LACEY, Wash. – Coming off an impressive victory over Concordia, the Saints demolished the Beacons of Northwest Christian to a tune of 81-36. The Saints held the Beacons scoreless the entire second quarter, and used a 22-0 run to put away NCU in the first half.
Northwest Christian went nearly 14 minutes without a point, scoring with 1:08 left in the first quarter, and then not until three minutes had pasted in the third quarter. Four different Saints scored in double-digits, with 10 players adding to the scoring totals.
Claire Dingus, 12 points and eight rebounds, and
Rebekah Baugh, five points, 10 rebounds, six assists, highlighted the team's effort.
Saniah Simpson-Patu started the game off with six of the first eight points for the Saints to put SMU on top 8-3. The Beacons managed to battle back and hold the game close at 20-14 by the end of the first quarter.
A layup by
Makenna Schultz at the end of the first quarter started the run by the Saints. SMU outscored their opponent 15-0 in the second quarter, to extend a once four point lead to 21 by the end of the first half. The run continued in the third quarter, with baskets by Dingus and
Jayla Russ capped off the 22-0 run.
The Beacons were unable to get back into the game after their 14 minute scoring draught. The Saints continued to play lock down defense, only allowing eight points in the third quarter. The lead stretched all the way to 47 late in the fourth quarter. With the lead, the Saints were able to put in all of the team, with
Marissa Miller connecting for a 3-pointer, to seal up the impressive 81-36 win.
Makenzie Kaech led the way in scoring with 13 points and also managed seven boards and three assists. Dingus, Schultz and Simpson-Patu all scored 12 points and combined for 17 rebounds and 10 assists. Russ and
Megan Nilsson added nine and seven points respectively, and
Sara Bowen hitting two 3-pointers.
The Saints as a team shot 31-for-63 (49.2 percent) from the field, 9-of-27 (33.3 percent) beyond the arc, and 10-for-14 (71.4 percent) at the free throw line. SMU collected 46 rebounds, 21 assists on only 10 turnovers, with 38 points in the paint, and 29 coming from the bench.
Saint Martin's heads to the island of Hawaii for three games, starting with Hawaii Pacific on December 15.
