SPOKANE, Wash.  Whitman College's women's basketball team improved to 3-0 on the season with Saturday afternoon's 67-54 non-conference victory over the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, handing the Crusaders their first loss of the season, at the Whit Classic, hosted by Whitworth University at its Fieldhouse. Casey Poe hit for a double-double for the Blues while teammate Chelsi Brewer finished with a game-best 16 points.

Poe racked up 10 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five steals for Whitman. Mary Hardin-Baylor was led by Kendall Rollins who popped for 10 points as the only Crusader (2-1) to reach double-figures against Whitman's constant defensive pressure.

Mary Hardin-Baylor twice led by one point early in the contest but when Emily Rommel dropped in a short jumper at the six-minute mark it pushed Whitman in front, 6-5, for a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

Rommel's jumper began a 16-3 run that ended the quarter and sent the Blues into the second quarter with a 12-point advantage. That lead grew to 17 midway through the second but the Crusaders were able to battle back to within seven, 36-29, at the halftime break.

The game broke open late in the third quarter after UMHB closed to within four points, at 39-34. Mady Burdett drained one of her four 3-pointers on the afternoon to quell the Crusader threat and initiate another Whitman stretch that built some breathing room for the Blues.

The final quarter saw Whitman continue to create turnovers and points with its defense, out scoring UMHB 19-11 in the final 10 minutes to close out its 13-point win.

The Blues limited the Crusaders to 16-for-59 (27 percent) from the floor, a figure that included just 2-of-15 from beyond the arc. Whitman forced 19 turnovers and generated 19 points off those mistakes. In contrast, though Whitman had 16 turnovers it allowed UMHB to score a grand total of three points off the miscues.

The Blues also won the battle in deep, out scoring the Crusaders 26-20 in the paint.

In addition to her game-high in points, Brewer added in four rebound, four assists and two steals. Burdett's 12 points all came from her four 3-pointers, and she chipped in elsewhere with five rebounds, three steals and an assist.

Whitman's season schedule continues with a pair of road contests Tuesday and Wednesday when the Blues will take on Multnomah University and Warner Pacific College, respectively, in two more non-conference tilts.