WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- With Hilary White combining a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double, Whitman College outlasted Northwest University 77-73 Friday night at the Kim Evanger Raney Memorial Classic in Sherwood Center.

Hilary White

Whitman, which also got 12 points each from Michelle Krall, Jenele Peterson and Jessica Brice, ran its early season record to 3-0. Rachel Mitchell poured in 21 points to pace Northwest, which dropped to 2-4 on the season.

After jumping in front 4-0 to start the game, Whitman missed its next seven shots and committed four turnovers as Northwest scored 10 unanswered points. The Eagles led 19-13 before Whitman found its shooting touch, knotting the game at 21-21 on an Anna Forge jumper and taking a 25-22 lead on a Jessica Brice 3-pointer. The Missionaries led 31-26 at the break after an opening 20 minutes that saw both teams shoot about 32 percent from the floor.

The second half was a different story as Whitman quickly threatened to blow the game open, twice stretching its lead to 15 points. White's 3-pointer at the 16-minute mark capped an 18-8 run that had the home team in front 49-34. Northwest clawed its way back, getting back-to-back buckets from Mitchell, one of them a trey, to close its deficit to 56-52 with 10:45 left.

White nailed her fourth 3-pointer of the night with 6:13 remaining to push Whitman's lead back into double digits at 66-55.

The Eagles made a final run, pulling to within 71-68 on Carleigh Newman's bucket with 1:39 on the clock. The visitors had a chance to catch Whitman with 60 seconds left, but Krall blocked a 3-point try from the right corner and Peterson converted two free throws at the other end to put Whitman back up by five.

Mitchell's 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining kept Northwest close at 75-73, but Peterson swished two more free throws with 13 ticks left on the clock to complete the scoring.

White scored 20 of her points in the second half, making seven of nine shots from the floor. As a team, Whitman shot 56.7 percent in the second half and won the battle of the backboards by a 43-33 margin.

With the Missionary offense struggling in the first half, Brice came off the bench to score 10 of her 12 points prior to intermission. Forge also gave sluggish Whitman a boost in the opening half, grabbing all eight of her rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

Kim Evanger Raney

Jessalyn Jackson notched a double-double for Northwest with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Eagles also got 11 points from Colleen Woods.

Earlier on Friday, Lewis-Clark State opened Whitman's tournament with an 84-76 victory over Corban College. The tournament concludes Saturday with games at 4 p.m. (Lewis-Clark State vs. Northwest) and 6 p.m. (Whitman vs. Corban).

The tournament honors the late Kim Evanger Raney, a graduate of Issaquah (Wash.) High School who also played basketball at Whitman, graduating in 2002 with a degree in pyschology. She died in a cycling accident in March of 2007.

The tournament is accepting admission donations for the Kim Evanger Raney Foundation, which was created by her family and provides funding assistance for a number of children's charities.

Box score 

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CONTACT: Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
509 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu