TACOMA, Wash.  Makana Stone's team-high 16 points and Casey Poe's 10, all in the second half, helped No. 8 Whitman power its way to a 72-44 victory over host Pacific Lutheran University Friday evening in a Northwest Conference-opening game at Olson Gymnasium.

The Blues (5-1, 1-0 NWC) forced 20 PLU turnovers, limited the Lutes (1-3, 0-1) to an 0-for-11 night from beyond the arc while steadily increasing their advantage quarter by quarter.

Whitman was forced to battle back from an early deficit, at 9-6, but layups from Maegen Martin then Lily Gustafson erased the PLU advantage. When the Blues sidled over to their bench at the end of the quarter they led 14-11 after finishing the 10-minute frame on an 8-2 run.

The lead was trimmed to one, 14-13, with the Lutes' opening basket of the second quarter but Mady Burdett buried a 3-pointer to build back the cushion and Whitman sailed from there.

The pressuring Whitman defense not only forced those 20 turnovers, but also allowed PLU to score just, and exactly, 11 points per quarter.

A 32-22 halftime lead blossomed over each of the remaining 10-minute stanzas, elevating to a 15-point lead at the end of the third before exploding into the final 28-point margin during the final 10 minutes of action.

Head coach Michelle Ferenz went to her bench early in the contest, getting the 14 players dressed for the affair some game action. The non-starters racked up 30 points, led by Taylor Chambers' nine points and Maegan Martin's eight points to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds.

Whitman continues its NWC-opening weekend on the road Saturday afternoon at No. 19 University of Puget Sound, a rematch of not only the conference tournament championship game, but of a second-round NCAA tournament match-up -- each a Whitman victory on the Loggers' home court.