its own charity shots with just three ticks on the clock.

But a miracle finish wasn’t in the books, as the Boxers picked off the Blues inbounds pass to end the game and send the local fans into hysterics.

Kaylie McCracken paced Whitman with 22 points, while Mady Burdett rained down 14, with 10 of those in a torrid first quarter.

Stone finished with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists, and a blocked shot.

On the season, the former Wolf has 214 points, 113 rebounds, 18 assists, 18 steals, and 13 blocks, while shooting 87-164 from the field and 38-48 at the free throw line.

With 1,142 career points, Stone is four points from passing former teammate Casey Poe to claim 6th place on the Whitman women’s basketball career scoring list.

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Stone, Whitman rally for important win

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on January 26, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville grad Makana Stone tossed in 13 points Saturday as Whitman College used a second-half surge to win in Oregon and stay in first-place in the Northwest Conference. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Always be closing, with a vengeance.

A slow start against a low-level team threatened to ruin Saturday for the Whitman College women’s basketball team, but, eventually, sanity prevailed.

Busting loose from a 30-30 tie at the half with host Pacific University, the Blues ruled the second half, eventually escaping with a 69-55 win.

The victory, coming against a team which was just 1-8 in league play, lifts Whitman to 9-1 in the Northwest Conference, 15-4 overall.

The Blues maintain a tie for first place with George Fox (9-1, 16-3), with both teams two games up on Puget Sound (7-3, 14-4) with six regular season games to play.

Whitman currently owns the tiebreaker, having beaten George Fox, the defending league champs, 73-54 back on Jan. 12.

After sweeping two games in two days this weekend in Oregon, the Blues now return to Walla Walla for a four-game home-stand.

Things kick off Tuesday, Jan. 29 against Whitworth, with George Fox coming to town Feb. 8 for a rematch.

Saturday, Whitman jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the game’s first 48 seconds, riding a three-ball from Taylor Chambers and a jumper from Coupeville’s Makana Stone, and things seemed perfectly normal.

Then they got weird for awhile, as Pacific, playing way above its pay grade, snatched the lead and dictated play through much of the first half.

Stone slipped a free throw through the net for the final point of the second quarter, knotting things at 30-30, but few in attendance expected arguably the league’s best and worst teams to be tied after 20 minutes.

But there they were, and then Whitman was back down 32-30 after Pacific slapped in a layup on the first play of the third quarter.

At which point the universe righted itself, with the Blues going on an 11-3 surge, capped by a Stone jumper, that pushed the lead back in favor of the visitors.

From there, the quicker, stronger, better-shooting team began to steadily pull away, forcing the lead out to as much as 21 points in the fourth quarter before Whitman pulled its starters.

Stone finished the night with 13 points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal, while Mady Burdett paced the Blues with a game-high 20 points.

On the season, Coupeville’s former ace sits with 293 points, 169 rebounds, 37 assists, 23 steals, and 17 blocks.

Stone is shooting 123-240 (51.2%) from the field and 46-59 (77.9%) at the free-throw line.

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First step a success!!

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on November 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Eileen (left) and Makana Stone celebrate after a win last season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

One game closer to a league title.

Coupeville grad Makana Stone and the Whitman College women’s basketball team kicked off their league schedule Friday with a fairly one-sided win.

Playing on their home court in Walla Walla, the Blues led from start to finish against visiting Pacific University, finishing on the happy side of an 84-69 score.

The victory, its fourth in its last five games, lifts Whitman to 1-0 in Northwest Conference play, 4-2 overall.

The Blues return to the court Saturday, when Willamette arrives in town for another league clash.

Stone, who entered play Friday as Whitman’s #1 scorer and rebounder, got off to a quick start, picking up an assist on the very first bucket of the night.

She dished the ball to teammate Maegen Martin, who knocked down a layup (and an ensuing free throw) and the Blues had a lead they would never relinquish.

Whitman finished the first quarter up by 10, let Pacific creep back into the game, then slammed the door shut.

The lead slipped all the way down to 47-45 midway through the third, before the Blues finished the quarter on a game-busting 17-4 run.

Whitman got big games from Kaylie McCracken, who singed the nets for 24 points, and Mady Burdett, who popped for 20.

That helped make up for the loss in offense when Stone and three-point bomber Kaelan Shamseldin found themselves locked to the bench for extended periods of time in the second half while battling foul trouble.

Stone’s 18 minutes of floor time were her fewest of the season, but she used her time well, netting eight points, snaring six rebounds, making off with two steals and dishing an assist.

For the season, she sits with 97 points, 48 rebounds, eight assists, 10 steals and eight blocks, while shooting 41-76 from the floor and 15-20 at the free-throw line.

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Smooth sailing for Stone, Blues!!

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on February 3, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone (John Fisken photo)

   Who’s got two thumbs and is undefeated as a college basketball starter? Makana Stone, that’s who. (John Fisken photo)

The key has got to be Makana Stone.

After hitting its only rough patch of the season with a two-game losing streak, the Whitman College women’s basketball squad inserted the freshman into the starting lineup and presto, back to a winning formula.

Tossing in four points and snaring five boards Friday night while being limited a bit by foul trouble, the former Wolf helped spark her new team to a 76-63 win at Forest Grove, Oregon against Pacific University.

The win lifts Whitman to 18-2 overall, 9-2 in Northwest Conference play, with five regular season games left.

The Blues are a crisp 4-0 with Stone taking the floor as a starter.

Friday night she opened the second quarter by drilling a jumper that gave Whitman a 14-13 lead it would never relinquish.

Stone brought the full highlight package to the floor in the third, when she snared a board, led the break and dished it to teammate Chelsi Brewer for a layup.

The Blues remain in Oregon for the night, traveling to McMinnville for an afternoon game Saturday against Linfield College.

Through her first 20 college games, Stone has dropped 113 points (5.7 a night) and snared 112 rebounds (5.6).

She’s #2 on the team in rebounds and her field goal percentage of 48.5% (49 of 101) is #3 among Blues players who’ve taken at least 10 shots this season.

Stone has also compiled 20 assists, 12 steals and seven blocks.

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