By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

LACEY, Wash. – Eleven years and one day ago, No. 6 Saint Martin’s upset No. 3 Alaska Anchorage to reach the semifinals of the 2014 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on its home floor at Marcus Pavilion.
 
On Thursday night, the Saints repeated the feat for just the second time in program history, knocking off No. 3 seed Central Washington 60-52 in front of an energetic crowd in the opening round of the tournament.
 
GNAC Freshman of the Year Jada Travis shined brightest under the playoff lights, making 7 of 12 shots on her way to 16 points while adding seven rebounds and four assists. On a night where she filled up the stat sheet and played all but the final 30 seconds, it was the small, game-altering plays from the first-year guard that made all the difference.
 
With 1:20 to go Travis could’ve gone up for a layup guarded by GNAC leading rebounder Capri Sims of Central Washington. Instead she dished a clever, perfect-touch underhand pass to Avery Oaster for a wide-open layup to make the score 54-49. With 33 seconds to go the Wildcats got a stop to keep their deficit at six points and cling to a chance. Travis poked the ball away on the very next possession for a steal that proved to ice the victory.
 
“Coming into the game I knew I had to do whatever it takes to win,” said Travis, a 5-5 guard from Tacoma, Wash. “We have been preparing all week at practice, and I knew that we were going to be ready for this game. We came ready to play tonight.”
 
The Saints upped their record to 17-10 with the upset win and earned a matchup against No. 2 seed Montana State Billings on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific). It came just five days after SMU stunned No. 15 Alaska Anchorage 57-53 on its home court in the regular-season finale. “Belief,” SMU head coach Natalie Marlowe gave a one-word answer when asked about the difference on Thursday night. “The one thing we have talked about from the beginning is not letting doubt creep in when things get tough. Our win on Saturday was really huge for our group to know that we were capable of beating the best. I am so proud of the resilience they’ve shown throughout the course of the season, and there is just a love and trust in each other. I’m grateful that I get to be the one to watch it come together and get the reward they have been working for.”
 
Oaster finished with nine points, making all three of her field-goal attempts in just 12 minutes on the floor. Keeli Jade Smith added nine points off the bench and junior guard Kiana Rios chipped in six points, four boards and three assists. “With the two big wins we just had, everyone is just super excited for what’s to come,” Rios said, referring to last Saturday’s upset of No. 15 Alaska Anchorage in the regular-season finale. “We are capable of so much, and I am so proud of every single one of us. The harder we work, the more it shows on the court. I am excited to see how the rest of the tournament goes out.”
 
GNAC Player of the Year Sunny Huerta led all players with 21 points and fellow first-team pick Asher Cai had a dozen, but the Wildcats were held to their second-lowest point total of the season including just 18 points in the second half. CWU shot a season-low 31.6% (18-for-57) including 22.7% (5-for-22) from long range and was out-rebounded 36-35. Honorable mention all-conference forward Sims led all players with 13 rebounds and added nine points, but no other Wildcat had more than five points on the quiet evening. CWU finished its campaign with a record of 21-7, and fell to the Saints for the first time this year after beating them twice in the regular season.
 
After each team managed just six points in the third quarter, Central Washington carried a narrow 40-39 edge into the final 10 minutes of action. SMU’s Kasey Booster knocked down a three and Iternite Reed followed with a layup to quickly put the hosts ahead by four, and the Saints would never trail after that. Rios converted a layup at the 2:53 mark to make it 52-45 and Travis’s unparalleled play the rest of the way carried SMU to the win.
 
After a layup by Annalee Coronado with 2:31 to go, the Wildcats went 0-for-3 with a turnover into the waning seconds. Cai made a final trey with seven seconds left, but Booster iced the game with two free throws.
 
“It was a dream, and you can’t ask for anything better than that,” Marlowe said on earning the win amid a packed and raucous Marcus Pavilion. “We talked in the beginning of the year about how we have to earn our spot in the tournament, and we are super grateful for everybody that came out. We have a really awesome community, and they showed out.”
 
Huerta’s stellar career came to a close on Thursday night with 1,897 total points, ranking her fourth in GNAC history. Her 697-career made field goals were second in GNAC history, and her 4,143 minutes played were third-most all time.
   

GNAC Women's Basketball All-Time Scoring Leaders (as of March 6, 2025)
Rank	Player	Points	School	Career
1	Alisha Breen	2,001	Montana State Billings	2013-18
2	Erin Chambers	1,946	Simon Fraser	2011-15
3	Taylor Peacocke	1,940	Western Washington	2013-17
4	Sunny Huerta	1,897	Central Washington	2021-25
5	Bobbi Knudsen	1,831	Montana State Billings	2010-14
6	Jordan Wilson	1,783	Alaska Fairbanks	2013-17
7	Rebecca Kielpinski	1,752	Alaska Anchorage	2005-09
8	Rose Shaw	1,696	Central Washington	1998-02
9	Amanda Dunbar	1,654	Western Washington	2007-11
10	Katie Benson	1,645	Seattle Pacific	2010-14

 
GAME NOTES: Thursday marked the first-ever GNAC Championships meeting between the Saints and Wildcats…the Saints are in the GNAC Championships for the sixth time and have an all-time record of 3-4 in tournament games…SMU is in pursuit of its first-ever conference tournament crown…the Wildcats are now 8-9 in tournament games.
 
NEXT UP: The Saints advance to a semifinal date against No. 2 seed Montana State Billings, whom they’ll be facing for the second time in a conference tournament affair. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday night, as SMU will once again try to parlay home-court advantage into an upset.