LACEY, Wash. – The Saints once again found themselves on top in the fourth quarter, this time by 17 against Warner Pacific. The Knights went on a 16-0 run to cut the score to one, but the Saints lived up to bend but don't break. Saint Martin's rattled off 10 straight points in the final two minutes to secure the 72-61 victory.
 
Saint Martin's struggled to control the ball, committing 26 turnovers, including 13 in the final 15 minutes. Despite the turnovers, the Saints held strong down the stretch and turned to none other than Claire Dingus. Dingus scored seven points in the final two, and led the Saints to their second straight double-digit victory at home.
 
The first quarter was an offensive shoot-out, with the two teams combining for 54 points, and shooting 19-for-36 from the floor. Saint Martin's managed to take a 28-26 lead on the final play of the quarter, on a basket from Lauryn Morris, who finished with 14 off the bench.
 
Opening baskets by Tierney DeDonatis and Bria Thames helped the Saints stretch the lead to seven in the first possessions of the second quarter. The lead held around that point for a majority of the quarter, and topped out at 12 at the break.
 
Out of the halftime, with the Saints on top 46-34, the third quarter was all Saint Martin's. Over the course of the ten minutes, the Saints managed to outscore Warner Pacific by five, and the lead was as many as 19.
 
With the game looking all but over entering the fourth quarter, a 16-0 run by Warner Pacific changed the entire script. Saint Martin's committed nine straight turnovers and went over seven minutes without a point. In that time, the Knights went from trailing by 17 to down by only one with less than two minutes to go in the game.
 
Saint Martin's turned to their GNAC Preseason All-Conference forward, Dingus, in the clutch, and the sophomore delivered. She rallied the team with seven of the final 10 points and led the Saints to a 72-61 win.
 
Dingus led all scorers with 18 points, along with seven rebounds in 27 minutes of action. Bria Thames added 16 points, eight rebounds, and two steals, while Morris and DeDonatis combined for 24 points off the bench.
 
The Saints shot 24-for-52 (46.2 percent) from the field; however, went the entire match without a 3-pointer (0-for-5). They made up for it with 24 points at the free throw line. SMU grabbed 51 rebounds, along with 12 assists on 26 turnovers, and five steals.
 
Saint Martin's hits the road for their first away games of 2019, starting with Colorado Mesa on Friday, November 22 at 3:00 p.m to tip-off the Dixie State Tournament. Live stats and video of the game will be available on smusaints.com.