WALLA WALLA, Wash.  Whitman's 13th-ranked women's basketball team had finally gotten over the hump Thursday, late in a Northwest Conference tournament semifinal game against visiting Willamette University.

Playing on their home court at the Sherwood Center, the Blues used an 8-0 run in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to take their first lead, at 52-50, since the 5:28 mark of the first quarter.

Fate -- for a squad that had won 21 straight during the regular season, and at one point risen to No. 2 in the nation (WBCA poll) -- would turn a blind eye toward Whitman (22-3), however, as Willamette scored the final five points of the game during the last 57 seconds to wrest back the lead and finish the night off with a 55-52 win that advances the Bearcats (16-9) into Saturday night's NWC championship contest.

If only the Blues could have begun their rally earlier.

The lid on top of the basket at Whitman's scoring end was welded on tightly over the first 20 minutes of game action.

For the half Whitman went 0-for-6 from behind the arc, and just 7-for-30 (23 percent) from the floor.

Despite those numbers the halftime deficit, 29-19, was a manageable, but not desirable, 10 points.

It took a few minutes of the third quarter, but Whitman finally got on track.

With Willamette's advantage at 37-25, a 3-pointer by Taylor Chambers -- the first long-range basket of the game by a Whitman player -- cut the Bearcats' lead back into single-digits.

A series of ensuing turnovers ended with a layup by Maegen Martin that trimmed the deficit to seven, 37-30, late in the quarter.

That same deficit was on the scoreboard, this time at 39-32, to start someone's possible final quarter of the season.

A Chambers trey from the top, pulled Whitman within four, but Willamette's Britanny Kochenderfer answered with her own long-range bomb from deep in the right corner.

Over the next eight minutes Whitman would claw to within reach, only to have the Bearcats drop in a 3, or drain free throws, or pull down a defensive rebound.

Trailing 50-44 with 2:33 left, Chambers and NWC player of the year Casey Poe had finally had enough.

Keyed by a Mady Burdett steal and successful pair of free throws, Chambers and Poe put the Blues on their backs and carried Whitman into the lead.

Whitman's defense -- which had harassed Willamette to under 10 seconds on its shot clock all game long -- forced an inbounds violation on the Bearcats' next possession.

Poe turned that opportunity into a layup that brought the Blues to within 50-48 with 1:39 left.

Like lightning finally unleashed from its bottle, the Whitman defense struck again. Chambers pulled off a steal before Willamette would even reach half court and finished it with a layup to tie the score.

Then Poe mirrored Chambers' antics with her own steal and layup to lift the Blues to a 52-50 edge, finishing off the 8-0 run with 76 seconds remaining.

Fate simply wasn't ready to don a Blues uniform, though. Not on this night.

Drew Farmer hit a jumper for the Bearcats to tie the game at 50-50 just after the clock ticked under one minute to go, and a Whitman foul during the rebound of a missed shot handed the ball back to Willamette.

Ashley Evans subsequently drained a 3 from the same deep, right corner that had welcomed the Bearcats for most of their visit, and with 20 seconds on the clock Willamette had regained the advantage.

Whitman got two cracks at a tying 3-pointer over the final 14 seconds but neither opportunity found iron and with that, the Bearcats' bench rushed the court as they punched their ticket into the tournament's championship game where they will meet host and 14th-ranked George Fox University, an 81-50 winner over Lewis & Clark College in the night's other semifinal.

Poe led Whitman's scorers with 16 points, followed by Chambers' 15 and nine points by Makana Stone.

Stone just missed the double-double for the night, pulling down 10 rebounds to trail only teammate Emily Rommel who finished with a game-high 11 boards.

Kylie Towry of Willamette led all scorers with 21 points, and got help from Kochenderfer who chipped in with 15. The pair, along with Evans, combined for all of the Bearcats' 3-point shots, hitting 8-of-16 to become a major factor in the outcome.

Whitman hit 42 percent from the floor in the second half, outscoring the Bearcats 33-26, but for the game struggled to a 33 percent night.

The Blues now sit anxiously awaiting the NCAA tournament selection show Monday morning (11:30 a.m. PT) to learn if they will be extended an at-large bid to the Big Dance.