BURNABY, BC – Playing each other for the second time in four days, the Saints' comeback attempt fell short, falling to Simon Fraser 66-61 on Tuesday night.
 
The Saints (10-7, 2-6 GNAC) offense struggled to get into a flow for a full 40 minutes. However, trailing by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter, the Saints were able to ignite the offense late in the fourth to cut the score to just three with 30 seconds left. Despite the momentum, Simon Fraser (7-10, 3-5) converted on a key possession, breaking the Saints' pressure, and sealed the victory. Claire Dingus nearly finished with a triple-double, going for 21 points, 11 rebounds, and seven steals.
 
Simon Fraser jumped out to an early 10-2 lead, limiting the Saints to only a pair of free throws for the six minutes. The Saints first bucket came at the 1:38 mark of the first quarter on a layup from Tierney DeDonatis. Saint Martin's cut the lead down to one on a last second 3-pointer from Rian Clear to close out the quarter.
 
Emily Nelson gave the Saints their first lead of the game on a layup to start the second quarter. The Saints defense limited Simon Fraser to only four made field goals in the second quarter; however, SFU was a perfect 8-for-8 at the line to take a small 30-27 lead into the break.
 
Simon Fraser began the second half on a 12-2 run to stretch their lead to double-digits. DeDonatis' layup was the lone field goal for the Saints until the senior guard connected again at the end of the quarter.
 
Trailing by 12 entering the final 10 minutes of action, the Saints began the journey of cutting down the lead. Saint Martin's used an 18-8 run in the middle of the quarter to get the lead down to just three points with 32 seconds left. In the final moments, Simon Fraser broke the Saints' pressure, and iced the win with a layup to stop the comeback attempt.
 
 
Saint Martin's returns home for homecoming weekend on Saturday, February 5 to host Western Oregon at 5:15 PM. Live stats and video of the game will be available on smusaints.com.