MONMOUTH, Ore. – Bria Thames has been an unstoppable force all season, and the senior stepped up with another GNAC Player of the Year performance against Western Oregon.
Scoring nearly half of the Saints' points, finishing with a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double on a 10-for-19 shooting night, Thames carried the Saints' (12-11, 7-9 GNAC) to the 62-59 victory. Western Oregon (5-18, 2-14) hung with the Saints all night, but was unable to convert on a game-tying shot at the buzzer to force overtime. Saint Martin's extended their winning streak to three games, and continues to stay in the middle of the fight for the final GNAC Championships playoff seed.
After an opening basket by the Wolves, the Saints' defense locked down, giving up only one point over five minutes. During that stretch, SMU outscored Western Oregon 9-to-1 and looked to be in control of the game. However, the Wolves rebounded, and were able to tie the score before the quarter break at 11-to-11.
The two sides traded baskets, and the lead over the opening minutes of the second quarter. Saint Martin's managed to break open the score mid-way through the action on baskets from Thames,
Janealle Sutterlict, and
Claire Dingus. Western Oregon cut into the lead with a couple closing half baskets but trailed 31-24 at halftime.
Saint Martin's lead reached as many as 12 in the third quarter, and the game looked to be in full control for SMU. But once again, Western Oregon slowly started chipping away at the score, and over the course of third quarter, and a final 3-pointer, had cut the lead to 45-40 entering the fourth quarter.
Western Oregon got the game within one possession on multiple occasions in the final frame of action. The Saints' defense bent but never broke, holding onto the lead throughout the whole quarter. The Wolves had an opportunity to tie the game on the final possession, but a corner 3-pointer fell short, and Thames scooped up the rebound, and the 62-59 victory.
Dingus nearly joined Thames in the double-double category, ending with 10 points, and nine rebounds, while playing 39 minutes.
Jayla Russ provided 10 points in 15 minutes of action, and combined with Dingus, and Thames, the three scored 45 of the Saints' 62 points.
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 23-for-53 (43.4 percent) from the floor, 6-for-20 (30.0 percent) from beyond the arc, and 10-for-16 (62.5 percent) at the line. The Saints outrebounded the Wolves 31-to-28, while collecting nine assists on 15 turnovers, eight steals, and one block.
With the win, the Saints set up a critical week of basketball against Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings next week at home. The three teams will be lobbying for the final playoff seed in the GNAC Championships. SMU begins with Seattle Pacific on Tuesday, followed by MSUB on Thursday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with live stats and video available on smusaints.com.
