NEWBERG, Ore. – A big second half wasn't quite enough to climb out of a 22-point halftime deficit Thursday night as visiting Whitman College fell, 78-64, to host and third-ranked George Fox University in the semifinal round of the 2015 Northwest Conference postseason tournament.

Casey Poe led four players from Whitman (16-10) into double figures, pacing the Missionaries with a career-best 18 points. But Fox (26-0) got 31 points from Jami Morris as welling as seeing two more starters crash the double-digit party to allow the Bruins to advance into Saturday's NWC championship game against No. 18 University of Puget Sound which defeated Whitworth University in Thursday's other semifinal match-up.

Trailing by as many as 30 early in the second half Whitman began to chip away at the deficit nearing the midpoint of the half.

With 11:01 to play the Bruins were up 67-40 when Emily Rommel knocked down a pair of free throws. That innocent start led to a 10-0 burst from the Missionaries that trimmed Fox's advantage to 17 with 7:25 to play.

A series of scoreless possessions followed Rommel's free throws until a Hailey Ann Maeda defensive rebound turned into a driving layup from Heather Johns. Morris missed a shot on Fox's ensuing possession and Whitman responded with another Johns layup. Both teams suffered turnovers on the next three possessions which put the ball back in Whitman's hands. Rommel dropped in a short jumper to bring the deficit under 20 points, 67-48, for the first time since the 7:43 mark of the opening half.

,The Bruins got off two shots their next time down the court but neither would fall with Poe pulling down the defensive rebound on the second miss. Rommel again finished off the possession, this time with a cut through the lane and layup off a soft pass from Chelsi Brewer. That basket pulled Whitman to within 17, at 67-50, but the Missionaries could only cut a few more points from their deficit over the remaining minutes, finally running out of time trailing by 14 at the horn.

It was a rough start to the game that created the initial deficit for Whitman as George Fox opened the contest on an 11-2 spurt in a little more than three minutes. The Bruins' advantage hovered around that point for the next eight minutes until a difficult series of possessions from Whitman turned into a quick 7-0 run by Fox that upped its lead to 24-8. A turnover in Whitman's defensive end flipped to a 3-pointer from Morris, and then a one-and-done in the Missionaries' offensive end transitioned to a Justine Benner jumper. The unanswered run was capped by a Morris steal for Fox and a Lauren Codling layup which pushed the home team's lead to 16.

Rommel answered the run with a layup, with a Brewer assist, but Fox responded with another streak, this one a four minute 11-0 run, to push its cushion into the 20s. The half would end with the Bruins taking a 45-23 lead into the break.

Joining Poe in double-figures were Rommel with 16, Johns with 14 and Heather Lovelace with 10. Whitman out rebounded Fox, 39-37, led by Poe's eight boards.

George Fox had a strong night from long range, hitting six from beyond the arc, and also used a 75-percent night from the foul line where it shot 24-for-32 compared to just 16 attempts from the stripe by the Missionaries.

Though still hoping for a chance for an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, Thursday's loss could very well be the final collegiate game for four graduating seniors -- Johns, the conference player of the year and the Capital One Academic All-America® of the year in Division III women's basketball, along with Lovelace, Katie Gray and Hallie Buse.