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Posts Tagged ‘Whitman’

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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They’re Stone cold champs

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on February 14, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville’s Makana Stone went for 16 points and 10 rebounds Friday as Whitman clinched at least a share of the league title. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They have a share. Now, they want the whole thing.

Powered by a 16-point, 10-rebound performance Friday from Coupeville’s Makana Stone, the Whitman College women’s basketball team clinched at least part of the Northwest Conference title for the first time since 2014.

The Blues used a strong second-half surge to bounce visiting George Fox University 70-53, winning their eighth-straight game.

Now 12-1 in league play, 20-2 overall, Whitman sits three games up on George Fox (9-4, 17-5) and Pacific University (9-4, 15-7) with three regular-season games left to play.

One more Blues win and they clinch everything, from sole possession of the league crown, to the #1 seed in the four-team postseason tourney, which decides the league’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA D-III championships.

Whitman would love to get that win Saturday afternoon, when it hosts Pacific on Senior Night.

The Boxers are the only NWC team to solve the Blues this season, upending them 65-64 in Oregon Jan. 18, after rallying from 19 points down.

Revenge and celebration will be the theme Saturday, as Whitman honors seniors Stone, Mady Burdett, Lily Gustafson, Katie Stahl, and Natalie Whitesel.

Since uniting in Walla Walla, the five-pack has helped the Blues go 88-19, with two trips to the NCAA tourney and a third invite all but certain to happen this season.

As freshmen, they were part of a team which went all the way to the Elite Eight.

The one thing Stone and Co. hadn’t done was win a conference title. While they won the NWC postseason tourney as freshmen, the Blues had finished 3rd, 2nd, and 2nd in the regular season the past three seasons.

A big part of that was George Fox, who has been a thorn in their side.

Until now.

This time around, Whitman swept the season series from the Bruins, though the two teams could meet again in the postseason.

Friday night, the Blues were back at home at the Sherwood Athletic Center after completing a recent four-game road trip.

Whitman is undefeated on its home hardwood this season, and it looked like the matchup with George Fox would be a blowout in the early going.

Bolting out to a 19-8 lead after one quarter of play, the Blues were clicking, but, as always, the Bruins weren’t about to give up easily.

Battling back into the game, George Fox tied things up, before Stone nailed back-to-back jumpers to send Whitman into the halftime locker room with a narrower than expected 32-29 advantage.

The Blues have been a dominant second-half team this season, and Friday was one more well-written chapter in their book of success.

Stone slapped home a layup to give Whitman a 36-34 lead early in the third, and this time the Blues never gave the advantage back.

Having stretched the lead to 49-41 exiting the third quarter, the home town heroes slammed the gas pedal through the floorboards in the final frame, roaring to their eighth victory in as many games in front of their home fans.

Kaylie McCracken paced Whitman with 18 points, while Stone and Burdett each popped for 16.

To go along with her game-high 10 rebounds, the former Coupeville ace also collected three assists, two steals, and two blocked shots in 34 minutes of all-around excellence.

On the season, Stone has 348 points, 185 rebounds, 33 assists, 25 steals, and 20 blocks, and is shooting 142-266 (53.3%) from the field and 61-79 (77.2%) at the line.

The #5 scorer in Whitman women’s history, the CHS grad finished Friday with 1,275 career points.

Stone also hit all four of her free throw attempts against George Fox, with the final one being the 200th successful charity shot of her collegiate career.

She needs three rebounds on Senior Night to reach 800 (she’s #3 in program history), and 28 minutes of floor time to top 2,500 for her time at Whitman.

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Stone, Blues clinch playoff berth

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on February 8, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone and Whitman clinched a playoff berth with a win Saturday. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Mission accomplished.

Sparked by a 12-point, 12-rebound performance from Coupeville’s Makana Stone, the Whitman College women’s basketball team swatted host Lewis & Clark College Saturday, setting up the biggest weekend of the season.

Rolling to a 73-58 victory in Portland, the Blues held on to first-place in the Northwest Conference at 11-1, while improving to 19-2 overall.

With the win, their seventh-straight, they clinch a playoff berth and can finish no lower than third in the nine-team league.

The top four teams square off in the conference postseason tourney, with #1 hosting #4 and #2 hosting #3, then the winners meeting in a game which decides the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Stone and Whitman have made it to the Northwest Conference tourney all four seasons she’s been on campus, but never as the #1 seed.

With their hearts set on a league title, the Blues control their own fate going forward, however.

Two games up on George Fox University (9-3, 17-4) and three ahead of freefalling Pacific University (8-4, 14-7), with four to play, Whitman faces those exact teams next weekend.

Both games will be at home in Walla Walla, where the Blues are 7-0, and go down Friday and Saturday, Feb. 14-15.

The second of those matchups is also Senior Night, where Stone, Mady Burdett, Lily Gustafson, Katie Stahl, and Natalie Whitesel will be honored.

Saturday could have been a trap game, with Lewis & Clark (now 1-11, 2-18) sitting in dead last-place in the Northwest Conference.

And it was for a half at least, as the Pioneers took advantage of a Whitman team that was unexpectedly ice-cold from the field.

Normally one of the best-shooting squads in the country, the Blues hit just 9-34 from the floor in the first half.

While Whitman still managed to scrape out a 14-12 lead after one quarter of play, the shooting woes intensified in the second frame, allowing Lewis & Clark to seize its first lead at 17-16.

From there, the Pioneers stretched the margin out to five, though the Blues cut it back to 27-24 on a nice play right before the end of the half.

Stone, directing traffic from the top of the arc, whipped a note-perfect pass over the top, finding teammate Kaylie McCracken for a layup and a brief burst of happiness for the visitors.

Things took a huge change after the break, as Whitman started to nail all of its shots, especially from the outside.

Tickling the twines for five three-balls in the third quarter — with Taylor Chambers and Kaelan Shamseldin nailing two apiece — the Blues erupted on a game-busting 27-10 run.

Stone gave Whitman a lead it wouldn’t lose with a pair of buckets in the paint, then made off with a steal that triggered a fast-break which ended with a Shamseldin trey.

Lewis & Clark, scrappy but painfully young, never got closer than 12 after that, with the Blues stretching the lead out as far as 20 near the end of the game.

McCracken came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points, while Stone added two assists, a steal, and a blocked shot to her 12 and 12 double-double.

On the season, the former Wolf has 332 points, 175 rebounds, 30 assists, 23 steals, and 18 blocks.

Stone is shooting 136-253 (53.8%) from the floor and 57-74 (77%) at the free throw line.

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Put another one in the win column

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on February 7, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone (23) moved into 5th place on the Whitman College women’s basketball career scoring chart Friday, sparking the Blues to another league win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

One step closer to that elusive league title.

Taking care of business on the front end of a two-game trip to Oregon, the Whitman College women’s basketball squad came out Friday night and polished off Willamette 72-54.

The victory, sparked by a 14-point, 9-rebound performance by Coupeville’s Makana Stone, lifts the Blues to 10-1 in Northwest Conference play, 18-2 overall.

Whitman, ranked #8 in NCAA D-III, is a game-and-a-half up on George Fox University (9-3, 17-4) and two ahead of Pacific University (8-3, 14-6).

The Blues, who have won six straight, go for a weekend sweep Saturday, when they jump from Salem to Portland to face cellar-dweller Lewis & Clark College (1-10, 2-17).

In Friday’s game Whitman struggled a bit in the early going, watching layup after layup slide off the rim.

Willamette netted a pair of long three-balls and led the entire way, heading to the first break up 13-9.

Jump forward a few minutes, and things started to finally click for the Blues.

Trailing 16-11, Whitman went off on a 10-0 run, with Stone dropping six points and Elena McHargue chipping in with four during the surge.

The first lead of the night for the Blues came at 17-16, off of a play on which Stone rolled hard to the hoop, pulled in a lob and slapped home the layup with great emphasis.

While Willamette managed to get back to a 21-21 tie, for a moment at least, the host Bearcats would never lead again on this night.

Up 28-25 at the half, Whitman put the game on ice with a 12-3 run to end the third quarter, stretching the margin out to 49-36.

Stone and Taylor Chambers each banked in five points during the display of run ‘n gun fun times, with the former Coupeville ace moving into 5th place on the Whitman women’s career scoring list with her next-to-last bucket.

The fourth quarter was about getting a fair amount of playing time for the Blues reserves, as Whitman pushed the lead all the way out to 20 points, then sauntered in with the win.

Stone’s 14 points topped the Blues, while her nine boards were a game-high. She also added two steals, an assist, and a thunderous block off the back wall.

Whitman, as usual, had very-balanced scoring, with Kaylie McCracken (12), Mady Burdett (11), Elena McHargue (9), and Lily Gustafson (9) all having strong nights.

On the season, Stone has 320 points, 163 rebounds, 28 assists, 22 steals, and 17 blocked shots, while shooting 131-242 (54.1%) from the floor and 55-72 (76.3%) at the free-throw line.

With 1,247 points and counting, the CHS grad passed Erica Aydelotte (1,243) Friday, and trails just Katie Rubenser (1,693), Jennifer McClure (1,639), Heather Johns (1,411), and Sarah Anderegg (1,342) on Whitman’s career scoring chart.

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Third time’s still a charm

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on February 3, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Whitman senior Makana Stone (23) was tabbed as the Northwest Conference Female Basketball Player of the Week Monday, the third time this season she’s been honored. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

She’s kind of popular.

Coupeville grad Makana Stone was hailed Monday by the Northwest Conference, earning her third Student/Athlete of the Week honor during the 2019-2020 basketball season.

The Whitman College senior tore up the floor in Tacoma this past weekend, leading her squad to back-to-back road wins and sole possession of first-place atop the league standings.

The Blues, ranked #9 in NCAA D-III women’s basketball, are 9-1 in conference action, 17-2 overall.

Stone put up back-to-back double-doubles, opening with a 12-point, 11-rebound performance Friday against Pacific Lutheran University.

The next day against the University of Puget Sound, she was even better, snatching 13 boards, while pouring in 30 points, her collegiate career high.

Stone was one of four NWC athletes honored Monday, as Ben College of Whitworth (men’s basketball), Kelli Callahan of UPS (women’s swim), and Dylan Reimers of UPS (men’s swim) joined her.

Across the 12 weeks of the basketball season, seven female hoops stars have been honored, with Stone and Molly Danielson of Linfield each getting the award three times apiece.

The former Coupeville ace has been tabbed for her league’s top honor in weeks five, eight, and 12.

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