LACEY, Wash. – In front of a rowdy crowd Saturday evening, the Saint Martin's women's basketball team (8-14, 4-10 GNAC) pushed the No. 8 ranked team in the country to the precipice of a monumental upset, leading for the majority of the contest and getting the lead up to 11 at one point. However, Western Washington (20-2, 14-1 GNAC) had the ball bounce their way in the dying moments to barely escape with a 67-62 win over SMU.
 
The first half was all Saints as Lauryn Morris opened the scoring with a bucket and after the Vikings tied it at two, Sarah Lamet knocked down two free throws to give Saint Martin's a lead they would hold the entirety of the first three quarters. The offense for SMU had success because the defense was absolutely slaying WWU. They forced 11 turnovers out of Western in the first half and scored 18 points off of turnovers in the game, compared to just four total points off turnovers for Western Washington. By the time Kiana Rios hit a three ball with 30 second left in the first half, Saint Martin's had built themselves a 11-point lead.
 
The third quarter was all Vikings, and by the time the fourth frame started the teams were neck-and-neck fighting for position. Rios hit another huge three ball to launch the Saints in front by a score of 52-51, before Rian Clear followed that up with an attack to the basket that fell through for a three-point edge. Directly after, a controversial flagrant foul was called on SMU and WWU capitalized with two free throws and would shortly after gain a lead they wouldn't surrender. With 17 second left, Clear hit a prayer of a three point off the glass and in to put SMU down two, but it was just too much to overcome for the Saints. Western scraped out the five-point victory.
 
Clear buried 21 points off the bench, while Rios added 15. Anjel Galbraith facilitated the offense, per usual, with eight assists, while Chenoa Louie led the way in rebounding with nine.
 
The Saints will head up north next week to do battle with both Alaska schools starting with Anchorage (14-9, 6-8 GNAC) on Thursday, February 16^th. Tipoff is 8:30 pacific time at the Alaska Airlines Center.