LACEY, Wash. – In a bitter sweet night for Saint Martin's Women's Hoops, the Saints lost senior Elin Johansson due to injury; however, led by Saniah Simpson-Patu, fought back and battled for the 66-61 victory over Alaska inside Marcus Pavilion.
 
Simpson-Patu set a career-high in points with 24, with 17 coming in the first half, along with seven rebounds, one block, and one steal. With Saints holding onto a one-point lead and five seconds remaining, Hannah Reynolds hit both free throws and after an Alaska turnover, Reynolds sealed the victory at the line.
 
Saint Martin's (6-12, 2-8) jumped out to the early lead after a layup by Johansson; however, it would be the only basket by the senior, who needed 10 more points to hit the 1,000-point mark in her career. On the following possession, Johansson suffered the injury and the energy drained from the Saints. The Nanooks (4-13, 0-10) capitalized and captured the lead on a 13-2 run. Alaska led 17-12 after one quarter.
 
The Nanooks' lead grew to as many as eight in the second quarter; however, SMU began to slowly chip away. Baskets by Makenna Schultz and Mercedes Victor, along with a perfect 8-for-8 run at the free throw line, allowed Saint Martin's to tie the game going into halftime.
 
Defense emerged in the second half, with the Saints holding Alaska to only five third quarter points. Meanwhile, Saint Martin's looked like they were primed to pull away, with baskets by Simpson-Patu and a 3-Pointer by Baugh, the Saints carved out an eight lead going into the final quarter.
 
The Nanooks started their fourth quarter comeback by completing and-one plays, with four opportunities in the final 10 minutes. Within four minutes, Alaska had cut the score to 47-46; however, Jayla Russ grabbed the offensive board and her put back held off the Nanooks' run. Alaska continued to push and eventually tied the game multiple ties, the latest being 53-53 with 3:22 remaining. Clutch 3-pointers by Baugh and Schultz gave SMU breathing room until the final seconds. After a made 3-pointer by UAF, and five seconds left, Reynolds was sent to the line. She calmly sank both to put SMU up 64-61. On the ensuing inbound, Alaska turned over the ball and Reynolds' two more free throws sealed the Saints' 66-61 win.
 
Simpson-Patu led the way with her career-high 24 points, along with seven rebounds. Baugh added nine points and seven rebounds as well while Schultz finished at 11 points. Reynolds scored eight of her 10 points at the line and added three assists and two rebounds.
 
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 18-for-57 (31.6 percent) from the field, 4-for-17 (23.5 percent) beyond the arc, and 26-for-33 (78.8 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints recorded 32 rebounds, eight assists on only five turnovers, along with two blocks and seven steals.
 
The Saints will return to action on Tuesday, Jan 23 against Seattle Pacific at 7:00 p.m. inside Marcus Pavilion. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.