LACEY, Wash. – Down by two with six seconds left, Saniah Simpson-Patu drove to the rim and forced a foul with .6 of a second left; however, her free throws were no good and Simon Fraser escaped Marcus Pavilion with a 60-58 victory on Saturday night.
 
Simpson-Patu tied the game at 58-58 on a layup, only her eighth points of the night, as Saint Martin's (6-18, 2-14) and Simon Fraser (11-13, 6-10) had 18 lead changes and eight ties throughout the contest. On the following possession, SFU was fouled and hit the game-winning free throws to pick up the tough fought road win.
 
In the first quarter, Simon Fraser jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Saint Martin's stormed back on a 12-2 run to reach their largest lead of the night. Neither team led by more than five points. 3-pointers by Rebekah Baugh and baskets by Lauren Lindley fueled the Saints' offense in the first quarter. However, Simon Fraser closed out the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 15-14 lead.
 
SMU quickly knocked baskets, including another 3-pointer by Baugh to regain the lead. Field goals by Makenna Schultz and Mercedes Victor kept the Saints up by three through the first seven minutes of the quarter. Simon Fraser made progress, going on a 7-0 run, switching the lead back to SFU, but a bucket by Jayla Russ cut the score to 29-27 at halftime.
 
The Clan's lead touched five points in the opening minutes of the second half, before Hannah Reynolds knocked down a basket and Victor converted two free throws. Victor put SMU back out front with a layup on the next possession, with 5:08 left in the quarter. A fourth 3-pointer by Baugh and more points from Victor and Schultz pushed SMU's lead to 42-38 with 2:46 remaining. Simon Fraser hit a clutch 3-pointer in the final possession to trim the lead to 45-43, entering the final quarter.
 
Both sides traded baskets and the lead back and forth for a majority of the fourth quarter, with the lead changing 10 times. With Simon Fraser leading by two with 30 seconds left on the clock, freshman Simpson-Patu calmly drove to her left and hit the fade-away game-tying jumper with 22 seconds left. On the inbound, Simon Fraser was fouled, and knocked down both free throws. The Saints got the ball back and with the clock winding down, Simpson-Patu attacked the basket, missing her first shot, but getting the ball back and forcing a foul with .6 seconds left. Needing both free throws to tie the game, her first attempt fell short. On the second, looking for the put-back, she was called for a line violation, giving the ball and victory to Simon Fraser.
 
Leading the way was Victor with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting, along with three rebounds and two steals. Baugh finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four 3-pointers in 36 minutes of action. Russ and Simpson-Patu ended with 13 points and eight rebounds combined while Schultz came off the bench for eight points and five assists.
 
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 23-for-52 (44.2 percent) from the field, 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) beyond the arc, and 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints recorded 34 rebounds, 10 more than SFU, 12 assists on 21 turnovers, along 13 steals and no blocks.
 
The Saints hit the road for their final road trip of the season, traveling to Alaska next week. SMU begins the trip with a match-up against Alaska Fairbanks on Feb 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with live stats and video links available on smusaints.com.