BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Behind dominating performances from Elin Johansson, Jayla Russ and Saniah Simpson-Patu, the Saints extended their win streak to four after defeating Academy of Art 82-61 at the Lynda Goodrich Classic, hosted by Western Washington.
Two game defining runs by the Saints (19-2 and 17-4), along with a new career-high for Johansson at 27 points set the tone in the blowout victory.
Defense set the tone early with neither the Saints (4-2) or the Urban Knights (0-5) scoring a single point until three minutes into the game. Art U took the early 4-0 lead before Elin Johansson and Saniah Simpson-Patu got the Saints' offense going.
Johansson hit a jumper to put SMU on the board, followed by Simpson-Patu's back-to-back buckets tied the game at 6-6 with 4:22 left in the quarter. Art U responded with a 3-pointer; however, the Saints answered back right away on a layup from Jayla Russ. Russ' basket sparked a 12-2 run for SMU to close out the quarter with an 18-11 lead.
The Saints' lead extended out to as many as 14 in the second quarter to cap off the 19-2 run that stretched nearly 10 minutes. Art U trimmed the lead to single digits, but a basket from Johansson and a 3-pointer by Russ but the Saints back up by 14 with 3:52 left in the half.
Russ and Simpson-Patu continued to scorch the Urban Knights as they combined for 29 points in the first half and gave SMU a 42-22 lead at the break.
Both sides traded baskets in the early goings of the third quarter until Art U capitalized on turnovers by the Saints to go on a 7-0 run. The Saints led 47-32 with 6:40 left in the quarter.
Makenna Schultz stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer and after a Rebekah Baugh free throw, SMU led 51-32 with 6:07 remaining. Art U continued to chip away at the lead over the third quarter, cutting the score to single digits (53-47) with 1:37 left in the quarter. Layups by Baugh and Johansson gave SMU a 57-48 lead after three.
Baugh and Johansson continued in the final quarter with an opening 3-pointer and back-to-back baskets in the paint. Saint Martin's extended their lead to 64-48 with 8:49 left.
The Saints ran away with the game on a 17-4 run in the fourth quarter to extend their win streak to four with an 82-61 victory.
"We did a good job containing their bigs and ball handlers," said head coach
Christy Martin. "We wanted to speed them up in order to keep the ball out of Dominick PreFranz's hands. We moved the ball nicely on the offensive end and made the extra pass. We had far too many turnovers from forcing the action inside. We need to eliminate unnecessary dribbles and kick out more. In order for us to compete in the GNAC, we will need to cut our turnovers in half."
After setting her career-high in points last game, Johansson breaks her record with 27 points and nine rebounds. Russ ended with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Simpson-Patu added 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. The three combined for 60 of the Saints' 82 points. Baugh added a team-high six assists.
Saint Martin's shot 31-of-60 (51.7 percent) from the floor, 5-for-15 (33.3 percent) beyond the arc and 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) at the free throw line. As a team, the Saints collected 37 rebounds, 20 assists on 27 turnovers, with one block and eight steals.
SMU will face Valdosta State tomorrow, November 25, at 12:00 p.m. to conclude the Lynda Goodrich Classic. Live stats and video links can be found on smusaints.com.
