NAMPA, Idaho – There was no stopping Claire Dingus on Friday night. The junior led the Saints' fourth quarter comeback over Northwest Nazarene with 25 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists.
 
For the first time since 2005, the Saints (2-2) went to Nampa, and defeated Northwest Nazarene (1-4). It took a herculean 27-point fourth quarter surge to erase a 13-point lead. Eighteen of Dingus' 25 points came in the second half, and the Saints' rallied around a 20-to-6 run in the fourth quarter to stun the Nighthawks.
 
Northwest Nazarene began to pull away from the Saints in the first quarter, using an 11-to-2 run to take a seven point lead. The Saints got the momentum back with a Mallory Vivola layup, and last second Janealle Sutterlict 3-pointer to cut the score to two at the break.
 
The Nighthawks opened the second quarter with an 11-to-0 run to push the lead to the largest of the night at 26-to-13. Saint Martin's began slowly chipping away the lead, and ended the quarter with three straight layups. Rian Clear, and back-to-back baskets from Dingus, helped pull SMU to within six.
 
Both sides traded baskets and momentum throughout the third quarter. Northwest Nazarene was never able to put distance between them and the Saints, as the lead hovered around five points most of the quarter.
 
Entering the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, the Nighthawks' lead had grown to 49-to-42. Two more 3-pointers by the Nighthawks had them up eight with just eight to go. But the lead quickly evaporated on a 13-to-0 run by the Saints. Clear scored eight of the 13 points, and Dingus connected on a 3-pointer to give the Saints a 60-to-55 lead with just five minutes left. Five free throws and the final four points coming from Tierney DeDonatis secured the Saints' victory on the road.
 
Saint Martin's shot 27-for-56 (48.2 percent) from the field, 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) beyond the arc, and 11-for-20 (55.0 percent) at the line. SMU dominated on the boards, out rebounding NNU 48-to-34, while collecting 20 assists on 21 turnovers, along with six steals and three blocks.
 
The Saints and Nighthawks face-off once again, tomorrow Saturday January 30 at 2:00 PM PST. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.