LACEY, WA — Saint Martin's Women's Basketball (18-10, 6th seed GNAC) had a quick turnaround after their win over Central Washington in the first round of the GNAC Championships, as the Saints faced the second-seeded Montana State Billings Yellowjackets in their following contest.

The semifinal match started at a slow pace with both defenses playing tough. Jada Travis would make her biggest contributions on the boards with a team-leading 10 defensive rebounds and would join defensive anchor Madelyn Brown in extinguishing the Montana State Billings offense, only allowing nine points in the first period. Keeli Jade Smith got the hot hand first for Saint Martin's, landing a series of ranged baskets that put the Saints in the lead. Smith went on to score 13 points in one of her best scoring performances of the season. The rest of the lineup and bench made contributions to the offensive efforts as the game began to open up, including six points from Avery Oaster in her 17th start of the season. The Saints kept trading points with the Yellowjackets and would trail them at halftime, 22-21.

Period three saw the Saints surge in scoring, with Kiana Rios standing out with clutch baskets down the stretch while leading the team with 14 points. Rios went a perfect 2-2 from beyond the arc, 5-10 (50%) overall from the field, and also grabbed nine rebounds and contributed four assists. Kasey Booster and Laiken Hill contributed five points each to SMU's total as they continued to trade points with MSUB. Rios continued to energize the Saints' offense the later the game went, with Travis, Iternite Reed, and Sarah Lamet getting involved down the stretch. The score would be tied at 48 with 1:07 left to go, and a set of missed free throws gave MSUB a chance to take a late lead. Rios snagged the rebound off a missed three-point attempt and a quick timeout gave the Saints the ball on the opposing half of the court. Travis inbounded the ball to Rios with just under three seconds left to go, and Rios would take the ball, power through a defender, and land a layup to take a 50-48 lead with 0.3 seconds remaining. The Yellowjackets did not get a final shot off and the Saints claimed a second upset victory in the GNAC Championships. The Saints and the Yellowjackets changed leads a total of 14 times throughout the game.

The victory marks the first time the Saint Martin's Women's Basketball program has ever made it to the GNAC Championship game in what has become a historic season under second-year head coach Natalie Marlowe. The GNAC interviewed Smith, Coach Marlowe, and Rios after the semifinal win that you can watch here.

SMU Women's Basketball will be back in action on Saturday, March 8th at 7:30 PM in the GNAC Championship Game against the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. You can get more information about the GNAC Championships, including ticket information, here.