ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Saints responded from an early deficit to trim the score to four in the second quarter, before No. 4 Alaska Anchorage opened up the game on a 28-6 run, en route to a 95-60 victory over Saint Martin's on Saturday night.
 
The Saints (7-19, 3-15) were led by sophomores Makenna Schultz and Mercedes Victor who combined for 39 points against the fourth-ranked Seawolves (24-2, 17-1). UAA controlled the boards, outrebounding the Saints by 14 to establish a 49.3 shooting percentage from the floor against the Saints' defense.
 
The score remained close in the opening minutes of the game with Alaska Anchorage holding a slight 4-3 lead. UAA quickly jumped out to a commanding lead following a 10-0 run, stretching three minutes. Mercedes Victor scored nine points in the opening quarter to lead the Saints offense. The Seawolves carried a 29-15 lead after one quarter of action.
 
The Saints scored the first six points of the second quarter to regain some momentum. The Seawolves responded with a layup and 3-pointer to extend their lead back out to 34-21. Makenna Schultz proceeded to knock down back-to-back 3-pointers, followed by a 3-pointer by Jayla Russ, as Saint Martin's cut the score to 34-30 with 6:17 left in the half. The Seawolves did not panic at home, and closed out the half on a 14-2 run to carry a 48-32 lead into the locker room.
 
Alaska Anchorage dominated the third quarter, opening on a 14-4 run to cap-off their 28-6 run that stretched nearly 10 minutes of action. Schultz continued to knock down shots from the outside, finishing the quarter with 17 points, but her Saints trailed 75-45 entering the final quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, both sides traded baskets for most of the quarter. Victor and Schultz combined for seven fourth quarter points. The Seawolves cruised to their 17th victory in conference and their eighth straight victory.
 
Victor set a new career-high in points after scoring 20 on 6-for-13 shooting, along with nine rebounds and two assists. Schultz scored 19 points, 7-for-12 shooting, with four assists and two rebounds. Russ ended with eight points and Simpson-Patu collected four points, five rebounds and three assists.
 
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 18-for-47 (38.3 percent) from the floor, 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) beyond the arc, nd 19-for-25 (76.0 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints collected 26 rebounds, 15 assists on 25 turnovers, along with five blocks and one steal. SMU's bench was outscored 38-4 and the Seawolves' forced 17 steals.
 
The Saints return home for their final two games of the year, starting with Concordia on Thursday, Feb 22 at 5:15 p.m. Live stats and video of the game will be available on smusaints.com.