LACEY, Wash. – Trailing by two points and four second left on the clock, freshman Saniah Simpson-Patu drove the middle of lane, pulled and her game-tying shot rattled around the rim and rolled out as Montana State Billings escaped the Saints' fourth quarter comeback attempt 58-56 on Saturday.
 
After trailing by 12 points in the fourth quarter, Saint Martin's (5-7, 1-3) began chipping away at the Yellowjackets' (10-4, 3-1) lead to create an opportunity to send the game into overtime; however, Simpson-Patu's pull up jumper just missed in the final seconds.
 
Saint Martin's took an early 6-2 over MSUB on four free throws by Jayla Russ before Hannah Reynolds and Elin Johansson connected on baskets to put SMU up 10-5 with 6:15 left in the first quarter. The Yellowjackets tied the game at 12-12 over the next minutes when layups by Johansson and Makenna Schultz gave the Saints a four-point lead after one quarter.
 
Saint Martin's grew to seven points on multiple occasions in the second quarter, the last coming on a basket by Johansson with 5:49 left in the half. The Yellowjackets rallied to tie the game at 28-28 before a pair of three throws gave them a 30-28 lead at halftime.
 
A jumper by Reynolds on the opening possession tied the game at 30-30 would be the Saints only field goal of the third quarter until the final minute. After a nine-minute draught, MSUB's lead grew to 44-32. Schultz fought to gain momentum back for SMU with two baskets in the closing minute to trim the lead to eight points.
 
Montana State Billings once again extended their lead out to 12 points before SMU started the fourth quarter comeback attempt. A layup by Johansson and a pair of free throws of Schultz sparked the run, in which the Saints outscored the Yellowjackets 10-2.
 
With the lead down to four at 2:13 left in the game, Schultz connected for the Saints' lone 3-pointer to cut the score to 53-52. On the following possession for SMU, Schultz drew a foul and knocked down both free throws to put SMU back out front 54-43. After a pair of free throws by MSUB, Schultz once again drew a foul and converted at the line.
 
Preseason Conference Player of the Year, Alisha Breen, who averages 21 points per game, scored the final five points for MSUB to snatch away the tough road victory at 58-56 inside Marcus Pavilion.
 
Leading the away for the Saints was Johansson with 16 points with eight rebounds and three assists. Schultz added 15 points off the bench, along with six rebounds while Simpson-Patu added seven points with nine rebounds and three assists.
 
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 19-for-60 (31.7 percent) from the floor, 1-for-17 (5.9 percent) beyond the arc, and 17-for-23 (73.9 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints recorded 41 rebounds, nine assists on 12 turnovers along with five steals.
 
The Saints will return to action on Jan 4 against Central Washington inside Marcus Pavilion at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.