BURNABY, BC – Saint Martin's led throughout most of the game, and despite a 20-point, 15-rebound effort from Claire Dingus, Simon Fraser rallied in the fourth quarter to steal a 71-67 victory on Saturday night.
 
Saint Martin's (6-7, 1-5 GNAC) had 60 of their 67 points supplied by four players, highlighted by Dingus' 20 and Megan Nilsson's 16 off the bench. Guards Tierney DeDonatis and Janealle Sutterlict combined for 24 from outside, while DeDonatis collected seven assists. Saint Martin's carried a 10-lead at halftime, but clutch 3-point shooting from Simon Fraser (10-6, 5-1 GNAC) carried the Clan down the stretch to a critical GNAC victory.
 
Simon Fraser jumped out to an opening 13-8 lead in the first three minutes. The Saints regrouped on defense and shutout the Clan for the next five minutes to take their first lead of the game at 15-13. The quarter came to a close with the score tied at 17-17.
 
Janealle Sutterlict began the second quarter with a 3-pointer, followed by a Tierney DeDonatis' layup to stretch the lead to five. Simon Fraser managed to retake the lead, 29-26, at the halfway point of the quarter, but a DeDonatis 3-pointer kickstarted a momentum shift. The Saints' defense once again went into lockdown mode, shutting out the Clan for the rest of the quarter. Saint Martin's powered their way into halftime on a 13-0 run to hold a 39-29 edge.
 
Sutterlict and Dingus accounted for first nine points of the third quarter until DeDonatis stepped into a 3-pointer with 3:25 left on the clock. The Saints lead held around nine points towards the end of action until Simon Fraser knocked down four free throws to cut the score to 55-48 heading to the fourth.
 
Simon Fraser slowly chipped away at the lead but still trailed by five with six minutes left to go. However, on back-to-back possession for SFU, 3-pointers gave them back the lead and the momentum. The Clan's lead stretch to as many as six with only 23 seconds left on the clock.
 
Mallory Vivola connected on her first 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to put SMU within one possession. The Saints then forced a turnover, and had an opportunity to tie the game. However, needing a three to tie, the Saints turned over the ball underneath the basket and Simon Fraser iced the game at the free throw line.
 
Saint Martin's as a team shot 25-for-63 (39.7 percent) from the floor, 7-for-16 (43.8 percent) from beyond the arc, and 10-for-13 (76.9 percent) at the line. The Saints collected 45 rebounds, with 14 assists on 17 turnovers, along with four steals, and four blocks.
 
The Saints return home on Thursday, January 16 to tip-off a Saints' doubleheader of basketball action. The women face Western Oregon at 5:15 p.m. with live stats and video available on smusaints.com.