SPOKANE, Wash.  Whitman used a dominant second half to erase a halftime deficit in taking a 67-56 non-conference victory over the University of California at Santa Cruz Friday evening in the opening game of the Whit Classic, hosted by Whitworth University.

The Blues (2-0) trailed the Banana Slugs (0-2) at the break by seven, 36-29, but roared out of the intermission with a 19-7 third quarter to take command.

Whitman's Chelsi Brewer led all scorers with 15 points and received help in the offensive end from Maegen Martin (10 points) and Alysse Ketner (8). Ketner pulled down a team-best eight rebounds  while also adding six assists and four steals.

The Blues rolled out of the gate with a strong first quarter, building a 10-point lead, 14-4, just past the midway point. But Santa Cruz got on a roll late, trimming its deficit to three at quarter's end, only to see another Whitman surge through the middle portion of the quarter.

Again, though, late in a quarter Santa Cruz found a rhythm and this time pulled ahead in the final minutes, eventually taking a 36-29 into the intermission.

That seven-point lead grew to nine in the early moments of the third, but a UCSC turnover led to an Alysse Ketner layup that began to finally turn the tide for the Blues.

The Whitman deficit dwindled to one, 40-39, on a pair of Ketner free throws, and then a Makana Stone defensive rebound transitioned into a Stone layup at the other end of the floor to lift the Blues back in front, 41-40, for the first time since the 3:29 mark of the second quarter.

Santa Cruz hung close over the end of the third and beginning of the fourth until an 11-0 run, kick started by a Brewer 3-pointer, pushed the Whitman advantage into double digits.

Whitman had a good night from the floor, hitting on 44 percent of its shots, though it did leave some points on the table with a 7-for-12 (58 percent) night from the foul line.

Katie Young paced Santa Cruz in the loss with 14 points while teammate Michelle Poole came down with a game-high 10 boards.

The Blues take Friday's victory into Saturday afternoon's 2 p.m. non-conference bout against the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, which defeated host Whitworth, 72-56, in Friday's nightcap.