WALLA WALLA, Wash. – A game-high 16 points from Heather Johns, including a pair of clutch free throws in the final minute, along with a game-high nine rebounds from Emily Rommel helped Whitman College's women's basketball team down visiting Lewis & Clark College, 56-52, in Northwest Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Sherwood Athletics Center.

The Missionaries (12-7, 7-3 NWC) never trailed in the contest and allowed the Pioneers (6-13, 3-7) to pull even just once, when the score was tied at 1-1 during the game's early moments.

An 11-3 burst following the opening tip set the tone for Whitman. During that span of 6 minutes and 24 seconds the M's out rebounded L&C by a count of 10-4 and forced four Pioneer turnovers while not giving it away even once. The only sore spot for Whitman during that run was the fact that many of the rebounds came off of its own misses.

Nonetheless the defensive pressure exerted by the Whits forced the visitors into poor shots and mistakes in addition to several possessions that were ended by the shot clock buzzer. By the time the teams left the court for the halftime break the Missionaries had rolled out to a 15-point advantage at 35-20.

Five minutes into the second half Whitman had lengthened its lead to 18 and then maintained a double-digit edge over the Pio's for the next 10 minutes.

Lewis & Clark finally found its footing too late as it did more than chip away at the lead, as it ravaged the deficit with a 14-3 run heading into the final 30 seconds.

A Miyah Leith 3-pointer drew L&C within a basket, 54-52, with 34 seconds remaining. Johns, though, was able to break through the Pio's press and was fouled in L&C's end of the floor at the 29-second mark. The first of her two free throws dropped tickled the netting to take away the threat of a miracle 3-pointer from the visitors, and then Johns mirrored her first shot by dropping in the second for the game's final point.

The Pioneers were still able to get off a pair of long-range attempts at the end but neither would fall as the game ended with a steal by the Missionaries' Alysse Ketner.

Hailey Ann Maeda joined Johns in double-figures by scoring 12 points during the win. Maeda also pulled down six rebounds to help Rommel and the Whits to a 30-24 advantage on the glass.

Ayisat Afolabi was the lone Pioneer to score in double-figures, leading her team with 13 points. Only one other player, Lauren Wood with nine points, scored more than seven points during the loss.

As strong as the Missionaries were in the first half -- hitting 52 percent from the floor, giving up only seven turnovers, and pounding the glass to a 21-10 edge -- the second half proved more problematic as they turned the ball over nine times, hit only 1-of-4 shots from beyond the arc and sank only half (4-of-8) of their free throws. The game's early action and short second-half surge proved too much for L&C to overcome, however.

Whitman's two-game win streak will be put to the test Tuesday night when No. 17 Whitworth University brings its 18-1 record (9-1 NWC) to Sherwood for a 6 p.m. contest at Sherwood.