LACEY, Wash. – Saint Martin's dominated the entire way to start out the New Year in a 96-62 win over Alaska Fairbanks Thursday night.
Saint Martin's came out running in the first half, racking up a 58.3 shooting percentage from the field while holding Alaska Fairbanks to just 31.4. The Saints led the game from wire to wire while stretching their lead to as many as 34 in the fourth quarter, with nine different Saints contributing to the score.
Tierney DeDonatis led all players with a season-high of 27 points.
Bria Thames continued her hot streak with 22 points, a season-best, while adding 12 rebounds and three assists.
After a tie at 7-7 to start out the first quarter, the Saints hit the ground running and never looked back. A field goal shot by
Megan Nilsson fueled an 11-3 run by the Saints to end the first quarter, 28-19.
After both teams went scoreless in the beginning minutes of the second quarter, the Saints scored six straight points to push the lead to 34-19. Down the stretch, SMU proceeded to go on a 9-0 run coming from
Janealle Sutterlict and DeDonatis to close the quarter 45-24.
Thames scored on back-to-back possessions seconds into the third quarter to spark her highest scoring quarter of the game. The Saints connected 12-for-18 shots from the field goal range and held the lead to no less than 24 throughout. Thames finished the quarter with a basket in the paint to widen their lead to 78-53 at the buzzer.
The Saints kept pouring it on the start the fourth quarter, scoring the first five points to make it 83-52 with 8:27 left to play. The Saints cruised down the stretch and finished out the game on an 8-point streak to secure the victory 96-62.
Mallory Vivola dished out 16 points while
Claire Dingus and Sutterlict each scored seven points. Nilsson provided a spark off the bench with six points and four rebounds.
The Saints as team shot 37-for-69 (53.6 percent) from the field, 8-for-24 (33.3 percent) beyond the arc, and 14-for-24 (58.3 percent) at the line. SMU grabbed 46 rebounds, collected 23 assists on 13 turnovers, along with three blocks and 11 steals.
Saint Martin's continues at home Saturday, January 4 at 3:00 p.m. squaring off against Alaska Anchorage. Live stats and video will be available at smusaints.com.
