LACEY, WA — Saint Martin's Women's Basketball (3-0) hosted The Evergreen State College for their 2024-2025 home opener in an out-of-conference contest.

The Saints would start the game with early contributions from Sabrina Lopez, who would go on to score ten points and grab nine boards, and Avery Oaster, who would lead the team with 16 points throughout the game. SMU's offense would go to work in the paint and get on the board with tough rebounding. The defense was also nothing to scoff at, holding the Geoducks to just 18.4% (9-49) from the field and 17.6% (3-17) from the three-point line thanks to excellent communication and hustle from the Saints. Madelyn Brown and Kiana Rios would help set the pace for SMU with a handful of rebounds, assists, and points that would support the offense well. Even with a balanced attack, however, the Saints would struggle to land shots in the first half, going 30.6% (11-32) through the first two periods, but would still find themselves leading at half, 26-19.

SMU would tighten down on defense even more in the second half, with Oaster contributing a block and four steals, and Keeli Jade Smith recording three steals of her own. The Saints' defense would hold the Geoducks to just five points in the third period, but the scoring woes would continue for the Saints as they would only put up nine points during that time. During the fourth period, the offense would find a spark in freshman Jada Travis, who would record her second double-double in her third collegiate game with 11 points and ten rebounds during the game. Travis would start to land threes to expand the Saints' lead and give the rest of the offense some momentum, which they would carry to 22 total points in the final period. The defense would also get even better, only allowing a singular point in the final ten minutes, which would lift the Saints to a 57-25 victory.

The Saints will travel to California next week and will not return home until December 17th. Get more details on their schedule here.