By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

Photogarphy by: Ron Smith

PORTLAND, Ore. – In her first season leading the Saint Martin’s women’s basketball program last year, head coach Natalie Marlowe knew there was work to do.
 
A five-game losing stretch from Feb. 8-22, 2024 effectively eliminated the Saints from a spot in last year’s GNAC Championships, and it would have seemed natural for player motivation to dwindle with three games still to play on the schedule. Instead, Marlowe’s group ended last year with a burst of energy, winning three games in a row including a gutsy 49-47 win over GNAC tournament semifinalist Central Washington on the road.
 
Fast forward to Monday and the success has carried over seamlessly through the first three weeks of the 2024-25 campaign. The Saints, who won eight games total last year, are off to a 6-1 start this season as the belief and momentum created from last year’s strong finish has parlayed into immediate success. SMU knocked off Colorado Christian 72-53 and beat MSU Denver 68-53 at the Seattle Pacific Thanksgiving Classic and was named the GNAC Team of the Week.
 
The success last week came after a 59-46 setback against Point Loma on Nov. 23, the Saints’ lowest offensive output and only loss of the campaign thus far. “We hadn’t been shooting the ball that well, and we wanted to build some confidence,” Marlowe said on her team’s adjustments last week. “We worked on that in practice and told the players to believe in themselves. It was really nice to see shots falling from the perimeter. We had some injuries pop up, and went through some adversity, so it was a good sign of our kids buying into each other, believing in each other and approaching whatever challenges we have head on.”
 
Through its first five games of the year, SMU was shooting a pedestrian 35.7% from the field and a lackluster 17.3% from 3-point range, leading to an average of 56.2 points per game. Those figures changed drastically last week, when Marlowe’s squad shot 46.5% (47-for-101) overall and 47.3% (18-for-38) from the arc in the wins on its way to averaging 70.0 points per game. “Once you start seeing shots fall, you feel a weight off your shoulders,” Marlowe said on the turnaround. “Everyone was catching the ball ready to shoot.”
 
The hot shooting did well to compliment what has been one of the top defensive teams in Division II basketball throughout the early going. Entering this week’s games, SMU ranks eighth nationally in points allowed per game (48.4) and 10th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (31.1%).
 
A trio of Saints reached double figures in the win over CCU, with freshman Laiken Hill connecting on 4 of 5 treys and reaching double figures in scoring (14 points) for the first time in her young collegiate career. Senior Keeli Jade Smith also had 14 points and freshman Jada Travis, last week’s GNAC Player of the Week, chipped in 13 points on 3-for-5 shooting from long range. Smith, from Hilo, Hawaii, has seen action in 54 games with 28 starts across her three seasons in an SMU uniform. “She is one of our captains, and she has the ability to go off on any given night,” said Marlowe. “She has really taken full advantage of the leadership role she has with our team, and I love the energy she brings day in and day out. Her commitment to coming back for a fifth year is a big reason why our team as a whole has found success so far.”
 
Travis, from Tacoma, Wash., has reached double figures in scoring in 6 of 7 games this season and is averaging a team-best 12.7 points per game. “She got so overlooked and overshadowed throughout high school,” said Marlowe. “She has taken pride in that and wants to prove to everyone she is more than capable. She does things you can’t teach as a coach: She has a good attitude and is incredibly coachable. She leads by example, and that’s something our team saw from day one. She might be 5-5, but she will go get a rebound like she’s 6-2 or 6-3.”
   
The story was different on Saturday against the Roadrunners, as SMU relied on a signature performance by junior guard Kiana Rios who finished with 30 points on 8-for-14 shooting and 4-for-7 accuracy from long range. It was Rios’s second-career 30-point effort and was one off her personal best of 31 points set on Nov. 26, 2022 during her freshman campaign. At the outset of her third collegiate season, Rios’ career point total sits at 590. “Kiana had an off game against CCU and she took that to heart, buckled down and was in a different zone the next day,” Marlowe said after Rios was limited to seven points on 1-for-6 shooting against the Cougars. “When she feels good we try to put her in positions where she is going to score and be a threat. The best part is her ability to play inside, be physical and take advantage of a mismatch as a bigger guard. She had a big game against Metro and everyone rallied around her.”
 
The Saints’ improved perimeter shooting also has the potential to unlock preseason all-conference selection Sarah Lamet, who gives her team a proven 6-foot-4 presence under the rim. The junior from Tigard, Ore., broke out with a season-high 10 points in the win over MSU Denver, and racked up eight total blocks in last week’s games. “Sarah has been one of our consistent starters, and her size and dedication to her strength and conditioning over the summer is really showing,” Marlowe said. “The attention she gets inside has opened up our outside game and allowed kids to knock down some threes. Now that we are starting to make some exterior shots, we are hoping to reward Sarah and get her to finish some shots inside. She has such a presence because of her length, and she is disrupting so many shots. She is our best defender inside.”
 
The Saints’ other regular start is Madelyn Brown, whose early numbers this winter are the best of her three-year career. The junior from Auburn, Wash., is contributing 4.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, and is coming off a season-best nine-point, seven-rebound effort in the win over MSU Denver. “She is the most consistent player we have,” Marlowe said. “She is the heartbeat of our team and plays great defense every night. Her numbers don’t always show up in the stat sheet, but her impact is in her leadership, her energy and how she defends.”
 
The Saints kick off GNAC play this week, at Alaska Anchorage (8-1) on Thursday (5:15 p.m. AK) and Alaska Fairbanks (5-2) on Saturday (1 p.m. AK) in a tough road trip. The Seawolves won both meetings between the teams in 2023-24, while the Saints and Nanooks split their two conference games a season ago. “We are going to see a lot of pressure this weekend, paired with the long travel,” Marlowe said. “Our non-conference schedule has helped with us being on the road so much. It is always tough going to Alaska, and Fairbanks is having a heck of a start to its season just like Anchorage is. They are two tough opponents, and last year left a little bitter taste in our returners’ mouths.”
 
Including last year’s hot streak to end the season, Marlowe’s crew has emerged victorious in nine of its last 10 games. It’s the signal of a turnaround and is a great start to the 2024-25 campaign, but she remains realistically optimistic and confident with the conference portion of the schedule kicking off this week. “We have to continue to be ourselves,” Marlowe said. “We are ready to prove to the conference that our success in the non-conference games can be carried over into conference play. Just because we are hosting this year’s conference tournament doesn’t mean we are guaranteed to compete in it. We want to show up every day and earn that spot. We hope to be playing there at the end of the season in March.”