WALLA WALLA, Wash.  Elizabeth Prewitt's driving layin with two seconds left in overtime gave the University of Puget Sound a 73-71 victory over Whitman in a battle of Northwest Conference -- and national -- women's basketball titans.

The loss was 16th-ranked Whitman's first of the season, and represented a second critical NWC marker for No. 18 UPS, which already has a victory over 20th-ranked George Fox.

Yet plenty of drama remains in the conference race -- with road games suddenly more important for the Blues.

"We've got to bounce back," Whitman head coach Michelle Ferenz said. "We've got a choice to make. Do we want to get better?"

Clutch free throws loomed large for each team, although poor overall execution at the charity stripe loomed as a cruel irony for the Blues, post-game. Whitman's Chelsi Brewer was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left in overtime, her team trailing 71-68.

She calmly buried all three to tie it, setting the stage for Prewitt's heroics.

The Loggers tied it in regulation when Samone Jackson, who led all scorers with 22 points, made two free throws with seven seconds left. Casey Poe pushed the length of the floor and got to the rim, but her contested runner trickled wide at the horn.

Ferenz lamented Whitman's 12-for-21 shooting clip from the free throw line as well as other misses on high-percentage shots.

"Two good teams, and it came down to the last possession. Any time that happens, it comes down to little things," she said. "We left some points on the floor. We missed some blockouts. Little things -- that's what it will come down to from here on out."

Whitman (14-1, 5-1 NWC) plays seven of its next games on the road, with no reprieve on the immediate horizon: a visit to George Fox next Friday kicks off the trip.

Poe had 15 points, five assists, five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot to pace the Blues. Emily Rommel added 13 points and nine rebounds, Alysse Ketner 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Brewer 11 points and two blocks. Makana Stone came off the bench to snag seven rebounds.

The physicality of a contest that had the texture and tempo of a boulder slide was amplified in the second quarter, which saw a series of gritty defensive stands by the Blues and brilliant flashes by Poe. Whitman held UPS without a point for seven minutes, 45 seconds and built a 30-22 lead. Poe buried a 3-pointer, popped a jumper in the lane and -- following her second steal of the half -- fed Maegen Martin for a point-blank bucket.

The Loggers' Jamie Lange corralled the ball after Brewer blocked Jackson's driving layup attempt and scored at the halftime buzzer, chiseling the UPS (14-1, 6-0) deficit to 32-36.

Jackson, the Loggers' versatile dervish of a point guard, was on fire in the first quarter with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Despite trailing for most of the period, Whitman rode sophomore post Martin on a late surge to snag a 21-20 lead after one. Martin swished a jump shot, cashed inside after a nifty over-the-top pass from Poe left her alone at the rim and then snuffed the final Loggers possession of the opening quarter with a steal. Mady Burdett scored the final five points of the frame, including a 3 with three seconds left, as Whitman sneaked ahead 46-44.

After three more lead changes and another tie to open the fourth, Brewer and Ketner buried 3s to bookend Rommel's lane jumper as Whitman stretched ahead 55-49.