PARKLAND, Wash. – Its nine-point halftime lead exploded in the second half as Whitman College raced past host Pacific Lutheran University, 78-47, Saturday afternoon in Northwest Conference women's basketball action at Names Family Court. Chelsi Brewer led the Missionaries with career highs in points, 20, and 3-point field goals, six.

The win marks only the end of the regular season for Whitman (16-9, 11-5) as it finishes in fourth place within the league standings, a spot that earns a berth in the NWC postseason tournament. The loss caps the end of the season for the Lutes (5-20, 2-14).

Early on Saturday PLU put pressure on the Missionaries, breaking out in front and maintaining an edge through 10 minutes of play. A 10-0 run from Whitman turned the tables on the home team, however.

Trailing 14-9 the M's began to cut into the deficit with a Sierra McGarity jumper and then an Eve Goldman steal turned into a Hailey McDonald layup to pull Whitman to within a point, 14-13. Heather Johns pulled down one of her game-high 10 rebounds on a Lutes miss and eventually knocked down a jumper at the other end to push the Missionaries in front,15-14.

Another theft, this one by McDonald, became points, this time on a McGarity jumper, followed by another defensive rebound by Johns. McDonald's layup on the ensuing possession was the finishing touch on the run that likely sealed the deal for the Missionaries. The lead blossomed into double digits over the next minutes before Whitman headed into halftime ahead 37-28.

The final 20 minutes didn't come close to resembling the first half as the M's limited their hosts to just 19 points from seven field goals and four three throws. Pacific Lutheran hit just 29 percent of its shots in the half. Meanwhile, Brewer showed that she was just warming up in the opening 20 minutes. She knocked down a pair of 3-pointers before halftime but doubled that figure in the second half on the way to her new career highs.

If Brewer's prowess beyond the arc and the defensive pressure weren't enough to assure victory, for good measure the Whits added an 11-0 run across the middle minutes of the second half.

The Missionaries forced 20 turnovers and came away with 15 steals on the night. Brewer, Johns, McDonald and Casey Poe had three steals apiece in the defensive gem. The advantage turned into points with Brewer's 20 and Johns' 17 leading the way. McDonald added six points to her pestering defensive night, and Poe continues to make her mark across the stats sheet by scoring six points, pulling down seven rebounds, blocking one shot, and adding a trio of assists to her three steals.

Madison Green-Hayward led a threesome of Lutes into double figures as she scored 12 points to go along with 11 from Taylor Fleming and 10 from Jori Hall.

Whitman's quest for the conference title begins Wednesday at 7 p.m. when it will square off against host and third-ranked George Fox University, the conference regular-season champion. One week ago the Missionaries battled Fox down to the final minutes before finishing eight points back in a home loss to the highly-ranked Bruins.