TACOMA, Wash. – Behind Elin Johansson's 19 points and career-high 15 rebounds, Saint Martin's defeated University of Puget Sound 74-57 for head coach Christy Martin's first NCAA victory.
 
The Saints (1-2) capitalized early on the Loggers' (0-1) turnovers with a basket from Elin Johansson and a 3-pointer from Rebekah Baugh. After a pair of free throws by Jayla Russ, the Saints led 7-2. The Loggers responded with a 7-2 run to tie the game at 9-9 at the 7:14 mark.
 
Saniah Simpson-Patu and Johansson scored on back-to-back possession to put the Saints back up 13-9.  The Loggers tied the game at 15-15, before Makenna Schultz knocked two free throws and a floater to put SMU up 19-15 at 3:13 left in the quarter.
 
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Baugh and a buzzer beating three by Reynolds put SMU put 28-19 after one quarter.
 
The Loggers opened up the second quarter on a 4-0 run, before Schultz stopped the run with a 3-pointer. The Loggers used a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 32-30 at 5:46 left in the quarter.
 
The Saints went nearly three minutes without a point until Schultz knocked down a 3-pointer to put SMU up 37-31 at the 2:49 mark.
 
Johansson converted a bucket in the paint to wrap up the first half with 11 points and nine rebounds as SMU took a 39-34 lead into halftime.
 
Coming out of the break, both sides traded baskets for in the early going with the Saints leading 43-38 at 6:30. Reynolds knocked down a 3-pointer to put SMU up 46-38 at 5:25 in the third quarter, forcing a Loggers' timeout.
 
Back-to-back steals from Reynolds and Russ resulted in fast break layups to give the Saints their largest lead of the game to that point, 50-38, with 4:26 left in the quarter.
 
Both sides struggled to find a basket in the closing minutes of the third quarter, ending with Saint Martin's up 53-44.
 
The Saints forced the Loggers into early foul trouble in the fourth quarter, four fouls in the two and half minutes. SMU took advantage and stretched their out to 61-46 with 6:54 minutes remaining.
 
Quick baskets from Reynolds and Johansson extended the Saints' lead to 69-48 with 3:27 left in the game. The Saints cruised to the 74-57 victory in the final minutes.

"We were happy that we were able to bounce back after a couple tough losses last weekend," said Martin. "However, I was disappointed with our rebounding effort. UPS had far more offensive boards than we were comfortable with. I was pleased with the way we shared the ball and adjusted to switching defenses. We will need to fine tune some things and refocus for PLU tomorrow."
 
Elin Johansson scored a game-high 19 points with a new career high in rebounds at 15. Nearly five Saints scored in double-digits with Makenna Schultz (15 points) and Hannah Reynolds (13 points) leading the way. Saniah Simpson-Patu and Rebekah added nine points each and combined for seven rebounds and six assists.
 
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 25-for-57 (43.9 percent) from the floor, 10-for-20 (50.0 percent) beyond the arc, and 14-for-23 (60.9 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints recorded 18 assists on 13 turnovers, along with 39 rebounds, four blocks and 11 steals.
 
The Saints return to the campus of Puget Sound to wrap up the Doug McArthur Classic with a match-up against Pacific Lutheran. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. with live stats available at smusaints.com.