Coupeville Sports

Whitman College won again Tuesday night, but lost Coupeville grad Makana Stone to a high ankle sprain. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was a night of mixed emotions in Walla Walla.

On one hand, the Whitman College women’s basketball squad held off pesky Whitworth University 89-78 Tuesday, moving into sole-possession of first-place in the Northwest Conference, while giving coach Michelle Ferenz her 300th career win.

But, on a troubling note, Coupeville grad Makana Stone, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, ended the night on crutches after suffering a possible high ankle sprain.

Limited to just 13 minutes of action, the former Wolf had four points, six rebounds and an assist when she left the game.

Stone will definitely sit out this Friday, when Whitman (10-1 in league play, 16-4 overall) hosts Lewis & Clark College (1-9, 2-17).

After that, the Blues don’t play for a solid week, until George Fox (9-1, 16-3) comes to Walla Walla for a battle royal.

Tuesday night, Whitman overcame the loss of its junior leader by spreading the offensive love out among a number of players.

Taylor Chambers knocked down a team-high 18, while Maegan Martin (16), Kaelan Shamseldin (15), and Mady Burdett (13) joined her in notching double figures.

Down by a point after the first quarter, Whitman broke the game open with two runs, taking the second frame 19-12 and the third quarter 24-16.

Stone, a three-time league player of the week this season, sits with 297 points, 175 rebounds, 38 assists, 23 steals, and 17 blocks.

She’s hit on 124-246 field goal tries and 48-62 free throw attempts.

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Makana Stone went for a game-high 21 points and 17 rebounds Tuesday as Whitman won a big-time showdown. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

One big hurdle down, several more to go.

Powered by a ferocious performance from Coupeville grad Makana Stone, the Whitman College women’s basketball squad won a thriller in Spokane Tuesday, knocking off Whitworth University 91-86.

The pressure-packed victory lifts the Blues to 4-0 in Northwest Conference play, 10-3 overall and leaves them in a first-place tie with defending league champ George Fox.

After absorbing the loss, Whitworth (3-1, 8-5) slips into second-place in the conference standings.

Stone, who went off for a game-high 21 points and 17 rebounds Tuesday, will lead Whitman into a dangerous doubleheader this coming weekend.

The Blues play Friday at Linfield (2-2, 6-7), before facing off Saturday with George Fox (4-0, 11-3).

Tuesday’s rumble was a slug-fest between two talented squads, and went down to the wire.

Stone iced the game with her final points of the night, when she snared an offensive rebound and powered back up for a game-busting bucket with just 33 ticks left on the clock.

Add another huge rebound, coming off of a missed free throw by a teammate at the 18-second mark, and the former Wolf was a woman on a mission.

Whitman edged out to a small lead (14-12) after one quarter of play, only to fall behind 35-32 at the half.

The Blues promptly doubled their score, however, tossing in 32 points during a wild and woolly third quarter, before hitting big shots down the stretch to hold on for the win.

Stone’s 21 points came on 9-15 shooting from the floor and 3-4 from the free-throw line, while Blues teammate Kaelan Shamseldin drilled five three-balls en route to 20 points of her own.

On the season, Stone, who leads Whitman in 13 of 22 stat categories, sits with 216 points, 116 rebounds, 22 assists, 18 steals and 17 blocks.

She’s shooting 92-176 from the field and 32-44 at the charity stripe.

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   The uniform may have changed for Makana Stone, but the production has not. (John Fisken photo)

First they moved up three slots in the polls, then they wrecked another foe.

Whitman College’s women’s basketball squad, which includes former Coupeville High School legend Makana Stone, routed visiting Whitworth 61-50 Tuesday night to improve to a flawless 7-0.

The Blues entered the night ranked #22 in the most recent Women’s Basketball Coaches Association D-3 poll.

Whitman rolled to its second straight Northwest Conference win, using a 34-18 run over the middle two quarters to turn a tied ball game into a 16-point advantage.

Stone snared three of her five rebounds during that surge, while also picking up a steal.

She hit a season low with just a single point, off of a fourth quarter free throw, but she had the second-most rebounds for Whitman as it controlled the boards to a 36-25 tune.

Whitman spread its scoring around, with three players hitting double figures.

Emily Rommel popped for 15, Chelsi Brewer banked home 11 and Maegen Martin knocked down 10.

Through seven games, Stone, who is averaging 17 minutes a game off the bench, is putting up 6.0 points and 5.6 rebounds a night.

She leads the team in shooting percentage at 54.5% (18 of 33) and has seven steals, six assists and two blocks.

Whitman’s next four games come tourney-style, two in Walla Walla and two in Honalulu.

The Blues will play in the Kim Evanger Raney Classic Dec. 9-10 at home, facing Louisiana College and Colorado College.

After that it’s off to the islands for the Hawaii Tournament Dec. 19-20, where their foes will be Occidental College and the University of the Redlands.

Whitman then takes a two-week-plus break between games, returning to conference play Jan. 6 against Linfield College.

The Blues close with 14 straight league games, the first four on their home court.

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