LACEY, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball squad had three players in double figures but it wasn't enough against Division II Saint Martin's University as the Lutes fell 73-64 to the Saints in an exhibition game on Tuesday night.
 
The Lutes came to Lacey ready to play, owning a 15-11 lead after Emma Janousek drained a three with 3:35 left in the opening quarter and finished the opening 10 minutes of play with an 18-15 advantage on the host Saints. 
 
The lead would change hands five times in the second quarter, including the Lutes taking the upper hand 28-27 with 1:48 left in the half off a Katie Taylor layup. Unfortunately for the Lutes, the lead would prove fleeting with SMU closing the half on an 8-0 run to take a 35-28 advantage into the locker room. 
 
Saint Martin's lead swelled to as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter but the Lutes continued to battle, closing the gap to just six on a Madison Salisbury jumper with 69 seconds left but was unable to come any closer in the nine-point setback.

"It was a great effort tonight," said Head Coach Jennifer Childress. "It was a close game most of the way. They hit some timely shots from the three-point line just as we would gain ground. We're continuing to find the balance between pushing the temp full court or settling into a half court set and tonight's game was high paced."
 
Janousek highlighted the night for the Lutes, finishing with a full stat sheet of 18 points, seven assists, and four rebounds. Salisbury hit seven of her 10 shots from the floor, finishing with 17 points and nine boards while Megan Drake hit three treys to finish with 15 points and eight rebounds. Taylor was one point shy of being the fourth Lute to register double figures, piling on nine.

"Our posts did a great job versus the very physical play of St. Martin's. I'm really proud of how they kept their composure out there."
 
PLU won the turnover battle (15 to 17) and held a 40-39 rebounding advantage but limited bench production proved to be an Achilles heel with the Saints generating a 26-3 edge in that department. 
 
The Lutes (2-0) resume their non-conference slate over the weekend, traveling to southern California to face University of Redlands on Saturday at 2 p.m.