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Posts Tagged ‘Whitman’

Stone set for final college challenge

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on November 11, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville grad Makana Stone, now a senior at Whitman College, opens her basketball season Friday in Spokane. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They’re on their final lap.

Two of the best athletes to come out of Coupeville High School, Nick Streubel and Makana Stone, are in the process of wrapping equally-stellar college athletic careers.

Streubel is in the final weeks of his time as an offensive lineman at Central Washington University, while Stone tips off her senior season Friday with the Whitman College women’s basketball team.

A two-time All-Conference pick while playing with the Blues, Stone is on target to become just the ninth Whitman woman in the modern era to top 1,000 career points.

The former Wolf, who has helped the Blues compile a 68-17 record during her three seasons on campus, also has a solid chance of finishing in the Top 10 all-time in numerous other categories.

Which is pretty dang good, as the school dates its women’s hoops program back to 1902.

Whitman’s official record book is missing stats from 1903-1969, but that’s not as bad as it might sound at first, as women’s college sports exist in two vastly different worlds — pre and post Title IX.

Playing in the modern era, where scoring is greatly ramped up, Stone’s numbers can stand with the best Whitman has produced.

She is already #6 all-time in offensive rebounds, #7 in both defensive rebounds and total rebounds, and #10 in field goal made.

Whitman opens its 25-game regular season schedule with an appearance at the Whit Classic in Spokane.

The Blues play Concordia University of Texas Friday, before facing Carroll College of Montana Saturday.

The regular season stretches through late February, with the top four teams from the Northwest Conference advancing to the league’s postseason tourney Feb. 27 and 29.

Whitman has made it to the tourney in each of Stone’s seasons, finishing 3rd, 2nd, and 2nd in regular season play.

The Blues won the NWC postseason tourney during her freshman season, before advancing all the way to the Elite 8 of the NCAA D-III championships.

Stone and Co. made it back to the national tourney the next year, falling in the first round, before being denied a bid last season despite a strong 20-7 record.

Seniors Mady Burdett and Lily Gustafson and juniors Taylor Chambers and Kaelan Shamseldin join Stone as leaders on an experience-packed roster which was picked to win the league title in a preseason coach’s poll.

Whitman is also ranked #21 in the first D3hoops.com poll.

 

Makana’s career numbers (2016-2019):

Points – 928
Offensive Rebounds – 236
Defensive Rebounds – 376
Total Rebounds – 612
Assists – 123
Steals – 65
Blocks – 39
Field Goals – 394 of 781 (50.4%)
Free Throws – 139 of 199 (69.8%)
Games – 83
Starts – 66
Minutes – 1876

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Stone shares Whitman honors

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on September 11, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville grad Makana Stone was honored by Whitman College for her athletic and academic performance. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Coupeville’s Makana Stone was one of six student/athletes honored recently by Whitman College.

The former Wolf, who is headed into her senior year at the Walla Walla school, and her compatriots were hailed at the fourth annual fall awards picnic.

Whitman’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which is made up of current athletes, chose two top performers each from last year’s freshman, sophomore, and junior classes.

The picnic was a way to bring together athletes from all 15 Blues varsity sports programs, while also including the incoming freshmen recruiting classes.

A barbecue was served and Whitman’s new Athletic Director, Kim Chandler, made her debut at the event.

The winners from the 2018-2019 school year:

Freshmen:

Bella White (swim)

Michael Chang (swim)

Sophomores:

Sage Ali (lacrosse)

Peter Sephens (soccer)

Juniors:

Makana Stone (basketball)

Travis Craven (baseball)

Whitman women’s basketball kicks off a new season with an exhibition game Nov. 2 in Ellensburg against Central Washington University.

The first game to count in the win/loss standings arrives Nov. 15 when the Blues host Concordia University during the 2019 Whit Classic.

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NCAA denies Stone, Whitman

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , , on February 25, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville’s Makana Stone led Whitman College women’s basketball in 12 statistical categories during her junior season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Well, that’s unfortunate.

The pinheads running the NCAA D-III women’s basketball national championships left Whitman College out of the 64-team bracket, bringing a quicker-than-expected end to Makana Stone’s junior campaign.

The former Coupeville ace misses March Madness for the first time in three seasons.

As a freshman, Stone and the Blues won three games in the tourney, advancing all the way to the Elite Eight before being knocked out. Last year, Whitman fell in the first round to East Texas Baptist.

This time around, despite boasting a 20-7 record and having been ranked in the top 25 several times, the Blues were denied a ticket to the dance.

George Fox University (24-3), the regular-season and postseason tourney champs, were the only school from the Northwest Conference to make the field.

Even then, the Bruins were surprisingly denied a home game to open the tourney, and will travel to St. Louis to face Greenville University (23-4).

Whitman, which went 13-3 in league play and finished second in the nine-team conference, came within a win of earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney.

The Blues scorched Puget Sound in the semifinals of the league postseason tourney, but suffered through a turnover-riddled night in the championship game against George Fox.

Stone had the best season of her time in Walla Walla, earning First-Team All-Conference honors for a second-straight season and earning Player of the Week three times.

She led the Blues in 12 different statistical categories, including scoring average, hitting for 14.9 points a game.

The former Wolf star finished with 388 points, 227 rebounds, 40 assists, 31 steals, and 21 blocked shots in 26 games.

Stone hit on 162-318 from the floor (50.9%) and 63-79 (79.7%) from the free throw line.

With a season left, Coupeville’s progeny sits on the cusp of hitting a host of statistical milestones during her senior season.

She has 928 points, 440 rebounds, 123 assists, 65 steals, and 39 blocks for her career, putting her dangerously close to cracking both the 1,000-point and 500-rebound club.

Stone has hit 394-781 field goal attempts (50.4%) and 139-199 free throw tries (69.8%), and Whitman has rolled to a 68-17 record since she first pulled on a Blues uniform.

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Stone sizzles, Blues title hopes fizzle

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , , on February 23, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone collected 10 points, 13 rebounds, and three steals Saturday in a college basketball playoff game. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Now they wait to find out their fate.

Swamped by too many turnovers and too many missed shots, especially from outside the paint, the Whitman College women’s basketball squad came up short Saturday in Newberg, OR.

Falling 66-52 to host George Fox University in the championship game of the Northwest Conference postseason tourney, the Blues fell a win shy of earning an automatic bid to the NCAA D-III national championships.

While George Fox (24-3) is definitely on its way to March Madness, Whitman (20-7) waits until the selection show Monday to find out if it gets in with at an-large bid.

The Blues have a strong body of work to support their quest for an invite, including a 19-point win over George Fox earlier this season.

Unfortunately, Whitman couldn’t repeat that victory Saturday, a game in which it got swarmed by an ultra-aggressive defense and buckled.

In a contest where 10 different Bruins scored, Whitman essentially played 2-on-5 for much of the night.

Senior Maegan Martin, who had never topped 20 in her college playing days, poured in a game-high 28, while Coupeville’s Makana Stone delivered with 10 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, and a big blocked shot.

Whitman’s twin towers got little help from their teammates, however, with no one else scoring more than three points.

In between a horrifying amount of turnovers (some forced, many not), the Blues hit on just 19 of 47 shots, including a crippling 6-21 in the first half.

For the game, the #1 three point shooting team in the league went 0-9, while George Fox rattled home 7-19.

Whitman came into the title game averaging 76 points a night, but started cold and never fully recovered.

The Blues didn’t get their first bucket until two-and-a-half minutes in, when Mady Burdett knocked down a runner.

It would be the only shot the First-Team All-Conference guard, who averages 15 points a game, would hit while being hounded relentlessly by platoons of Bruins.

Down just 16-10 at the first break, Whitman suffered through a brutal second quarter, watching its deficit balloon out to 21 points shortly before halftime.

Martin swished a pair of free throws, followed by Stone taking a steal coast-to-coast for a layup to end the half, but George Fox squashed every Whitman comeback hope in the second half.

Down by 20, the Blues ended the third on a 9-0 surge, but the Bruins immediately answered to open the fourth.

It was virtually the same seven minutes later, as Whitman, behind their interior one-two punch, closed to within 10 with a hair over three minutes to play.

George Fox promptly came up court, ran the clock down, then drilled another three-ball to permanently ice the game.

While she’s hoping for a trip to the NCAA tourney, Martin, Whitman’s lone senior, played what could be her final collegiate game with a vengeance.

An Honorable Mention selection when the NWC picked its All-Conference teams last week, she has been a strong role player all four years.

Martin’s career high entering Saturday’s game was 19 points, but she carried the Blues, hitting 11-18 from the field and 6-7 from the line.

Stone dominated the boards, with her 13 rebounds coming in a game in which no other player, on either team, collected more than six.

It was the 12th double-double for the former Wolf ace this season.

As she waits for an NCAA bid, Stone sits with 388 points, 227 rebounds, 40 assists, 31 steals, and 21 blocks during her junior campaign.

She’s hit 162-318 (50.9%) from the floor and 63-79 (79.7%) from the line.

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Third time’s the charm for Stone, Blues

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , , on February 21, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville’s Makana Stone, here with mom Eileen, went off for 22 points and 11 rebounds Thursday in a college basketball playoff win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Sweet, sweet revenge.

If you lose twice to the same team in the regular season, but bounce back to win the third meeting in the playoffs, who really cares about the first two games?

Not the Whitman College women’s basketball team, which rallied behind an inspired performance from Coupeville’s Makana Stone Thursday to derail visiting Puget Sound 69-61.

The victory, coming in the semifinals of the Northwest Conference postseason tourney, lifts the Blues to 20-6 and sends them to the tourney title game.

That game, where the winner earns an automatic berth to the NCAA D-III national championships, goes down Saturday in Newberg, OR.

Second-seeded Whitman, which avenged eight and five-point losses to #3 UPS, faces league champ George Fox (23-3) in the finale. The Bruins drilled #4 Linfield 76-49 Thursday in their semifinal game.

The title tilt will be the rubber match for the two squads, as Whitman and George Fox split their regular season bouts.

The Blues won 73-54 on the road Jan. 12, before falling 61-57 at home Feb. 8 in Walla Walla.

Thursday night’s game pitted Stone, a junior just named to her second-straight All-Conference team, against the league’s MVP, junior post player Jamie Lange.

While both played well, Coupeville’s ace came out ahead on three counts.

Stone’s game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds edged out Lange’s 18 and 11, the UPS star fouled out, and, most importantly, Whitman won.

As expected, it was a close game most of the way, just as the first two meetings between these teams played out.

Puget Sound jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, but couldn’t pull away, eventually settling for a narrow 14-11 lead at the first break.

Whitman, behind six points from Stone, carried the second quarter, using a 15-12 run to knot things at 26-26 at the half.

Whatever happened in the locker room, be it a dramatic speech, or just some quality Gatorade, the Blues came out on fire in the third quarter, busting open the game.

The host team pulled out in front by eight points heading into the fourth, then eventually ran their lead all the way to a 13-point bulge in the fourth.

UPS rallied, however, twice cutting the lead to five.

That was as close as the Loggers would get, though, as Stone went off for 10 of her 22 points in the game’s final 10 minutes.

Her offensive display included a dagger of a jumper in the late going, which took the remaining air out of the visitors.

Stone added a pair of steals and two teeth-rattling blocks to her game-busting performance, while teammates Mady Burdett and Maegan Martin added 14 and 10 points respectively.

On the season, Stone sits with 378 points, 214 rebounds, 40 assists, 28 steals, and 20 blocks.

She’s hit on 158-309 field goals and 61-77 free throws.

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