WALLA WALLA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team learned the hard way why Whitman College is the 12th-ranked team in NCAA Division III. The host Blues led wire-to-wire, pulling away in the second half to down the Lutes 67-33 in a Northwest Conference showdown inside the Sherwood Center on Saturday evening.

"When you play a great team you get exposed to what great teams do. Whitman is a talented, physical, and aggressive team," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell.

"We executed our defensive game plan well but you can't beat a great team turning it over the way we did tonight."
 
The host Blues (10-1, 2-0 NWC) scored the opening two buckets of the game and raced out to an early 10-2 lead just under four minutes into the game. The Lutes (3-8, 0-2 NWC) reduced the gap to a single possession courtesy of a three-point play from Emi Wada who with 2:10 remaining in the first quarter drew contact on a made layup and sunk the ensuing free throw. Whitman answered with the next two buckets, owning a 19-12 edge after one quarter of play.

It was an eight point game late in the second quarter before the Blues converted a layup with 27 seconds left, taking a 35-22 edge into the intermission.
 
Whitman was on fire in the second half, mounting a 22-2 run to open the second half, a barrage that saw the hosts hit eight of its 11 field goals and five of its six shots from downtown. 
 
Brooke Samura did a little bit of everything for the Lutes. The first-year led the squad in both points (nine) and rebounds (six) while also adding two steals and a block. Emi Wada had six points while Taylor Schmidtke had five along with four rebounds. 
 
PLU was a perfect six-for-six from the charity stripe but struggled from the field, shooting at just a 24.5 percent clip (12-for-49). The Lutes kept pace with nationally-ranked Whitman on the glass with the Blues owning just a slim 35-34 edge.
 
The Lutes are back at home on Friday evening, hosting Linfield University in the team's conference home opener. Tipoff inside Olson Gymnasium is slated for 8 p.m.