LACEY, Wash. – Despite the winter storm hitting the Pacific Northwest, the Wildcats of Central Washington caught fire against the Saints, shooting better than 57 percent from the field in their 84-62 victory.
 
Bria Thames continued to improve each game, this time leading the Saints in scoring with 18 points, while Claire Dingus neared another double-double at 14 points and seven rebounds. The Saints only attempted five 3-pointers all game, forcing the ball down low against the bigs of Central Washington. However, each time the Saints had some momentum, Central Washington responded with force.
 
The Saints jumped out to the early 13-6 lead, scoring eight straight points, and was highlighted by Makenna Schultz's 3-pointer. After the first five minutes of the game went the Saints' way, the next 35 was all Central Washington. The Wildcats managed to storm back by the end of the quarter to take the lead and they never looked back.
 
Saint Martin's cut the score to as little as three points in the second quarter, but CWU answered back with a run at the end of the quarter. A 9-2 stretch gave the Wildcats their first double-digit lead of the game. Dingus hit a shot with just five second left to pull the score to 40-32 at halftime.
 
SMU showed life out of the locker room, getting the ball down low to Thames and Megan Nilsson, who knocked down a combined six points in the first two minutes. The lead was down to six; however, the Saints were never able to get any closer. By the end of the quarter, the lead had swelled to 60-44.
 
The final quarter continued the Wildcats' assault on the Saints' defense, as CWU shot 63.3 percent from the field in the second half. Saint Martin's had no answer for the attack and the Wildcats finished with five different players in double-figures. Central Washington coasted down the stretch to a 84-62 victory.
 
Outside of Thames' 18 points and Dingus at 14, Saniah Simpson-Patu ended with 12 points. Makenna Schultz (8 points), Megan Nilsson (6 points), and Jayla Russ (4 points) rounded out the scoring for the Saints, as only six players got on the board.
 
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 23-for-57 (40.4 percent) from the field, 1-for-5 from beyond the arc, and 15-for-17 (88.2 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints grabbed 28 rebounds, five assists on 14 turnovers, along with five steals and two blocks.
 
The Saints hit the road next week, traveling to Western Washington before Simon Fraser. Saint Martin's heads to Western Washington first on Thursday, February 14 for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off, with live stats and video available on smusaints.com.