WALLA WALLA, Wash.  Any and every conference victory is, by virtue of what it counts toward, automatically a moral victory, a work of art, a gushing fount of style points. Little if any footage from seventh-ranked Whitman's 75-50 victory over Pacific (Ore.) University at Sherwood Athletic Center will end up on the Blues' Oscar reel, but that was beside the point.

As Whitman head coach Michelle Ferenz put it, "There isn't a bad team in the Northwest Conference, and there are no off nights in this conference."

Much sharper in the second half than the first, the Blues rode the strong post play of senior Emily Rommel, the all-around floor excellence of senior Casey Poe, and enough sequences of fundamentally-sound execution for a win that was comfortable if inelegant. An assured performance by

Whitman's starters to open the second half opened a safe lead on a night the Blues "played a little rusty," said Ferenz.

"Pacific was fired up, and it looked like we hadn't played in a couple of weeks," she added. "They mixed up their defenses. We will need to play better from the get-go [Saturday]. This is why we have success if we can survive the Northwest Conference. There are no nights off here. It's why we're golden on the national stage."

Rommel had 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting for seventh-ranked Whitman (11-1, 3-0 in NWC), which become sharper on offense and more accurate with its shot as the game progressed. The Blues made 37.5 percent of their field goals in the opening quarter, 41.2 in the second, 53.3 in the third and 61.5 in the fourth. After opening the second half with its sharpest offensive sequence of the game, Whitman's lead swelled to 25 points midway through the third quarter. The Blues shredded Pacific's attempts at halfcourt pressure, had four quick steals (three by Poe) and were on point with their passing in compiling a 47-20 lead four minutes into the second half.

"Our starters came out in the second half and played well," Ferenz said. "They just stepped up."

Poe had 16 points, five steals, five assists and four rebounds for the winners. Mady Burdett added 12 points, six rebounds and two steals. Makana Stone led Whitman's 47-28 domination of the glass with a game-high 10 rebounds and dished five assists.

Whitman had 21 turnovers, but also assists on 22 of 29 baskets.

Rommel went on a personal 7-2 run to give Whitman its first real separation late in the second quarter. Rommel's spurt anchored an 11-3 Blues run with 2:04 left in the half that gave Whitman a 28-15 lead.

After a slippery first quarter, Whitman took better care of the ball and clamped down defensively to build a 32-18 halftime lead. The Blues did not allow a Pacific field goal over the final 2:31 of the second quarter.

Whitman led 15-10 after one quarter despite an uncharacteristic glut off turnovers. Most of the Blues' seven giveaways were the result of missed connections on entry passes -- too high, too hot -- and allowed the scrappy Boxers to climb into striking distance after falling behind 13-3 on Maegen Martin's 3-pointer at the 4:07 mark of the period.

Rommel was 4 of 7 on field goals for a team-high nine points in the first half, when Whitman -- playing its first home game since Nov. 25 -- shot 39.4 percent (13 of 33) from the floor.

Pacific (1-10, 0-3) was coming off its first win of the season. Megan Wesel led the Boxers with 12 points, and Courtney Carolan added 11.

The Blues host Lewis and Clark (7-5, 2-1) at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Notes: Whitman began the stretch run in the Northwest Conference as its top scoring team (77.5 points per game), best shooting team (50.3 percent on field goals) and most selfless (conference-leading 20.8 assists-per-game). No other NWC team was scoring more than 70 ppg, shooting over 45 percent or averaging more than 16.5 assists … Poe is having a season for the ages. The senior entered Friday's contest ranked in the NWC top seven in eight statistical categories, and among the top 25 in 10 categories. Poe was tied for the conference lead in points-per-game, first in 3-point field goal percentage, second in free throw percentage, third in blocked shots per game, tied for third in assist-to-turnover ratio, fourth in assists per game, fifth in field goal percentage, seventh in steals per game, 21st in rebounds per game and 25th in offensive rebounds per game … Stone came into the Pacific game leading the NWC in shooting percentage (65.3), just ahead of Martin (62.3).