Box score (PDF)
 
LACEY, Wash. – Now, it's must-win time for the Seattle Pacific women's basketball team.
 
Redshirt freshman guard Bayley Brennan scored a career-high 15 points, but Saint Martin's managed to keep the lead throughout a tight fourth quarter and beat the Falcons in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game on Tuesday night in Marcus Pavilion, 63-58.
 
Though still in contention for a spot in the conference tournament, the loss dealt a blow to SPU's hope of advancing. The Falcons (8-17, 6-11 GNAC) are still in eighth place, two games behind the Saints (13-11, 8-9) and 2½ behind sixth-place Montana State Billings (13-12, 8-8) with three games left. The top six make the tournament.
 
Billings comes to Brougham Pavilion on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. after visiting Saint Martin's on Thursday.
 
"It's a must-win, and we need some help to get in, obviously," head coach Mike Simonson said. "Anything can happen. We're a couple wins shy of being right there in the top in the top half of the league. That's the quality of our team. We need to go out and execute it for 40 minutes."
 
BOUNCEBACK AFTER SLOW START
Saint Martin's bolted to a 15-5 lead in the first five minutes of the game. But the Falcons scrambled back into it, and 30-29 lead into the locker room at halftime thanks to Brennan's buzzer-beating 3-pointer from 25 feet away on the left side of the lane.
 
"Coming off the vans, stuck in traffic, it took us awhile to wake up," Simonson said. "Kudos to that second lineup we put in there – they kind of got it going. I was really impressed to see our defense get us back in it, and that sparked some of our offense."
 
SPU stretched the lead to five midway through the third quarter, 38-33. The Saints closed the period on an 11-5 run and were up 44-43 heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
Saint Martin's twice went up by as many as seven, the last time at 57-50 with three minutes to go. The Falcons ran off five straight to get within 57-55, and eventually cut it to one at 59-58 on a Brennan 3-pointer with 54.6 seconds left.
 
But just three seconds later, Janelle Sutterlict was fouled and hit both free throws for a 61-58 edge. Another pair from the line by Emily Nelson pushed it to 63-58, and SPU got off just one more shot after that.
 
"We guarded them pretty well up until the fourth quarter," Simonson said. We did a really good job guarding the 3-point line. A couple of their players ended up making some big shots down the stretch. Obviously, there are some things we could have done better to get stops, but ultimately, they made some big shots. We made some, but we didn't get the stops to win."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

-- Sophomore guard Ashley Alter, who misses last Saturday's game at Concordia-Portland with a minor injury, returned to action and added 13 points for Seattle Pacific.
-- Bayley Brennan's previous career high was 12 at Montana State Billings on Jan. 23.
-- SPU kept the Saints' top three scorers – Bria Thames, Claire Dingus, and Tierney DeDonatis, who average a combined 39 points per game – to just 23. Janelle Sutterlict was the one who did the most damage, as her 16 points was double her 8.1 average. Last time, DeDonatis had 26 and Thames went for 20.
-- The Falcons hit 42.3 percent for the game (22 of 52). Saint Martin's hit 39.3 percent (24 of 61).

 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020
Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.
 
Saint Martin's 63, Seattle Pacific 58
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (8-17, 6-11 GNAC)
Hoff 3-7 3-4 9, Bennett 3-7 1-2 8, Berg 1-3 0-0 2, Hingston 2-8 0-0 5, Brennan 5-9 2-2 15, Alter 5-9 2-2 13, Sterk 0-2 0-0 0, Brundidge 2-3 0-0 4, Rexach Roure 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 22-52 8-10 58.
 
SAINT MARTIN'S (13-11, 8-9 GNAC)
Thames 5-10 2-2 12, Russ 4-10 0-0 9, DeDonatias 4-8 1-1 9, Sutterlict 6-16 2-2 16, Dingus 1-4 0-0 2, Schultz 1-4 1-2 3, Nelson 1-1 4-4 6, Bowen 2-5 0-0 6, Vivola 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 10-11 63.
 
Seattle Pacific    14          16          13          15          -- 58
Saint Martin's     17          12          15          19          -- 63
 
3-point goals – SPU 6-17 (Bennett 1-1, Hingston 1-6, Brennan 3-6, Alter 1-2, Sterk 0-1, Rexach Roure 0-1), STM 5-20 (Russ 1-4, DeDonatis 0-2, Sutterlict 2-6, Dingus 0-2, Schultz 0-2, Bowen 2-4). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 32 (Hoff 7), STM 35 (Russ 7, Dingus 7). Assists – SPU 12 (Hoff 3, Rexach Roure 3), STM 8 (Thames 2, DeDonatis 2). Turnovers – SPU 17, STM 12. Total fouls – SPU 14, STM 11. Technical fouls – STM: Coach Christy Martin. Attendance – 310.
 
 
Next game
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Feb. 22     4:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.