WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- The Whitman College women's basketball team stayed perfect on the season Friday afternoon in Spokane, using a big second half to roll over California Lutheran 74-57 at the NBC Camps Whit Classic.

Michelle Krall

Now 5-0 on the season, Whitman plays a second tournament game at 4 p.m. Saturday against nationally ranked Washington University (St. Louis, Mo.). The tournament is taking place at Whitworth University.

With a game-high 18 points, Michelle Krall was one of four Missionaries scoring in double figures against Cal Lutheran. Whitman also got 14 points from Rebecca Sexton, 12 from Jenele Peterson and 10 from Hilary White.

Down 34-32 at intermission, Whitman but tied the contest 30 seconds into the second half and took the lead for good at 42-40 on Peterson's jumper with 13:59 left to play. That basket triggered an 8-0 run and the Missionaries led by no fewer than five points the rest of the way.

An Ellen Vertatschitsch bucket at the 3:33 mark gave Whitman a 68-52 lead. Sophomore Anna Forge, who chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds, scored with seven seconds remaining to make the final tally Whitman's biggest lead of the night.

Whitman outrebounded Cal Lutheran 37-30 and forced the Regals into 19 turnovers. White also grabbed seven rebounds while Sexton snared six and Krall found five. The Missionaries also got five assists from White and four steals from Peterson.

Krall, who made 13 of 13 free throws in her last game, was almost as deadly against Cal Lutheran, converting 12 of 14 from the stripe.

Whitman won big despite missing all 14 of its attempts from the 3-point arc. Despite that bit of futility, the Missionaries shot 48.3 percent from the floor for the game.

Whitman jumped in front early in the first half, pushing its advantage to 17-11 when Vertatschitsch hit a jumper with 12:21 left before the break. But the Regals got hot from the 3-point line, making four treys over the next several minutes to move in front 28-20 with 5:42 remaining. Six Krall free throws helped the Missionaries narrow their deficit to two points by halftime.

The loss dropped Cal Lutheran to 1-4 on the season. In Friday's other tournament game, Whitworth rallied for a 73-68 victory over Washington University. 

Box Score 

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