WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Twenty-one second-half points from Heather Johns helped Whitman College's women's basketball team pull away from visiting Linfield College in an 85-61 Northwest Conference victory Saturday afternoon at the Sherwood Athletics Center.

Johns finished with career-high 34 points in the Whitman (8-5, 3-1 NWC) victory over the Wildcats (6-6, 0-3) who remain winless within the league.

The Missionaries carried a 13-point advantage into the halftime break and looked like they would continue to tame the Wildcats over the second half, maintaining a double-digit lead for nearly all of the initial 10 minutes of action. However, trailing 58-45 with 11:14 to play Linfield embarked on a rally that pulled it to within seven, 58-51, at the 9:16 mark following a pair of converted free throws from Annalise Beshears.

A Johns layup on Whitman's ensuing possession followed by a Linfield turnover and then a Chelsi Brewer 3-pointer kicked off a 27-10 closing run over the final nine minutes of action as the Missionaries' lead ballooned to 26 before Beshears cut into the deficit with another pair of free throws with just five seconds remaining.

Early action saw the teams trading baskets resulting in five lead changes within the first four minutes of the contest. Emily Rommel's put-back of her own missed jumper pushed Whitman in front, 7-6, with a lead it wouldn't relinquish the rest of the afternoon. Linfield didn't simply give up once it lost the lead, though. The Missionaries were able to grow the advantage to double digits only after 12 minutes of battling with the game Wildcats squad.

Offensive rebounds which helped generate second-chance points were among the key contributors to the Whitman win. The Missionaries nearly doubled up Linfield on the glass, pulling down 46 rebounds to just 26 by the visitors, but 19 offensive boards by Whitman created opportunities that eventually turned into 24 second-chance points. The Missionaries won the turnover battle as well, forcing 18 miscues from Linfield while handing the ball over only a dozen instances. As with their offensive rebounds and second-chance points, Whitman took advantage of the Linfield turnovers, converting them into 20 points.

Johns' career night started like a normal night, at least for any other first-team All-American, as she hit the break at the intermission with 13 points, joined in the double-digits race with Rommel who hit the locker rooms with 11 at the half. Her 21 second-half points pushed Johns past her previous career-high which was 33 points during the Missionaries' national semifinal victory in the 2014 NCAA tournament. Saturday's second-half production from Johns fell, in fact, just one point shy of equaling the rest of the team's points combined (22) over the final 20 minutes.

Rommel, who finished with 13 points, and Hallie Buse, with 10, made sure Johns' night wasn't the only enjoyable one for the Whitman attack. Hannah Depew notched a team-high 21 points for Linfield in the loss.

Next up for the Missionaries is a conference road trip that kicks off Friday night at 10th-ranked and unbeaten (13-0, 4-0 NWC) George Fox University, followed by an afternoon date Saturday at Pacific (Ore.) University (6-7, 2-2 NWC).