Coming Up – Montana State Billings (December 30, Lacey, Washington, 5:15 p.m.).

COMPLETE MEDIA GUIDE
 
Live Stats/Live Video – Live Stats and Live Video of SMU's Basketball Games will be available with links found on smusaints.com. Live stats and video will be produced by the Host School.
 
Social Media – Follow the Saints on Twitter (@Saints_WBB) and follow SMU Athletics on Facebook (Saint Martin's Saints), Twitter (SMUAthletics), Instagram (saints_athletics) and YouTube (SMU Athletics).
 
Ticket Information - SMU students get in free to all SMU home games with a valid student ID card and tickets are available for only six dollars. Seniors/Military/Non-SMU Students get in for four dollars. Children under the age of 11 get in free. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling Abbey Bergquist at 360-438-4305.
 
Oklahoma Christian's Early Lead Too Much For Saints To Overcome – An explosive first quarter by Oklahoma Christian proved to be too much for the Saints to overcome as they fell 87-72 at home to wrap up the 2017-18 non-conference schedule. Despite the Saints shooting 55.0 percent from beyond the arc, and closing the Eagles' lead to within single-digits multiple times, SMU was never able to regain the ground lost early in the game. The Saints (5-6) took their only lead of the game at 3-2 in the opening minutes on a layup by Elin Johansson layup. The Eagles (4-9) established control on a 10-2 run over the course of two minutes, fueled by 3-pointers and offensive rebounds. Oklahoma Christian's lead extended out to a game-high 19 points (32-13) by the end of the quarter, after knocking down six 3-pointers in the opening quarter. Saint Martin's and Oklahoma Christian traded baskets for most of the second quarter, with the Eagles remaining on top 38-24 with 3:34 left in the first half. Makenna Schultz step off the bench and provided a spark by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers. Schultz's baskets sparked a 12-5 run to close out the half, with Schultz hitting one more 3-pointer before halftime to trim the score to 43-37. The Eagles quickly responded in the second half, stretching the lead back to 13 (52-39) in the first three minutes. Saniah Simpson-Patu connected on multiple 3-pointers and pulled the Saints to within 10 going into the final quarter. Saint Martin's continued to attack, closing the gap to 10 points on multiple occasions; however, the Eagles responded each time and secured the 87-72 road victory. Leading the Saints was Simpson-Patu with 16 points, along with seven rebounds and five assists. Johansson finished the game with 11 points and eight rebounds while Schultz added 10 points and three assists off the bench. Rebekah Baugh knocked down 12 points and recorded four rebounds. As a whole, Saint Martin's shot 24-for-66 (36.4 percent) from the floor, 11-for-20 (55.0 percent) beyond the arc, and 13-for-20 (65.0 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints recorded 42 rebounds, 14 assists on 16 turnovers, with five blocks and 10 steals.
 
Johansson Remains Near The Top Of Conference Leaderboard – After a 15-point, 8-rebound performance against Western Oregon and the 19-point, 4-rebound, 3-assist night against Concordia, Johansson continued her run on the GNAC Leaderboard with a 20-point, 6-rebound, 2-block performance at Seattle Pacific. She ranks second in scoring (18.0), third in minutes played (33.5) and blocked shots (1.1), fourth in field goal percentage (51.7), seventh in rebounding (7.4), and ninth in offensive (2.5) and tenth in defensive (4.9) rebounding.
 
Simpson-Patu Rises On Leaderboards After Big Game – One of the top freshman in the conference and country, Simpson-Patu rose up on the GNAC Leaderboard after three explosive games. She began last weekend with 16-points, seven rebounds and two assists, in 29 minutes against Western Oregon. Leading the Saints over Concordia, Simpson-Patu scored a career-high 23 points, along with six rebounds, four assists on 9-for-15 shooting. She continued her run with a 21-point, and career-high 14-rebounds, for her first collegiate double-double. She now ranks fifth in scoring (15.0), tied for eighth in rebounding (7.3), eighth in defensive rebounding (5.3) and 14th in offensive rebounding (2.0).
 
Schultz, A Scoring Weapon Off The Bench – Sophomore Makenna Schultz is finding her way coming off the bench after scoring a career-high 20 points against Western Oregon. She shot 8-for-13 from the field with two 3-pointers along with setting a career-high in rebounds with eight. Schultz eclipsed the double-digit scoring average with a 14-point performance at Seattle Pacific, along with six rebounds. Schultz is now third on the team in scoring at 10.3 ppg, which ranks 26th in conference, along with 3.3 rpg and 1.8 apg.
 
Saints' Defense Locking Down On Opponents – Defense has proven to be one of the Saints' strengths this season, holding Western Oregon and Concordia to .342 and .328 percent respectively from the field. Both WOU and CU struggled to find space beyond the arc as well, going 5-for-19 and 5-for-20 respectively. In the five games the Saints' have held their opponents to under .350 percent from the field, SMU is 4-1. The Saints rank fourth in conference, holding their opponents to 37.7 percent overall.
 
Efficient Offense Powers Saint Martin's – Much like their defense, Saint Martin's has proven to be effective on the offensive end of the floor. Their .416 field goal percentage ranks fourth in the GNAC.
 
Saints On National Leaderboards – Elin Johansson, 41st in field goals made (77), Saniah Simpson-Patu, 46th in free throw attempts (67).
 
Montana State Billings Preview – The Yellowjackets began the season with nine straight wins before stumbling into Saint Martin's on a four-game losing streak. The Preseason Conference Player of the Year, Alisha Breen, has lived up to the billing, averaging a league best 21.2 ppg along with 7.9 rpg and 3.0 apg. Breen is shooting .458/.424/.913 on the year while ranking in the top-ten in nine different categories in the GNAC. Rylee Kane is second on the team in scoring at 11.6 ppg and rounding out the Yellowjackets major scoring is Vanessa Stavish at 9.3 ppg. MSUB as a team is averaging 71.8 ppg while limiting their opponents to 66.5 ppg. The Yellowjackets are shooting 42.0 percent from the field, 32.9 percent beyond the arc, and 74.7 percent at the line. MSUB records 33.3 rpg, 16.0 apg on 12.5 turnovers per game along with 6.7 steals per game and 3.2 blocks per game.
 
GNAC Recap – Alaska Anchorage suffered their first loss of the season, in a non-conference game against Sonoma State but remain perfect in the GNAC at 3-0. Seattle Pacific improved to 3-1 and holds second place while Northwest Nazarene, Montana State Billings and Central Washington remain tied for third at 2-1. Western Washington at 1-1 is by themselves in sixth overall. Concordia, Western Oregon and Saint Martin's are one game behind the Vikings at 1-2 with Simon Fraser and Alaska both looking for their first wins at 0-2 and 0-3.