TACOMA, Wash. – The Saints held Pacific Lutheran to under 30 percent from the field in a 65-45 victory to conclude the Doug McArthur Classic, hosted by Puget Sound.
Saniah Simpson-Patu started the scoring for the Saints (2-2), recording the first nine points for SMU. Pacific Lutheran (0-2) kept the game at one possession score through the first five minutes until Simpson-Patu knocked down and one in the paint.
The Lutes charged back and took the 13-11 lead after a 3-pointer with 2:37 left in the first quarter. Elin Johansson tied the game on the following possession before Hannah Reynolds scored five points to SMU up 17-13. The Lutes tied the game at 17-17; however, Rebekah Baugh connected on a corner 3-pointer to give SMU a 20-17 lead after one.
Both offenses struggled to find their rhythm in the second quarter, with the Lutes outscoring the Saints 2-1 in the first four minutes. Emma Kennedy and Lauren Lindley helped kick start the Saints offense with baskets to put SMU up 25-20 with 4:14 left in the half.
Saint Martin's closed out the first half on a 10-1 run, and only allowed three points all quarter for the Lutes.
The Lutes began slowly chipping away at the Saints' lead, scoring five of the first seven points. Reynolds found Makenna Schultz, who connected from deep to give SMU an 11-point lead at the 5:45 mark.
The Saints went over four minutes without a made field goal as Pacific Lutheran trimmed the lead to as little as four. Simpson-Patu scored in the paint and Russ converted two free throw attempts to carry a 40-32 lead into the final quarter.
SMU and PLU traded baskets in the early going for the fourth quarter. Russ scored down the paint and Reynolds connected with Schultz in transition for a 3-pointer and a 49-36 Saints' lead at the 6:11 mark. The Saints lead stretched out to 21 at their largest point, en route to the 65-45 victory.
"It feels great to come away with a couple of wins this weekend as it gives us something to build on heading into our regular season home opener," said head coach
Christy Martin. "We'll really need to find some fire and focus on defense. Our rotations were slow and we didn't put ourselves in positions to be successful defensively. I was extremely pleased with the contribution from our reserves. They played with a sense of urgency that I hope the whole team adopts. We look forward to seeing our alumni and supporters at Warming Up with the Saints."
Simpson-Patu led the Saints with 13 points and eight rebounds while Johansson added 12 points and three boards. Kennedy led the bench with nine points and Schultz recorded with seven points and four assists. Baugh, Russ and Lindley all scored six points each and combined for 10 rebounds.
As a whole, the Saint shot 20-of-47 (42.6 percent), 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) beyond the arc and 22-of-25 (88.0 percent) at the free throw line. SMU grabbed 37 rebounds, with 15 assists on 14 turnovers, along with seven steals and two blocks.
The Saints tip-off their regular season home opener, Tuesday, November 21 against Biola University at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.
