ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Freshman Saniah Simpson-Patu had a game for the record books, dropping 33 points, on 13-for-23 shooting, along with eight rebounds in the Saints' 80-61 road loss to Central Washington on Saturday night.
 
Simpson-Patu scored 21 of her 33 points in the second half; however, she was the only scoring option for SMU (6-16, 2-12) on the night, with one other Saint scoring more than five points. Central Washington (14-8, 10-4) jumped out to an early lead and never allowed SMU back into the game.
 
"Tonight's outcome was obviously disappointing," said head coach Christy Martin. "But I'm more concerned about the little things we should've taken care of and didn't. Our defensive rotations were poor and that resulted in us getting out on shooters late. Offensively, we're not creating enough opportunities to get higher percentage shots. We need to move the ball more to make the defense work and open things up for us."
 
The Wildcats took an early 8-4 lead before going on a 11-0 run to establish control and extend the lead to 15. Back-to-back baskets by Simpson-Patu and a 3-pointer by Rebekah Baugh helped close the lead down to 11 before a CWU basket ended the quarter at 24-11.
 
Central Washington's lead touched as many as 19 in the second quarter as the Saints' offense struggled to generate anything. Simpson-Patu's bucket at the 3:15 mark was the only basket the Saints scored in the final seven minutes of the half, allowing Central Washington to take a 40-21 lead into the locker room.
 
The lead only continued to grow in Central Washington's favor in the third quarter, using an 11-1 run and a pair of 3-pointers to extend the lead to 68-39 in the closing seconds. Sara Bowen stepped into a 3-pointer to close out the third.
 
Bowen's 3-pointer started SMU's 13-2 run that stretched over five minutes, highlighted by six points by Simpson-Patu. The Saints managed to trim the lead by 12 points in the fourth quarter, but Central Washington was able to hold on for the 80-61 victory.
 
Simpson-Patu set a new career-high and tied a season-high in points with 33, while all eight of her rebounds came from the defensive glass. Baugh finished with six points and seven rebounds while Mercedes Victor added eight rebounds.
 
The Saints shot 23-for-70 (32.9 percent) from the field, 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) beyond the arc, and 10-for-16 (62.5 percent) at the free throw line. SMU recorded 40 rebounds, seven assists on 11 turnovers, along with one block and five steals.
 
"This was definitely a tough road trip for us," said Martin. "While we're looking forward to playing our next two at home, we know it won't get any easier. We just have to execute better if we expect to win."
 
The Saints return home to host Western Washington on Thursday, Feb 8 at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video of the game will be available on smusaints.com.