LACEY, Wash. – Jayla Russ provided 20 points, including 17 in the second quarter alone to help power the Saints' attempt at 19-point comeback on Thursday night. Trailing by two, with 16 seconds left, Russ' 3-pointer barely missed short and Simon Fraser managed to escape Marcus Pavilion with a 75-72 victory.
 
Simon Fraser dominated in the opening quarter, opening up a 19-point lead near the end. Russ singly-handed outscored the Clan as Saint Martin's chipped away at the lead. By the end of the third quarter, the Saints managed to tie the game at 57-57, but the game would come down to the final possession. Head coach Christy Martin turned it over to her hottest shooter of the night in Russ to try and win the game; however, the would be go-ahead winner grazed off the front of the rim, and SFU sealed the win at the free throw line.
 
The Clan could not miss in the first quarter, as everything seemed to fall their way. The Saints struggled to find offense, and Simon Fraser pulled away with a 29-12 lead.
 
With their backs against the wall, Russ came into the game and scored 12 of the first 14 points for the Saints, including a pair of 3-pointers. Behind Russ' efforts, the lead had been trimmed from 19 to as little as four. In the closing possessions of the half, Simon Fraser hit two clutch 3-pointers to pull ahead 45-37 at the break.
 
Out of the break, the Saints forced 13 turnovers by Simon Fraser. The turnovers resulted in points for the Saints, as SMU continued to push the ball down low, and eventually tied the game at 57-57 on a layup on Makenzie Kaech. Simon Fraser once again hit another 3-pointer to reclaim the lead right before the final quarter.
 
Simon Fraser opened up an eight point lead in the first minutes of the fourth; however, once again the Saints began to chip away. Rebakah Baugh scored five points, and baskets by Makenna Schultz and Saniah Simpson-Patu pulled SMU to within one. The Saints had an opportunity to play for the lead, or go for the tie late in the game. Off of an inbounds play, with 16 seconds left, Russ was unable to convert the 3-pointer to put SMU on top for the first time in the game. Simon Fraser hit one more free throw and wrapped up the game with a 75-72 victory.
 
Russ scored a career-high in points with 20, along with five rebounds and two steals. Three other Saints hit double-digits in scoring, with Simpson-Patu adding 13, while Schultz and Dingus ended with 12 and 11 respectively. Megan Nilsson put together another impressive rebounding performance, grabbing 10 boards, along with five points.
 
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 25-for59 (42.4 percent) from the field, 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) from beyond the arc, and 19-for-27 (70.4 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints collected 36 rebounds, with seven assists on 18 turnovers, along with 11 steals, and six blocks.
 
SMU hosts Western Washington on Saturday, January 19 at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video of the game will be available with links on smusaints.com.