Monday, January 21, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. - After a 3-4 start, Saint Martin’s has won seven of its last 10 games to improve to 10-7 on the season.

The latest win came Saturday as the Saints defeated Western Oregon 54-47 surpassing last year’s win total in the process when it finished with a 9-19 record.  

The win was also the third in the last four games for SMU, which now finds itself in the hunt for a GNAC post-season playoff berth. 

Saint Martin’s, which has been selected as the GNAC Team of the Week, is currently tied with Central Washington for sixth place with a 3-4 conference record.  Both teams are just one-half game back of fifth-place Seattle Pacific. 

The top six teams will advance to the GNAC tournament in March.  The Saints will host the tournament at Marcus Pavilion, beginning on Wednesday, Mar. 6.

"We are a very young basketball team, but we are showing improvement week by week," SMU head coach Tim Healy said.  "As we gain confidence and mature in our work habits and our court sense, winning some games becomes the greatest motivator.  We are pleased with the direction (we are going)."

In Saturday’s win, Chelsea Haskey, as she has done all season, led SMU in scoring and rebounding with 14 points and nine rebounds.

On the year the 6-1 junior from Olympia’s Black Hills High School, is averaging 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds.

"Chelsea certainly has been a consistent force for us this year," Healy said.  "She has a knack for putting the ball in the basket and we clearly rely on her.   She is such a coachable young lady and I am so pleased she is part of the SMU family."

During the recent surge sophomore guard Jordyn Richardson has also been a strong contributor. 

"We have really needed some secondary scoring lately and that role has fallen on to Jordyn," Healy said.  "She has always been an excellent 3-point shooter, but what I am most proud of is her growth towards becoming an all-around player."

Richardson, a 5-9 guard from Tumwater, scored 13 points in Saturday’s game, getting 12 of them in the second half when she made four of five three-point shots.

Two of the treys came in the final two minutes, including one with 47 seconds left to ice the game.  Since being inserted into SMU’s starting lineup prior to their Jan. 5 home game against Seattle Pacific, Richardson, who is averaging just 5.8 points on the season, is scoring 12 points per game and has made 12 of 24 three-pointers.

SMU won that contest 70-66, then split two road games the following week before defeating Western Oregon Saturday at Monmouth.

Haskey averaged 18.3 points and seven rebounds in those four contests.  Also making strong contributions in the four games were sophomore point guard Jori Skorpik (Kennewick – Kamiakin) who had 25 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds and redshirt freshman MacKenzie Taylor (Spokane, WA – Freeman), who had 21 points and 25 rebounds.

The Saints will try to continue their recent surge when they host Alaska Fairbanks Thursday at Marcus Pavilion.  Alaska Anchorage will then visit Saturday as the first half of the conference season comes to a close.