By Ben Zimmerman

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Whitman knew the defensive storm was coming from Christopher Newport.

Missionaries head coach Michelle Ferenz addressed it in painfully simple terms before the teams squared off in an NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament sectional semifinal on Friday at Sherwood Center.

"I told them, 'We need to make them pay for pressing.'"

Consider that bill collected.

Heather Johns and Whitman shredded the 20th-ranked Captains' full-court press and half-court trap in a dominant first half, then put them away with an ensemble performance in the second for a 87-70 victory that vaulted the Missionaries into the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season.

No. 7 Whitman (29-1) will take on top-ranked Thomas More College for a berth in the Final Four at 7 p.m. Saturday at Sherwood in a battle of the nation's last two teams to hold the top spot in d3hoops.com's national rankings.

Thomas More (31-0) held off Texas-Tyler 73-61 in the early sectional semi Friday at Sherwood.

The Missionaries will barrel into their bid to become the first team in program history to reach the national semifinals clicking on all cylinders after executing Ferenz's game plan to perfection. Against early first-half pressure -- after they'd adjusted to nerves, and the heat and noise of a rocking barn -- Whitman exploded on a 16-2 run, patiently threading the gauntlet of Patriot pressure with careful passes to find easy baskets waiting at the end of the rainbow.

That, or difficult baskets that Johns made look easy. The junior point guard 13 points and an assist during the initial surge and made her first eight shots. She assisted a basket by Hailey Ann Maeda at the 12-minute mark to give Whitman a 10-point lead.

The lead never sunk below double digits after.

"It took us a while to figure out what they were about and to figure out the gaps," Whitman senior post Sarah Anderegg said.
"They came out at a very high intensity level that we didn't match," said Christopher Newport guard Tia Perry, who had 13 points.

"Film doesn't do justice to the speed they play with," added Captains head coach Bill Broderick. "(Johns) is very confident, quick ... She has the all-around game. She was able to set the tone for them."

It was 22-12, Whitman after Brandi Holland's jumper for Christopher Newport (24-6) with 11:24 left in the half, but baskets by Meghan White, Johns, Anderegg, a 3-pointer byTiffani Traver and finally a transition jumper by Anderegg amped the Missionaries' advantage to 35-16 in a five-minute blur.

Johns' driving bucket at the 5:07 mark, a serpentine, coast-to-cost marvel that terminated with a leaning scoop shot and kiss high off the window (plus the foul) brought the Sherwood Center din to a point between "deafening" and "unbearable."

Swooping toward the basket a grace-note shy of reckless, Johns scorched the Captains for 21 first-half points, shooting 9 of 11. She didn't miss a shot until 3:39 remained in the half.

Then Johns retreated on defense, stole a pass and dived out of bounds to save the ball, bounding head-first into the front row of wooden bleachers.

"This the time of year when every game is one-and-done," said Traver, who had 12 points. "You can't take any play off. That one loose ball could be the one you give up and lose."

Anderegg picked apart the defense on 5-of-5 shooting for 13 first-half points as Whitman led 47-27 at the break. It hit 55 percent of its first-half shots and had more rebounds (30) than the Captains had points (27).

Ferenz said she was most impressed with "how our kids came out and really attacked their pressure."

"They are quick, athletic and they gamble," she added in regard to the Captains. "The key for us was to attack that pressure."
"We talked about constantly staying in attack mode," Traver said.

The Missionaries' lead never slipped below 17 points in the second half, and ballooned to a high of 26 on Hailey Ann Maeda's three-point play with just inside six minutes to play. Her ante (five points, nine rebounds, four assists) was emblematic of Whitman's rock-solid bench play, itself a culprit in keeping the Captains at arm's length for the duration.

Johns finished with 30 points on 13-for-20 shooting, tying her career high. Anderegg had 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. White chipped in eight points, 12 rebounds and four assists, and Hailey Mcdonald had nine points, four assists and two steals.

Pre-sale tickets for Saturday's game will be available from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Whitman Fitness Center, located at 10 Park Street.