MONMOUTH, Ore. – Breaking out its long range arsenal in the second half, Humboldt State went on a 15-4 run to pull away from Saint Martin's and claim a 75-60 victory in the women's basketball season-opener Friday at the Phoenix Inn Shootout.

Boxscore

The Jacks struggled from 3-point range most of the night, but two long shots by Taylor Kilgore and another from Kayla Williams punctuated the surge that opened HSU's lead. Contributing consistency inside was Bree Halsey, who finished with a double-double and team highs of 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Necomer Jeanette DeWitt had an impressive debut for the Jacks, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds. Also scoring in double figures was another new player in the lineup, Jenna Hamilton, who also added 13.

Facing a veteran Saint Martin's squad led by all-region player Dara Zack, the Jacks' defense clamped down, holding the Saints to 34 percent shooting from the field. Zack was SMU's top scorer with 13 points, and no other Saints' play reached double digits.

"This was a well-coached team with a lot of returning players, so this is a very good win for us to start the season," HSU head coach Joddie Gleason said. "We stayed composed and did a nice job coming back when we got down in the first half.

Saint Martin's pulled ahead by as many as nine points midway through the first half, taking a 23-14 lead on Katie Hawkins' jumper. But DeWitt, Halsey and Hamilton helped the Jacks trim the margin to two, and Kilgore tied the game with a layup to make the score 32-32 at the half.

Also coming off the bench to contribute key minutes for HSU were point guard Patrice Saindon, and Elle Anderson, who hit all four of her free throw attempts down the stretch.

The Lumberjacks are back in action Saturday at the Phoenix Inn Shootout, taking on host Western Oregon at 2 p.m.