LACEY, Wash. – In a defensive struggle between Central Washington and Saint Martin's, the Wildcats escaped Marcus Pavilion with a 49-46 victory over the Saints.
 
Early foul trouble for the Saints' (5-8, 1-4) leading scorers, Elin Johansson and Saniah Simpson-Patu, proved to be too much for SMU to overcome, despite trimming a Central Washington (7-6, 3-2) double-digit deficit to one possession in the final moments of the game.
 
Central Washington controlled the game from the beginning, taking a 11-5 lead in the first five minutes. Johansson and Simpson-Patu each picked up two fouls in the first five minutes as well, forcing Christy Martin to go to her bench early. The Wildcats' lead stretched to 19-12 before a layup by Makenna Schultz and a pair of free throws by Emma Kennedy closed the gap to 19-16 after one quarter.
 
The Saints trimmed the lead to as little as one in the second quarter; however, a 12-2 run by Central Washington quickly erased the Saints' progress and put CWU up 31-20 with 4:59 left. A jumper by Simpson-Patu was the only made basket by SMU in final six minutes of the half as the Wildcats carried a 33-22 lead into halftime.
 
Central Washington's lead grew to as many as 13 in the third quarter before the Saints rattled off eight straight points, including back-to-back layups by Johansson. Central Washington answered once again, extending their lead back out to nine, when three free throws by Rebekah Baugh pushed the score to 43-35 entering the final ten minutes.
 
The Wildcats scored four of the six points, opening a 47-37 lead with only 6:30 remaining in the game. Starting with a jumper by Schultz, followed by baskets from Johansson, Hannah Reynolds, the Saints went on a 9-2 run to close out the game and get within one possession with 1:18 left. However, SMU never found that key shot to tie the game and for the second straight game at home, fell by one possession to a conference opponent.
 
Schultz, who got her first start of her career, led all scorers with 13 points, along with four rebounds and three steals. Emma Kennedy, who also got her first start, ended with six points, five rebounds and two steals. Johansson and Simpson-Patu ended the game with 13 points and eight rebounds combined. Baugh came off the bench for six points, four rebounds and two steals.
 
The Saints as a team shot 17-for-51 (33.3 percent) from the floor, 1-for-11 (9.1 percent) beyond the arc, and 11-for-18 (61.1 percent) at the free throw line. SMU recorded 31 rebounds, five assists on 13 turnovers, along with three blocks and nine steals.
 
Saint Martin's will wrap up their four-game home stand on Saturday against Northwest Nazarene. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with live stats and video links available on smusaints.com.