FOREST GROVE, Ore.  Whitman rode a 56-27 rebounding advantage and key 3-point shooting to a 76-52 Northwest Conference win against the University of Pacific at the Boxers' Stoller Center Saturday afternoon.

From the opening tip, it appeared an offensive shootout would be at hand as both second-ranked (WBCA) Whitman (20-1, 12-0 NWC) and Pacific (3-17, 2-10 NWC) were locked in from outside.

After the Boxers opened the game with a layup to put the first points on the board, the teams proceeded to trade baskets, combining to knock down five consecutive shots from beyond the arc over a 90-second span. Casey Poe ended that streak with a layup though Pacific had an early 11-10 lead.

Whitman then began to put on the defensive clamps that led to easy offense.

After Pacific used a layup to go up by four with 2:52 remaining in the first quarter, the Boxers would not manage to score again over nearly five minutes of game time. Kaelan Shamseldin had back-to-back 3's during the run and Mady Burdett knocked down a trey from a distance that would make Steph Curry proud.

By the time Megan Wesel found the bottom of the net almost 2 minutes into the second quarter, the Blues had gone on an 11-0 run and taken a 24-20 lead. After Pacific used a couple of baskets to tie the game at 26, Whitman went on a 12-1 run, keyed by timely shooting from Sierra McGarity and another 3 from Shamseldin, who went 3-4 from behind the arc in the first half, despite only five minutes of playing time.

In the second half, Whitman slowed the game down and began to use their physical presence to dominate Pacific inside as it was the trio of Emily Rommel, Maegen Martin, and Makana Stone that began to make their presence felt. The trio combined for 33 rebounds on the night, more than the Boxers managed as a team (27).

The Blues used another 10-0 run in the third quarter to put them up by 20, at 57-37. And followed that with a 13-4 run -- capped by five straight points from Poe -- to open the fourth quarter, giving them their largest lead of the game (29) with 3:39 to play, and coasted in for the victory.

Burdett led all scorers with 16 points, and was joined by Poe (13) and Rommel (12) with double-figures.  In a true team effort, nine players contributed offensively in the winning effort while extending the winning streak to 20 games.

The Blues will be back in action on Tuesday as they head north to face rival Whitworth in Spokane at 6 p.m. in Northwest Conference competition.