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Posts Tagged ‘Whitman’

Blues, Stone keep hot streak burning

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on January 10, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone answered the call one more time Friday, going off for 19 points and 10 rebounds in a Whitman win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The appetizer course? Delicious.

Kicking off a big weekend of hoops action, the Whitman College women’s basketball team routed visiting Lewis & Clark College 78-47 Friday night behind 19 points and 10 rebounds from Coupeville’s Makana Stone.

Now, the Blues, 3-0 in Northwest Conference play, 11-1 overall, get a stiffer challenge Saturday, when they welcome Willamette University (3-0, 9-3) to town.

The winner will move into a first-place tie with Pacific University (4-0, 10-3), a team Whitman travels to play January 17.

Friday’s game was a bit of a potential trap for the Blues, who are ranked #12 in NCAA D-III play.

Lewis & Clark entered the night with a 1-9 record, and might have looked like easy pickings.

Instead, the Pioneers came out strongly, trailing just 16-13 at the first break, then knotting things up 25-25 at the half.

Whitman was a different team after the break, however, with Stone going off for 15 of her 19 points during a 28-15 third-quarter surge.

Once they had the game back in hand, the Blues closed like savages, blowing Lewis & Clark off the floor to a 25-7 tune in the final frame.

Stone, who led Whitman in both points and rebounds, also made off with three steals and handed off an assist during a crisp 20 minutes of action.

On the season, the former Wolf sits with 182 points, 102 rebounds, 15 assists, 17 steals, and 12 blocked shots, while shooting 73-136 (53.7%) from the floor and 34-42 (81%) at the free throw line.

Friday’s game included another milestone for Stone, as she became just the seventh player in Whitman women’s basketball history to top 1,100 career points.

With 1,110 and counting, the Blues senior is just 35 points shy of catching former teammate Casey Poe for 6th on the all-time Blues scoring chart.

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Stone, Whitman cap perfect weekend

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on January 4, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone and Whitman College women’s basketball are a sparkling 10-1 on the season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

One weekend into league play, and things look pretty darn good.

Sparked by a 14-point, 11-rebound performance from Coupeville’s Makana Stone, the Whitman College women’s basketball team rolled to another win Saturday night.

Decimating visiting Pacific Lutheran University 69-56 in a game which could have been an even bigger blowout, the Blues won their fourth straight game.

With the victory, Whitman, ranked #13 in NCAA D-III, sits at 2-0 in Northwest Conference play, 10-1 overall.

The Blues are tied atop the league standings with Pacific (2-0, 8-3) and Willamette (2-0, 8-3), a team they play next weekend.

Stone and Co. return to action next Friday, January 10, against Lewis & Clark (0-2, 1-9), then play Willamette the next day.

Both games will be in Walla Walla, on Whitman’s home floor at the Sherwood Athletic Center.

Facing off with PLU, the Blues came out aggressively, running the Lutes off the floor in the game’s opening minutes.

Stone slapped home a layup to open the scoring, sparking a 13-0 run to effectively put the game on ice before the first quarter was even done.

Whitman led 17-3 at the first break, then stretched its lead out to 34-16 at the half, and 54-31 by the end of the third quarter.

Facing off largely against the Blues bench players, PLU put together a 25-15 run in the fourth quarter to make the game seem a bit closer than it was in reality.

Stone, who tied with Mady Burdett for team-high scoring honors, tossed in all 14 of her points across the first three quarters.

Her 11 boards were a game-high, and the former Wolf ace also made off with a steal during 27 minutes of action.

On the season, Stone has 163 points, 92 rebounds, 14 assists, 14 steals, and 12 blocks.

She’s hit 67-122 (54.9%) from the field and 27-33 (81.8%) at the free throw line.

Saturday’s game was the 94th of Stone’s collegiate career, and the former CHS star grabbed her 700th rebound in a Blues uniform, finishing the night with 704.

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Back in action, back to winning

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

Coupeville’s Makana Stone had 12 points and 12 rebounds Friday as Whitman used a fourth quarter surge to claim a league win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

There was some rust, but it fell off by the time things got serious.

Returning to the floor after a 19-day winter break, the Whitman College women’s basketball team roared to life in the fourth quarter Friday, using a 22-10 run to grab a come-from-behind 60-51 win over the University of Puget Sound.

Kicking off the Northwest Conference schedule on their home court in Walla Walla, the Blues, who got 12 points and 12 rebounds from Coupeville’s Makana Stone, improve to 9-1 on the season.

Whitman will try and go 2-0 in league play when it hosts Pacific Lutheran University (0-1, 5-5) Saturday afternoon at the Sherwood Athletic Center.

Friday’s game, the first of four straight at home for the Blues, was a tense affair for much of the night, with neither team able to pull away through the first three quarters.

UPS led 13-11 after one, the teams were tied 28-28 at the half, then the Loggers clung to a 41-38 advantage headed into the final quarter.

That was when Whitman seized control, thanks to their senior star and a pair of hard-charging freshmen.

Stone, who is 69 points shy of becoming the #6 scorer in Whitman women’s basketball history, opened the fourth with an eye-popping shot.

Catching the ball on the left side and rising high above her defender, the former Wolf dropped in a jumper which rattled around the rim, popped up, popped down, popped up again, then settled through the net.

Back within 41-40, Whitman pushed hard on defense, with freshmen twins Caira and Shaira Young, the pride of Las Vegas, coming off the bench to ignite the fire.

Forcing turnovers, the Blues immediately converted, taking the lead for good on back-to-back three-balls from Shaira Young.

UPS got back within three points twice in the final stretch, first at 46-43, then later at 52-49, but Whitman held strong both times and never cracked.

The first time, the Blues answered with back-to-back buckets inside from Kaylie McCracken and Katie Stahl, then they closed the game by scoring their final 10 points at the free throw line.

Mady Burdett, who paced Whitman with a game-high 15 points, swished five of those charity shots, while Stone and McCracken came up with huge rebounds in the waning moments.

McCracken finished with 12 points to tie Stone, with Shaira Young netting all eight of her points in the fourth quarter.

On the season, Stone sits with 149 points (she has 1,077 for her career), 81 rebounds, 14 assists, 13 steals, and 12 blocked shots.

She’s 60-109 (55%) from the field, and 27-33 (81.8%) at the free throw line.

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Stone, Whitman on a roll

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on December 14, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone (right), seen back in the day with CHS teammate Lindsey Roberts, continues to tear up the college basketball world. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They coasted into winter break.

Cruising along nicely in the second half Saturday night, the Whitman College women’s basketball team rolled to a 72-49 victory over visiting Buena Vista University.

Led by Coupeville’s Makana Stone, who banked in eight points and snatched eight rebounds in limited action, the Blues improved to 8-1 heading into a 19-day break.

Whitman doesn’t play again until Jan. 3, when it kicks off the 16-game Northwest Conference schedule with a home game against the University of Puget Sound.

Saturday night the Blues were playing their second, and final game, in the annual Kim Evanger Raney Memorial Classic, which honors a former Whitman hoops star who died of injuries from a 2007 cycling accident.

Coming off of a 35-point blowout of the University of Maine at Fort Kent a night before, Whitman let Buena Vista hang around for a half.

Up 15-13 after one quarter, then 31-26 at the half, the Blues kicked things into overdrive after halftime, pouring in 26 points in a torrid third quarter.

With the game in hand, Whitman went deep on its bench, giving 15 players floor time, and limiting its starters a bit.

Stone played a slim 21 minutes, but also tossed in a blocked shot and assist to go with her eight and eight.

Mady Burdett led Whitman with 12 points, while Kaylie McCracken popped for 11, and Natalie Whitesel made the nets jump for 10.

On the season, Stone sits with 137 points, 69 rebounds, 13 assists, 11 steals, and 11 blocks.

She’s shooting 55-95 (57.8%) from the floor and 25-30 (83.3%) at the free throw line.

For stat hounds out there, the former Wolf star reached two career milestones Saturday, making her 75th collegiate start (she’s played in 92 games) and collecting her 50th block.

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Stone reaches milestone, Blues grab win

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on December 13, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville’s Makana Stone, here with mom Eileen, is now the #7 scorer in Whitman College women’s basketball history. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

First they honored her, then she impressed them some more.

Coupeville’s Makana Stone was hailed Friday for becoming just the ninth player in Whitman College women’s basketball history to top 1,000 career points, then went out and tossed 12 more onto the stat sheet.

Paced by their senior star, who added 11 rebounds to post another double-double, the Blues blitzed the University of Maine at Fort Kent 84-49, kicking off the 2019 Kim Evanger Raney Classic, and their home schedule.

With the non-conference win, Whitman improves to 7-1 headed into a Saturday match-up with Buena Vista University, which sits at 1-8 on the season.

After that game, Stone and the Blues will be off for nearly three weeks, not playing again until Jan. 3, when they begin Northwest Conference play against the University of Puget Sound.

Whitman began the season with a seven-game road trip, so Friday night was the first chance for its fans to fill the Sherwood Athletic Center.

Those in attendance got to see Stone, who cracked 1,000 points in a win over Whittier College, continue to move up the career scoring chart.

Friday night she passed Mary Kincaid, who scored 1,056 between 1982-1986.

Now #7 all-time with 1,057, the former Wolf ace is hot on the heels of #6 Casey Poe (1,145), who she played alongside during her first two seasons at Whitman.

Katie Rubenser, a star from 1990-1994, is #1 with 1,693 points, and was in attendance Friday for Stone’s ceremony.

Bouncing back from its only loss of the year, which came last week to highly-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor, Whitman took control early Friday and never let go of the lead.

Up 25-12 after one quarter of play, the Blues surged to a 52-25 lead at the half, then took their feet off the gas pedal a bit and coasted home for the win.

Stone played a tidy 21 minutes, adding two blocked shots and an assist to her 12 points and 11 boards.

Four different Whitman players scored in double figures, led by Kaelan Shamseldin, who tallied a team-high 14 points.

On the season, Stone has 129 points, 61 rebounds, 12 assists, 11 steals, and 10 blocks.

She’s shooting 52-89 (58.4%) from the floor and 23-28 (82.1%) at the free throw line.

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