FOREST GROVE – A strong start in the opening minutes for Pacific was not enough to keep Whitman from securing the fourth and final berth in the Northwest Conference playoffs Friday night as the Missionaries came back in force and rolled past the Boxers 67-44 in women's basketball action at the Stoller Center.
The Boxers (6-18, 2-13 NWC) scored 11 points over the first 5:36 of the first half and built an early seven-point lead, but then scored just two more points the rest of the stanza. Whitman (15-10, 9-7 NWC) did not let the opportunity go unused, outscoring the Boxers 26-2 the remainder of the half to build the margin needed for the win.
Paige Jensen (So., Bemidji, Minn.) led the Boxers with her ninth double-double of the season, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Kandice McArthur (Jr., Post Falls, Idaho) connected for nine points. The Boxers shot 30.4 percent from the field (14-46) and went 14 of 18 from the free throw line, but turned the ball over 25 times.
Rebecca Sexton led Whitman with 19 points, hitting 7 of 9 from the field, to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. Tiffani Brewer added 10 points. The Missionaries shot 23 of 55 from the field and 15 of 17 from the charity stripe, and held a 34-33 advantage on the boards.
Pacific jumped out to a quick lead, going 9-2 on a Jensen lay-in and then 11-4 on Kristen Corrales' (So., Waimanalo, Hawaii) jumper at the 14:24 mark of the half. Outside of a Jensen lay-up with 1:40 left, that's all that the Boxers would score over a span of 18 minutes that took parts of both halves. The Missionaries took the lead on a pair of Anna Forge free throws and made it a 10-point advantage on a Jennifer Keyes' lay-in with 5:35 left.
Mary Madden ran the Whitman lead to 15 points on her two charity shots and Madden added a long jumper with 41 seconds left that gave the Missionaries their commanding 30-13 halftime lead.
Corrales finally broke the 18-minute dry spell by hitting the first shot of the second half at the 18:20 mark, but by then the damage had already been done as the Missionaries continued to steadily find the bucket. Whitman built the lead up to 24 points on a Sexton lay-in with 9:22 to go and built their biggest lead of 26 points on Kelly Peterson's three-pointer with 5:42 left.
With the win, Whitman secured the fourth and final playoff position in the NWC playoffs, which begins Thursday. The Missionaries will play at either George Fox or Lewis & Clark. Pacific will conclude the 2010-11 season on Saturday when they host Whitworth.