LACEY, Wash. – Trailing by eight after the first quarter, the Saints switched their defense to a 1-3-1 zone defense and the momentum turned. Saint Martin's went on a 30-3 run that stretched into the third quarter and their lead swelled to as many as 19. Alaska trimmed it down to six but was unable to come any closer in the Saints' 66-56 victory.
 
Four Saints resulted in 62 points; however, it was the two guards, Makenna Schultz and Rebekah Baugh who stole the show. Schultz and Baugh came off the bench and scored 17 points each while hitting 8-for-12 from beyond the arc. Claire Dingus led the team with 18 points, along with four rebounds and three assists, and Bria Thames nearly collected a double-double at 19 points and nine rebounds.
 
The first quarter was all Alaska, as the Nanooks went on a 13-4 run to close out the quarter. The Saints held a 9-8 lead, but the Nanooks forced the ball inside, scoring 10 of their points inside the paint.
 
In the second quarter, the Saints flipped the script. Saint Martin's held Alaska without a field until just 29 seconds left in the quarter. Holding Alaska to just three points in the second quarter, the Saints had an opportunity to pull themselves back into the game. SMU did not miss the chance, and scored 23 consecutive and flipped an eight point deficit into a 12 point lead at the halftime.
 
The third quarter featured more of the Saints' offense, with SMU scoring the first seven points, and opening up their largest lead of the game at 43-24. With one of their largest leads of the season, the Saints began to ease off the throttle.
 
Alaska managed to slowly cut into the lead, closing to 12 by the end of the quarter, and going all the way down to six with just one minute left to play. Schultz iced the game at free throw line with four straight free throws and the Saints cruised to the 66-56 victory.
 
Saint Martin's shot the ball incredibly well, going 25-for-55 (45.5 percent) from the floor, 8-for-14 (57.1 percent) beyond the arc, and 8-for-10 at the line. SMU collected 33 rebounds, compared to Alaska's 36, and finished with 12 assists on 22 turnovers, 12 steals and four blocks.
 
The Saints conclude their home schedule with a game against Alaska Anchorage on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. Live stats and video along with a radio broadcast will be available on smusaints.com.