SAN MARCOS, CA — Saint Martin's Women's Basketball (4-0) traveled to California to take on the Cal State San Marcos Cougars in an out-of-conference contest.

The Saints would jump out to a quick lead in the first period with scores from Kiana Rios, who would be the main offensive weapon throughout the game. She would score a team-high 20 points in total with a couple of assists while showing her defensive prowess with four steals and two defensive rebounds. The early momentum would continue through the first ten minutes, with Sarah Lamet and Keeli Jade Smith also connecting on layups to keep the Saints rolling. SMU would lead 21-14 after the first. The second period would have a very similar pacing to the first, with the Saints getting into the paint by finding lanes in the Cougar defense. Avery Oaster would lead the team's rebounding efforts with eight, contributing to multiple scoring opportunities that she would take advantage of, finishing the game with 16 points in total. Jada Travis would match Oaster's point total while tallying four assists, four rebounds, and four steals to continue her impressive start to the season. The Saints would take a 33-25 lead into halftime.

The second half of play would see the Saints continue to keep their distance from the Cougars by getting more players more involved on the scoring front with Sabrina Lopez standing out by scoring all six of her points during the third period. Rios, Oaster, and Travis would continue contributing points while the defense would lock down the San Marcos offense. The Saints would find themselves with a double-digit lead in the fourth period that they would carry to a 64-53 win to continue their undefeated start to the season.

Head Coach Natalie Marlowe continues to be impressed by the team's effort and camaraderie:

"I'm so proud of how our group continues to show up for each other. Kiana set the tone early and everyone rallied around her. You're always happy to get the first win of the road trip. Saturday is going to be a great opportunity to see how we measure up against another NCAA-tournament-caliber team."

The Saints will continue their California trip to take on the Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions on Saturday, November 23rd, at 6:00 PM PST. Get tickets here.