Coming Up – Western Washington (February 8, Lacey, Washington, 7:00 p.m.), Simon Fraser (February 10, Lacey, Washington, 7:00 p.m.). 

COMPLETE MEDIA GUIDE
 
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Listen On Bryant and Clark Sports Connection – Listen to your Saints on the radio as the Bryant and Clark Connection cover select games. Links to the broadcast can be found on smusaints.com and don't forgot to follow them on Facebook (The Bryant and Clark Sports Connection). 
 
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Ticket Information - SMU students get in free to all SMU home games with a valid student ID card and tickets are available for only six dollars. Seniors/Military/Non-SMU Students get in for four dollars. Children under the age of 11 get in free. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling Abbey Bergquist at 360-438-4305. 

Saints Rally Not Enough In Road Loss To Northwest Nazarene – After falling behind by 16-points in the first half, the Saints stormed back on a 20-3 run to take a second half lead over Northwest Nazarene. However, the Nighthawks won the battle down-low all night, scoring 52 points in the paint en route to the 92-83 victory. Despite another 20+ point performance by Makenna Schultz, and 18 points by Mercedes Victor, the Saints (6-15, 2-11) were outscored 56-32 in the paint and outrebounded by 15 as Northwest Nazarene (15-3, 11-2) captured their six straight GNAC victory.
 
Simpson-Patu Lights Up Scoreboard With 33 Points In Road Loss – 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.
 
Makenna Schultz Named GNAC Player of the Week – Schultz had one of the best scoring weeks any player has had in the GNAC this season, going off for 33 points against the conference's best defense in Seattle Pacific. Schultz scored 26 second half points while knocking down 6-of-7 shots beyond the arc versus the Falcons and was the first Saint to reach the 30-point mark since Jan. 5, 2016. She did not cool off in the road trip to Montana, adding 19 points and three more 3-pointers, along with three assists. She finished the week averaging 26.0 ppg, 2.0 apg, 66.7 percent from the field, and a staggering 69.2 percent beyond the arc. The award marked the first for Schultz in her career.
 
Saints Lose Centerpiece Of Program – Senior Elin Johansson, suffered an injury in the win over Alaska, represents a major loss to the Saints. She ranked third in scoring (14.9), third in field goal percentage (51.3), fifth in minutes played (31.3), eighth in blocked shots (0.8), 10th in defensive rebounding (4.4), 12th in rebounding (6.5), and 13th in offensive rebounding (2.1) at the time of her loss. 

Simpson-Patu Rises As One Of The Best In GNAC– One of the top freshman in the conference and country, Simpson-Patu rose up on the GNAC Leaderboard. She began the conference season with 16-points, seven rebounds and two assists, in 29 minutes against Western Oregon. Leading the Saints over Concordia, Simpson-Patu scored a career-high 23 points, along with six rebounds, four assists on 9-for-15 shooting. She continued her run with a 21-point, and career-high 14-rebounds, for her first collegiate double-double against Oklahoma Christian and seven points and nine rebounds against MSUB. Simpson-Patu hit the 20-point mark for the third time with 21 points against Simon Fraser, before setting a new career-high in points with 27 against Alaska. Simpson-Patu hit the 30-point mark against Central Washington, ending with 33 points and eight rebounds. She now ranks third in scoring (15.3), fourth in defensive rebounding (5.3) sixth in rebounding (6.8), and sixth in minutes played (31.5). 

Schultz, Developing Into A Star – Sophomore Makenna Schultz is finding her way, inside a competitive GNAC, after scoring a then career-high 20 points against Western Oregon. She shot 8-for-13 from the field with two 3-pointers along with setting a career-high in rebounds with eight. Schultz eclipsed the double-digit scoring average with a 14-point performance at Seattle Pacific, along with six rebounds. She was once again a spark off the bench against MSUB with 15 points and six rebounds. She earned a spot in the starting lineup and reward Christy Martin with a 13-point, 3-steal performance against CWU and a new career-high 22 points versus NNU. Schultz quickly set a new career-high in points with 33 against SPU en route to her first GNAC Player of the Week Award. Schultz is now third on the team in scoring at 12.8 ppg, which ranks 11th in conference, along with 2.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, and 1.0 spg.   

Makenna Schultz Named Saint of the Month – Every month Saint Martin's selects one male and female athlete as Saint of the Month. Schultz, after dominating opponents in the month of January and proving to be one of the best scorers in the conference, has earned the Saint of the Month award. The award marks her first of the collegiate career.   

Western Washington Preview – Leading the way for Western Washington this season is Hannah Stipanovich, who leads the team in scoring at 12.5 ppg, and is second in rebounding at 6.8 rpg. Stipanovich also ranks first on the team in steals at 1.8 spg. Gracie Castaneda and Dani Iwami have been reliable scoring options for the Vikings, coming into the week at 10.1 and 9.7 ppg. Lexie Bland and Anna Schwecke have each made 20 starts and combine for 15.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg, with Schwecke leading the team in rebounding at 7.8 rpg. Emma Duff, and Kelsey have both seen action in every game for Western Washington this season. As a team, WWU is averaging 66.0 ppg, while allowing 63.9 ppg. The Vikings are shooting the ball 41.5 percent from the field, 33.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 72.9 percent at the line. WWU records 39.2 rpg, 15.4 apg on 19.8 turnovers per game, along with 7.3 spg, and 3.5 bpg.

Projected Starters For WWU:
G Gracie Castaneda, G Dani Iwami, G Lexie Bland, F Anna Schwecke, F/C Hannah Stipanovich 

Simon Fraser Preview – Simon Fraser features a small team, with only eight players playing on a regular basis. Leading the Clan in scoring and rebounding this season is Sophie Swant at 14.4 ppg and 5.8 rpg while managing 0.8 bpg. Nicole Vander Helm is second on the team in scoring at 12.1 ppg along with 4.7 rpg while Tayla Jackson averages 11.9 ppg and 4.7 rpg. Jessica Jones is almost the fourth Clan member who scores double-digits on a nightly basis, coming in at 9.7 ppg while third the team in steals at 1.4 spg. Tia Tsang and Taylor Drynan combine for 15.3 ppg and 6.3 rpg while Drynan leads the team in assists at 4.3 apg. As a team, Simon Fraser averages 69.8 ppg while allowing 69.4 ppg. The Clan shots as a unit 40.2 percent from the field, 33.4 percent beyond the arc, and 80.3 percent at the line. SFU records 32.1 rpg, the lowest in conference, 14.8 apg on 16.6 turnovers per game, along with 7.5 spg and 2.3 bpg.

Projected Starters For SFU:
G Tayler Drynan, G Jessica Jones, G Nicole Vander Helm, F Sophie Swant, C Tayla Jackson 

GNAC Recap – Alaska Anchorage once again handled business, winning both games and improved to 13-1 in GNAC and 20-2 overall. Northwest Nazarene remains close behind in second place at 12-2 in GNAC. Seattle Pacific and surging Central Washington, are now tied for third at 10-4 in conference while Montana State Billings sits fifth at 9-5. Fighting for the last playoff spot is Concordia and the streaking Western Washington, who both sit at 6-8 with Simon Fraser at 5-9 only one game behind. Western Oregon sits two games out of the playoffs at 4-10 and Saint Martin's and Alaska round out the conference at 2-12 and 0-14 respectively.