WALLA WALLA, Wash.  It took a few minutes Saturday afternoon but eventually Whitman's women's lacrosse team tied then pushed past visiting Pacific (Ore.) University, earning a 14-9 Northwest Conference victory under initially overcast but ultimately sunny skies at the Whitman Athletic Fields.

The victory helps the Blues (7-5, 4-1 NWC) put a stranglehold on second place in the league standings with three games remaining. The loss leaves the Boxers (5-5, 2-3) two games back in a tie for third place after getting swept by Whitman.

Pacific jumped out of the gate Saturday for a pair of goals in less than two minutes, hinting at a rough day for the Blues. But Lindsay Schwartz earned free position attempts on back-to-back possessions in her team's attacking third, burying both behind all-conference goalie Adrienna Salzwedal to knot the score at 2-2 not quite five minutes into the game.

The Boxers would score the next goal to regain the lead only to have Schwartz prey on their defense again with consecutive goals that provided Whitman with its first lead of the day.

By halftime the Blues had scratched out a slim 7-6 advantage after out shooting Pacific, 19-11.

As the second half began it was Whitman this time that got off to the hot start, pouring in three unanswered goals -- two by Schwartz and the third by Nina Moore -- to extend the lead to four, at 10-6.

Pacific's answering goal trimmed its deficit to three but that would be the closest it could climb to the surging Blues.

Twice in the final 12 minutes Whitman would score back-to-back goals in answer of a Boxer tally.

Beginning with Schwartz' initial goal of the day Whitman doubled up the visitors, outscoring them 14-7 over the game's final 55 minutes.

Five times the Blues scored two in a row in addition to the three-goal spurt at the beginning of the second half. The only score that wasn't backed up with another was Mary Noyes' goal at the 8:30 mark of the first half.

Saturday's score nearly mirrored the final numbers in the midfield circle as head coach Kate Robinson's edict of 'win the draw, win the game' was backed up by Whitman's 15-10 edge in draw controls.

Earning free position attempts was another area in which the Blues excelled on Saturday, toeing the 8-meter arc 12 times and converting six of those opportunities. In contrast, Pacific had only seven chances from the arc, converting less than half (3) of those chances.

Helping create those numbers against Pacific was goalkeeper Kate Whittingham who finished the day with eight saves, several of which came against those Boxer free position shots.

Schwartz, who ranks 49th nationally in goals, scored seven on the day to maintain her grip on the league leader's spot. She also came down with five draw controls, caused three turnovers and added a pair of ground balls.

Mary Noyes scored three times Saturday, all from free position attempts, and chipped in defensively with two caused turnovers and four ground balls.

Moore ended the afternoon as the game-leader in ground balls, scooping up five to help the Blues build a 35-25 advantage in shots.

Whitman heads into its final home game, Sunday at 12 p.m., with the possibility of climbing up one more spot in the league standings. Conference leader George Fox University (7-2, 4-0) comes to the Athletic Fields for a rematch of an early-season game in which the host Bruins were able to pull away for a 13-7 win.