SPOKANE, Wash.  The pesky Tigers from Colorado College did their best to hang around, but seventh-ranked Whitman raced away from the challenge in the second half to secure a 75-42 non-conference women's basketball victory Saturday afternoon in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The Blues (8-1) never trailed but CC (2-7) pulled back into contention with a strong second quarter, trimming Whitman's advantage at the half to 32-24.

Though the Tigers out scored the Blues, 15-14, in that second 10-minute frame, it was Whitman that roared out the halftime intermission.

The lead inched to an 11-point edge over the initial three minutes of the third quarter, but the offensive explosion had begun to do more than just simmer.

Payton Katich's free throw had just pulled CC to a 38-27 deficit at the 6:56 mark.

Boom. Off went the Blues.

Beginning with Makana Stone's layup they poured in 14 of the final 18 points in the third, finishing the frame by a 20-7 count.

The most remarkable aspect of the 14-4 run that closed the period was that seven different Blues contributed one basket each, five of them via the high-percentage layup variety.

The fourth quarter didn't get any better for CC as Whitman poured in 23 more points while limiting the Tigers to just 11, converting an eight-point halftime lead into a 33-point victory by out scoring CC 43-18 over the final 20 minutes.

Relentless defensive pressure forced the Tigers away from the rim, a place from which they were quite unsuccessful after a 1-for-11 afternoon from beyond the arc.

Whitman didn't register many steals in the contest; it simply hounded the Tigers into mistakes, generating 26 points from CC's 20 turnovers.

And those high-percentage shots -- that came all game long, not just during the third quarter -- added up to 44 points from within the paint.

Every player that took a shot from the floor or free-throw line scored in the win, paced by Casey Poe's and Stone's 14 points apiece.

Emily Rommel added a quiet 12 points to also reach double-digits in scoring.

Spreading herself out across the stat sheet was Sierra McGarity who dropped in six points, came up with a game-high six rebounds, dished out a game-best five assists while also coming up with two of the team's six steals.

The Tigers were led by Casey Torbet's 10 points, the only CC player to reach double figures.

Saturday's game was the first of two games at the Fieldhouse, with host Whitworth taking on Carroll (Mont.) College in the closing contest of the 2017 Holiday Classic by Red Lion River Inn. Carroll bounced back after falling to Whitman Friday night (59-55) to defeat Whitworth 78-56.

Stone -- whose 15-point night led all scorers in Friday's win over Carroll -- was voted the Classic MVP and was joined on the All-Classic team by Poe, CC's Torbet, Carroll's Bailey Pasta and Whitworth's Grace Douglas.

The Blues return to the hard court after the holiday, traveling to San Antonio, Texas, where they will participate in the Trinity University Classic. Whitman plays Schreiner (Texas) University on December 20, then takes on host and 18th-ranked Trinity the next day.