NAMPA, Idaho – The Saints had their hands full, taking on the third-ranked team in the country, on the road, without their star shooting guard Makenna Schultz. Northwest Nazarene easily handled the Saints and cruised to the 92-47 victory.
 
Megan Nilsson came off the bench for the first time this season, and led the way with 13 points; however, was the only Saint to reach double-digits in scoring. Northwest Nazarene's defensive pressure was too much for SMU to cope with, as Saint Martin's shot only 27.7 percent from the field, and 18.2 percent from beyond the arc.
 
The Saints found their most success in the second half, scoring 18 points; however, were still outscored by three points. Saint Martin's managed to trim the score to as little as six at point in the second quarter, trailing 31-25. From that moment onwards, Northwest Nazarene dominated every aspect of the game.
 
Entering halftime, the lead had swollen to 15 points, and the lead continued to grow in the second half. Northwest Nazarene outscored the Saint to a tune of 49 to 19. No matter what the Saints tried to do offensively, Northwest Nazarene to seemed to always have an answer and were able to flip the momentum to the offensive end.
 
21 of the Saints' 47 points came off the bench, with Nilsson leading the way. Saniah Simpson-Patu was second on the team in scoring with eight points, tied with Claire Dingus. The two comebined for nine rebounds, and Bria Thames added six points in the start today.
 
Saint Martin't returns home to play host to Simon Fraser on Thursday, January 17 . Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with live stats and video available on smusaints.com.