Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
SEATTLE – Just when the Seattle Pacific Falcons thought they had withstood one scoring run, Saint Martin's came at them with another one … and then another one.
 
Riley Evans scored 18 points for SPU on Tuesday night, but the Saints had first-half surges of 8-0, 11-0, and 10-0 on the way to a 91-70 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory in Brougham Pavilion.
 
Saint Martin's (5-14, 3-8 GNAC) had a 46-30 lead at halftime. It grew to 21 at 60-39 by the midpoint of the third quarter, and never fell below 20 the rest of the way.
 
The Saints shot a blistering 52.7 percent, draining 35 of 67. (That included a 57.9 percent mark (11 of 19) from 3-point range.) They topped 50 percent shooting in each of the first three quarters (8 of 15 in the first, 9 of 17 in the second, and 12 of 21 in the third, before falling just below 50 at 6 of 14 in the fourth.
 
"Once they got rolling, they never stopped rolling," head coach Mike Simonson said. "We tried doing a lot of things to stop their momentum, and they just answered everything. They were hitting open shots and tough ones. Going into the game, teams were shooting just 29 percent against us from 3 (in conference games), and they shoot almost 60."
 
The Falcons (6-12, 5-6 GNAC) had not surrendered 90 points in a game since a 90-74 loss to Cal Poly Pomona in the 2015 NCAA West Regional semifinals.
 
"They did a good job attacking us, and Makenna Schultz (who scored 21 of her 23 points during the first half) got a couple wide-open looks at the start," Simonson said.
 
SPU was up 8-5 in the first quarter when Saint Martin's put the next eight points on the board. Schultz started it with a 3-pointer to tie it at 8-8, then drained a jumper from the top of the key to put Saint Martin's in front – permanently, as it turned out – 10-8.
 
The Falcons were within 13-10, only to the Saints ring up 11 in a row – nine of those from downtown, including two more makes by Schultz.
 
Early in the second quarter, Seattle Pacific was down just seven, 28-21. Saint Martin's put the next 10 on the board, with another pair of Schultz treys.
 
Seattle Pacific had 10 fewer field goals, hitting 25 of 60 (41.7 percent), but did top 50 percent from downtown at 8 of 15 (53.3).
 
"I don't think we had a bad offensive game, although we had a bad second quarter offensively," Simonson said. "We did some things that I thought were going to exploit them, and we executed them well. But at the end of the day, we let them get going, and we can't let that happen."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Riley Evans was the only SPU player in double figures. Senior forward Cici West had nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.
-- Evans is just five points away from her career 400^th.
-- For the fifth game in a row, the Falcons topped 80 percent shooting at the free throw line, hitting 12 of 14 (.857).
-- Hailee Bennett hit both of her free throws, pushing her streak to 22 in a row.
-- Seattle Pacific had just 14 turnovers, but Saint Martin's converted those into 17 points. The Saints turned it over just eight times, leading to nine Falcon points.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons return to action on Thursday against Montana State Billings at 7:30 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion. SPU will be looking for a split of the season series, as Billings scored a 72-64 victory on Jan. 5 in Montana. That will be the second game of a doubleheader, with the SPU men tangling with Simon Fraser in the opener at 5:15 p.m.
 

NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Saint Martin's 91, Seattle Pacific 70
 
SAINT MARTIN'S (5-14, 3-8 GNAC)
Dingus 8-12 2-2 19, Thames 3-6 4-6 10, Nilson 3-6 3-5 9, Simpson-Patu 5-12 1-1 12, Schultz 9-17 0-0 23, Wrede 0-0 0-0 0, Baugh 3-6 0-0 8, Miller 1-1 0-0 3, Bowen 1-2 0-0 3, Kessler 0-0 0-0 0, Russ 2-5 0-0 4, Kaech 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-67 10-14 91.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (6-12, 5-6 GNAC)
West 2-4 5-7 9, Rataushk 3-7 0-0 6, Evans 6-16 3-3 18, Albert 3-5 0-0 8, Bennett 3-4 2-2 9, Berg 0-2 0-0 0, Hingston 3-4 0-0 7, Skidmore 0-5 0-0 0, Bostonn 1-5 2-2 4, Alter 3-7 0-0 7, Hoff 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-60 12-14 70.
 
Saint Martin's      24           22           28           17           --  91
Seattle Pacific     17            13           16           24           --  70
 
3-point goals – STM 11-19 (Dingus 1-1, Thames 0-1, Simpson-Patu 1-1, Schultz 5-8, Baugh 2-3, Miller 1-1, Bowen 1-2, Russ 0-2), SPU 8-15 (Evans 3-9, Albert 2-2, Bennett 1-1 Hingston 1-2, Alter 0-1). Fouled out – SPU: Bennett. Rebounds – STM 37 (Thames 10), SPU 33 (West 8). Assists – STM 15 (Simpson-Patu 5, Schultz 5), SPU 11 (Albert 3). Turnovers – STM 8, SPU 14. Total fouls – STM 11, SPU 15. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 265.
 
 
Next game
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Jan. 31     7:30 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.